Young Chang It’s an unlikely place for...
Young Chang
It’s an unlikely place for a blues festival. The mood at this
venue is typically more associated with militarism than music.
But in another sense, the American Legion Post 291 in Newport
Beach, right on a strip of water where boats glide by and the sunsets
become extra scenic, is the most appropriate place for the annual
daylong Blues on the Bay concert.
With musicians hailing from as far as London to as close as
Sacramento, the festival will be presented by the Sons of the
American Legion as its largest annual fund-raiser. The all-day
concert will headline Little Charlie and the Nightcats and feature a
handful of others. In the fund-raiser’s five-year life, attendance
has grown from 300 in the first year to 2,000 last year. Sponsors
include IMPAC Lending and Express Capital Lending.
“We started out with a bunch of local bands and pretty much by
word of mouth,” said Fred Scott, the event’s chairman. “We try to get
some different acts in there and let people hear different styles of
blues.”
The day will include Cajun food, drawings, musician signings, and
the chance for musicians and fans to mingle in the name of blues.
Charles Baty, leader of Little Charlie and the Nightcats, said his
group plays the blues as a way to deal with life’s ups and downs.
“A lot of people may think that blues is sad, but our philosophy
is that blues is about dealing with adversity and how we come out of
dealing with bad occurrences in your life,” said the resident of
Davis. “It’s good to deal with these things with a sense of humor
sometimes.”
The band formed 27 years ago, though only two original members
make up the four-person act. Their original gig was to pay tribute to
Chicago blues legend Little Walter and his first band, which was
called Little Walter and the Wildcats. Baty was one of Little
Walter’s biggest fans, and for a while his band’s goal was to play
all of Walter’s songs. Little Charlie soon branched off into
different kinds of blues, though, and today 90% of the nine-album
group’s material is original.
“We think of ourselves as sort of being a blues ambassador of
sorts,” the 49-year-old Baty said.
Scott noted that Little Charlie doesn’t often perform in the area.
Other anticipated acts at the festival include Little George
Sueref and the Blue Stars from London, Blue Voodoo, Catfish Keith,
Aaron King and the Imperials, and the Rick Holmstrom Band.
“It’s the first festival [Rick Holmstrom’s] performing at since he
left Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers,” said Scott, who is involved
with the Sons of the American Legion because his father served in the
Navy.
The chairman hopes to eventually grow the one-day event to two
days.
“Being in the American Legion Hall is a different atmosphere than
other blues festivals, meaning that you can get right close to the
artists that are performing,” Scott said. “You can get right up close
to them and it doesn’t cost you $100.... You can sit right next to
them and have lunch.”
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