Provogue Records artist: Ronnie Baker Brooks - Times Have Changed - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Times Have Changed, by Ronnie Baker Brooks and it's terrific! Opening with Joe Tex number, Show Me, Ronnie Baker Brooks (on vocal and guitar) is kicking ass and taking names right out of the chute featuring Steve Cropper on guitar, Steve Jordan on drums, Willie Weeks on bass, Felix Cavaliere on Hammond, Ben Cauley on trumpet, Lonniie McMillan on tenor sax and Jack Hale Sr on trombone. Big Head Todd sits in on Doing Too Much, a cool blue rocker with Leroy Hodges on bass, Charles Hodges on Hammond and Turner on piano. Recently passed and sorely missed, Lonine Brooks, sits in on Twine Time, a cool, sixties style surf rocker. Rapper, Al Kapone  sits in on traditional blues style track, Times Have Changed, with Weeks setting a great bass line and Brooks' solid vocals and guitar riffs. The addition of Jessie Munson and Wen-Yih Yu on violin, Beth Luscome and Jennifer Puckett on viola, and Mark Wallace and Jonathan Kirkscey on cello add a refined note to the short Kapone rap. Curtis Mayfield's Give me Your Love, a cool jazz infused soul track featuring Angie Stone on vocal has a true Mayfield smoothness. Robert Cray track, Old Love has great style and featuring Bobby Blue Bland on vocal and his own stylistic guitar work makes this a true favorite. On high stepper, Wham Bam Thank You Sam, Brooks really struts with cool vocals, great guitar accents, a solid bass line from Hodges and super R&B style horns. Very cool. Closing the release is When I Was We, featuring Hubby Turner on piano supporting Brooks' warm vocals.

Very nice conclusion to an exceptional release.

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Ronnie Baker Brooks Announces Appearances To Support First New Album In Ten Years

RONNIE BAKER BROOKS ANNOUNCES CONFIRMED APPEARANCES 

PLANNED TO SUPPORT RELEASE OF TIMES HAVE CHANGED, 

HIS FIRST ALBUM IN TEN YEARS

Produced By Steve Jordan, Featuring Lonnie Brooks, “Big Head” Todd Mohr, Bobby “Blue” 

Bland, Steve Cropper, Angie Stone, Eddie Willis, Al Kapone, Felix Cavaliere, Lee Roy Parnell

Out On Provogue / Mascot Label Group January 20, 2017

Chicago, IL --- Ronnie Baker Brooks has announced planned initial appearances for 2017.  Following the Legendary R&B Cruise – At Sea in late-January, he will begin the run at SPACE in Evanston, IL on February 3.  Additional shows are confirmed in St. Paul, Des Moines, Milwaukee and Dubuque (detail below).  Today, the second instant gratification track has been provided to purchasers in front of the January 20^th release.  

Brooks, 49, was born in Chicago, and started playing guitar around age six. At 19, he joined his father, Lonnie Brooks who by then had influenced some of the most well-known bluesman of our history: Jimmy Reed, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Johnny Winter, and Junior Wells. For 12 years, the two would tour together, putting Ronnie out front with Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Koko Taylor. 

Times Have Changed, Brooks’ first album in ten years, carries with it the weight of grown perspective and time spent perfecting old material. Brooks worked it with Steve Jordan, whose work runs from Keith Richards to Stevie Wonder, John Mayer and Eric Clapton. With that comes a lesson in rhythm and blues history. Brooks refers to the director as “a walking encyclopedia of music detail and equipment”, a professor through which Brooks could take that next developmental step. “Once we got the ball rolling, my confidence went higher and higher”, he says. “I’m a better musician for this experience.”

The experience Brooks is talking about is that which came together over the course of a few weeks at Royal Studios in Memphis, the home of Al Green, Syl Johnson and Bobby “Blue” Bland. Jordan and Brooks brought in a mint press of Memphis music royalty: Stax Records staple Steve Cropper (Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave), Archie Turner (Al Green, Syl Johnson, O.V. Wright), jazz saxophonist Lannie McMillan, and R&B icon Angie Stone. For several tracks, Brooks also enlisted brothers Teenie (guitar), Charles (organ) and Leroy Hodges (bass) of the legendary Hi Rhythm Section, which served as the house band for hit soul albums by artists like Al Green and Ann Peebles. “We used the same mics that Al Green used on his record”, says Brooks. “Matter of fact, we were using much of the same band! It kind of took that vibe.” The first track recorded was a cover of Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly hit Give Me Your Love. The second, Twine Time, the instrumental jam from Alvin Cash. 

