Kansas City’s blues scene has been sizzling nicely this summer with lots of great acts chilling out the local music venues.
Kansas City’s steadfast blues venue BB’s Lawnside BBQ has seen bassist Patrick Recob releasing a new CD, Perpetual Luau, this spring – and it’s been doing really well. Patrick could be seen accompanying several visiting acts, such as Adrianna Marie, The 44s and Orphan Jon and the Abandoned as these groups hit the Midwest for late spring/early summer tours.
Knucklehead’s was hopping several weekends including a great fundraiser for organ donation that brought in performances by Kansas City performers Danielle Nicole and Brandon Miller; Amanda Fish; The Santiago Brothers; and Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band from Louisiana.
Marcus King, the 21-year-old phenomenon out of Mississippi, blew on stage July 1 and staked a claim for the millennial crowd as one of the most promising up-and-comers yet. Teresa James and the Rhythm Tramps opened for Marcus and Walter Trout wrapped up the evening with a solid blues veteran showdown.
Then there was Knuckleheads packed in to hear Robert Cray on July 11 and, out of Memphis, a young blues band with a new debut album by the same name: Southern Avenue, July 14.
I have picked up a couple of new song favorites this summer: One is “Don’t Give Up” from Southern Avenue. And the other is just getting pressed at press time and that’s from Bakersfield blues crooner Jon English of Orphan Jon and the Abandoned: “Leave My Blues Alone”
