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.”