Several tracks on Times Have Changed were recorded at the legendary Blackbird Studio in Nashville. “It had great hospitality, a great vibe, great tone, great equipment,” Brooks said. “And of course I got to get closer to some of the musicians who live there, Felix Cavaliere, Steve Cropper - they all live there, and it just created a great atmosphere. One of the key things for me was that we got Todd Mohr there, and he was willing to play rhythm guitar along with Lee Roy Parnell, so we got a nice little chemistry going with the three guitar parts together.”

‘Times’ also comes laden with original hits. Five of the eleven tracks were penned by Brooks. Raised on others’ music, he’s always considered the songwriting process to be as sacred. “It’s like having a baby”, he says. “You see it come to life. Once you play it live, it grows even more. That was the most fun part of it, for me: the creative side. Coming up with a song people can relate to, and you relate to, it just snowballs. It’s almost like therapy for me. Like the song Times Have Changed: I wrote that song years ago. I sent Steve my songs and he picked that one. It’s kind of timeless. Every day something’s changing. Now, when I play it live, you can see the effect of it. Initially, it was just an idea: just a riff. Now, this song has influence on people. We were just in Europe this year, after the bombing in Brussels. And we’re playing Brussels. I played that song; people were in tears. It helped them heal.”

The complete track listing features: “Show Me” (feat. Steve Cropper), “Doing Too Much” (feat. “Big Head” Todd Mohr, “Twine Time” (feat. Lonnie Brooks), “Times Have Changed” (feat. Al Kapone), “Long Story Short,” “Give Me Your Love (Love Song) (feat. Angie Stone), “Give The Baby Anything The Baby Wants” (feat. “Big Head” Todd Mohr & Eddie Willis), “Old Love” (feat. Bobby “Blue” Bland), “Come On Up” (feat. Felix Cavaliere & Lee Roy Parnell), “Wham Bam Thank You Sam,” “When I Was We.”

Brooks will stage the following appearances.  Additonal dates will be announced as they are confirmed:

1/21                                                                             Legenday R&B Cruise – At Sea

2.03     Evanston, IL                                                   SPACE

2/10     St. Paul, MN                                                   MN Music Cafe

2/11     Des Moines, IA                                               Blues Fest

2/24     Milwaukee, WI                                               Shank Hall

2/25     Dubuque, IA                                                   Mystique Casino

Ronnie Baker Brooks Announces First New Album In Ten Years

RONNIE BAKER BROOKS ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF 

TIMES HAVE CHANGED, HIS FIRST ALBUM IN TEN YEARS

Produced By Steve Jordan, Featuring Lonnie Brooks, “Big Head” Todd Mohr, Bobby “Blue” Bland, 

Steve Cropper, Angie Stone, Eddie Willis, Al Kapone, Felix Cavaliere, Lee Roy Parnell

Out On Provogue / Mascot Label Group January 20, 2017

Chicago, IL --- Brooks, 49, was born in Chicago, and started playing guitar around age six. At 19, he joined his father, Lonnie Brooks who by then had influenced some of the most well-known bluesman of our history: Jimmy Reed, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Johnny Winter, and Junior Wells. For 12 years, the two would tour together, putting Ronnie out front with Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Koko Taylor. 

Times Have Changed, Brooks’ first album in ten years, carries with it the weight of grown perspective and time spent perfecting old material. Brooks worked it with Steve Jordan, whose work runs from Keith Richards to Stevie Wonder, John Mayer and Eric Clapton. With that comes a lesson in rhythm and blues history. Brooks refers to the director as “a walking encyclopedia of music detail and equipment”, a professor through which Brooks could take that next developmental step. “Once we got the ball rolling, my confidence went higher and higher”, he says. “I’m a better musician for this experience.”

