2008 San Francisco Blues Festival Review and Photo Gallery

by Michael Shea.

The weekend of September 26-28, 2008, was the 36th Annual San Francisco Blues Festival. According to the Festival’s website, it is the longest continuously running blues festival in the United States. I was fortunate enough to have attended the first Festival, back in 1973 – at that time, held in the indoor gymnasium of a University of California Extension campus – and it’s been a pleasure to see how the Festival has grown and matured over the years.

Since 1982, the San Francisco Blues Festival has been held at the Great Meadow of Fort Mason, a former United States Army post next to San Francisco Bay. Imagine this: you’re sitting on the expansive Fort Mason lawn listening to some great blues and behind the stage you can see the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge rising from the bay. Awesome!

Unlike some festivals that feature several stages, all the artists at the San Francisco Blues Festival perform on a single stage. I’ve always been impressed by the Festival’s precision: the performers go on when scheduled, play their set, and make way for the next act. In between performances, Festival founder and producer, Tom Mazzolini, interviews the artists.

I wore jeans to the Saturday show and sizzled under a strong, bright sun. The next day I wore shorts, thinking the weather would be more of the same. But, of course, it was cold and windy and I damn near froze. Fortunately, I had the foresight to bring a windbreaker. Being a native San Franciscan, I knew better than to trust the weather.

There were several other large events taking place in the City on Saturday and the traffic was terrible, so by the time my son and I arrived the third act was just finishing up. Luckily we didn’t miss any of the fourth act – Michael Burks. I’d never heard of him before, but was excited by this new find. His guitar tone was fat and sharp and I thought I detected a little Santana and Allman Brothers influence in his solos, and Albert King in his singing. Good things in my book.

As the afternoon progressed, other San Francisco Bay Area icons played: Hot Tuna featuring Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady (founding members of the Jefferson Airplane) and, later, Elvin Bishop. Elvin was animated and entertaining, at one point urging the audience – “Let me hear that dog howl!” – and the Great Meadow was filled with our best hound dog imitations.

Singing on stage with Elvin was Finis Tasby from The Mannish Boys. Poking fun of his advancing age, Elvin asked Finis, “Remember that CD we did? Was that 1995 or 1895? Shit!”

The second morning, Tom Mazzolini reminded the crowd that it was a Festival tradition to open the Sunday show with a gospel act, in this case, The Gospel Hummingbirds. The energy and good feelings generated by The Gospel Hummingbirds only grew stronger as Rick Estrin and the Nightcats took the stage next. Rick, always animated and engaging, dressed for the occasion in a white suit, and played without using his hands during a number, holding the harmonica in his mouth. At one point during the performance, two of the Nightcats, Kid Andersen and Lorenzo Farrell, both played behind their backs. I’ve seen plenty of guitar players do this before, but Lorenzo plays a stand-up bass. He whipped that big boy behind his back without missing a beat. Man, I was impressed! Kid Andersen gave some words of encouragement to aspiring blues guitarists who want to play the blues for a living: “I’ve made hundreds of dollars in this business!”

The last two performers were acts I especially was looking forward to – Buckwheat Zydeco and Johnny Winters. I’d seen Buckwheat perform at The Barns at Wolf Trap on a snowy night Vienna, VA in February 2000, but had never seen Johnny Winter before. Buckwheat, famous for playing accordion, surprised me by playing half of his set on an organ. Johnny Winter played an Erlewine Lazer guitar for most of his set, which included "Tore Down," "Red House," and the Stones’ "It’s All Over Now." He remained seated and rarely opened his eyes during his performance. But, he played an enjoyable set, so much so, that even after a long cold day the audience brought him back for an encore.

San Francisco is one of the most beautiful, exciting, and diverse cities in the world. The San Francisco Blues Festival is held the last weekend in September, when the City offers some of its best weather. I highly encourage blues lovers to make plans to attend in 2009.

Photo Gallery

Related Links
San Francisco Blues Festival
Crosscut Saw Photography by Michael Shea

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