The experience Brooks is talking about is that which came together over the course of a few weeks at Royal Studios in Memphis, the home of Al Green, Syl Johnson and Bobby “Blue” Bland. Jordan and Brooks brought in a mint press of Memphis music royalty: Stax Records staple Steve Cropper (Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave), Archie Turner (Al Green, Syl Johnson, O.V. Wright), jazz saxophonist Lannie McMillan, and R&B icon Angie Stone. For several tracks, Brooks also enlisted brothers Teenie (guitar), Charles (organ) and Leroy Hodges (bass) of the legendary Hi Rhythm Section, which served as the house band for hit soul albums by artists like Al Green and Ann Peebles. “We used the same mics that Al Green used on his record”, says Brooks. “Matter of fact, we were using much of the same band! It kind of took that vibe.” The first track recorded was a cover of Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly hit Give Me Your Love. The second, Twine Time, the instrumental jam from Alvin Cash. 

“To be honest with you, when Steve said ‘Man, we need an instrumental,’ the first person I thought of was Freddie King. Steve wanted something more appealing to all people, not just guitar players. He said ‘What about Twine Time?’’ I said, ‘Is he serious?’ Yeah, Twine Time. But that song was a key to this album. Man, that just lit the fire for this record. It became one of the funnest tracks we did.”

Several tracks on Times Have Changed were recorded at the legendary Blackbird Studio in Nashville. “It had great hospitality, a great vibe, great tone, great equipment,” Brooks said. “And of course I got to get closer to some of the musicians who live there, Felix Cavaliere, Steve Cropper - they all live there, and it just created a great atmosphere. One of the key things for me was that we got Todd Mohr there, and he was willing to play rhythm guitar along with Lee Roy Parnell, so we got a nice little chemistry going with the three guitar parts together.”

‘Times’ also comes laden with original hits. Five of the eleven tracks were penned by Brooks. Raised on others’ music, he’s always considered the songwriting process to be as sacred. “It’s like having a baby”, he says. “You see it come to life. Once you play it live, it grows even more. That was the most fun part of it, for me: the creative side. Coming up with a song people can relate to, and you relate to, it just snowballs. It’s almost like therapy for me. Like the song Times Have Changed: I wrote that song years ago. I sent Steve my songs and he picked that one. It’s kind of timeless. Every day something’s changing. Now, when I play it live, you can see the effect of it. Initially, it was just an idea: just a riff. Now, this song has influence on people. We were just in Europe this year, after the bombing in Brussels. And we’re playing Brussels. I played that song; people were in tears. It helped them heal.”

It’s on that title track that Brooks brandishes what may be his finest songwriting talent: the ability to humanize social issues and unite different voices into one cohesive thought. That’s no more evident than in the latter stages of the song, in which Brooks deploys his longtime friend, Memphis' Al Kapone, to drop 32 bars on what the future holds for our people.

“My whole intention, when I started with Golddigger (his 1998 debut album) and up through this one, was to be authentic enough for the older generation but have something that the younger generation could latch onto,” says Brooks. “I try to be that bridge. With Take Me Witcha (2001), I’ve got a rapper on that. On The Torch (2006) we went with Al Kapone. He’s a bridge. He’s a bridge from blues to hip-hop. With music, it all comes from the heart. It comes from the heart and from the soul. In blues, it doesn’t matter what you’re talking about, it relates.

“That was my intention on this record: to build that bridge.”

The complete track listing features: “Show Me” (feat. Steve Cropper), “Doing Too Much” (feat. “Big Head” Todd Mohr, “Twine Time” (feat. Lonnie Brooks), “Times Have Changed” (feat. Al Kapone), “Long Story Short,” “Give Me Your Love (Love Song) (feat. Angie Stone), “Give The Baby Anything The Baby Wants” (feat. “Big Head” Todd Mohr & Eddie Willis), “Old Love” (feat. Bobby “Blue” Bland), “Come On Up” (feat. Felix Cavaliere & Lee Roy Parnell), “Wham Bam Thank You Sam,” “When I Was We.”

A Reunion Party Weekend 35 Years In The Making!

** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE **

A REUNION PARTY WEEKEND 35 YEARS IN THE MAKING!

KANSAS CITY (April 24, 2014) – The hottest ticket in the Blues, The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, which sails on the high seas twice a year, is hosting their Annual Cruiser Reunion shows for 3 nights this year. Based in Kansas City, the LRBC is the brainchild of Roger Naber, (former co-owner of the Grand Emporium live music venue) who is also celebrating 35 years as a music promoter in tandem with the music on stage. With the next two sold-out upcoming LRBC's, Kansas City music fans will have an opportunity to see six varied internationally famous acts at the well known and respected Knuckleheads honkey-tonk venue.
Performing over the 3 day Memorial Day weekend soiree, May 23, 24 & 25, will be Blues Hall of Famer, Otis Clay and his 10 piece band, Royal Southern Brotherhood, an all-star band which includes music royalty names such as Cyril Neville and Devon Allman, Alligator recording artist, Rick Estrin & the Nightcats, Ronnie Baker Brooks, more blues royalty and a cruiser favorite, pianist Eden Brent, three-times Blues Music Award recipient, plus English guitar slinger, Joanne Shaw Taylor. One of the announced Special Guests who will be in Kansas City for the entire weekend will be pianist Leon Blue, who performed with the legendary Albert King 35 years ago for Naber's first Uptown Theater promotion.
To wrap up the weekend, there will be a Free Cabin For Two drawing, for the October 24-31, 2015 LRBC # 25, which will sail on the Holland America ms Westerdam from Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The winning ticket will be drawn just before the final performance on Sunday night. One does not need to be present as any person who attends any of the 3 nights of the Anniversary Reunion will be have a chance to win the prize.

A PASSION FOR AMERICAN BLUES MUSIC

Roger Naber's 35 Year Anniversary as a music promoter is considered quite a milestone for what began simply as a passion for American Blues Music. In Kansas City, Roger is mostly known as the co-owner of the Grand Emporium live music venue from 1985-2004. During his 20 year run as booking proprietor, he featured live music 6-7 nights a week at the well established venue.
Blues giants such as John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Koko Taylor, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Robert Cray performed, plus the newer generation, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jonny Lang and Joe Bonamassa. Jazz, reggae and rock musicians such as Harry Connick Jr., Wynton Marsalis, The Neville Brothers, Chick Corea, Jimmy Cliff, Dave Mathews, Wilco, Flaming Lips, and The Wallflowers also had their turn at the midtown venue. The Grand Emporium twice received the Keeping The Blues Alive Award as "Best Blues Nightclub." The Grand Emporium musician and poster archives can still be seen at the UMKC Marr Sound Archives, UMKC Miller Nichols LIbrary, 5100 Rockhill Road, Kansas City, MO 64110 or online at http://library.umkc.edu/spec-col-collections/grand-emporium
A pioneering entrepreneur, Naber co-founded the KC Blues Society in 1980, while serving as President for 13 years, the KCBS was honored with a Keeping The Blues Alive Award as best non-profit by the Blues Foundation in Memphis. He co-founded the Kansas City Blues Festival in 1981, the Kansas City Blues and Jazz Festival in 1990, and promoted the city's Annual Thanksgiving Blues Breakfast Dance for more than 20 years.
Taking to the ocean and sands, Naber co-founded the Ultimate Rhythm & Blues Cruise 1992 with his Grand Emporium partners, and more recently, the Blues Industry's highly popular and successful Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruises (bluescruise.com) in 2001. Naber was again awarded "Promoter of the Year" by the Blues Foundation for the LRBC in 2005. In 2003, he became a founding partner in Cloud 9 Adventures, which promotes the Jam Cruises, Holy Ship and various international land music events.
Today there are many music cruises sailing the high seas in the wake of the original Blues Cruise Charter Naber and his partners sailed in 1992.

Roger has been a tireless worker for the blues industries non-profits. Most recently, the LRBC has raised in excess of $300,000 for the Blues Hall of Fame in Memphis which is becoming a reality this summer across the street from the Civil Rights Museum. In total, the cruises have raised in excess of $600,000 for various non-profits' needs.
After 35 years in the business, Naber still maintains that "it's all about the music" and spends the cruise off-season scouting talent and promoting upcoming cruises at land festivals nationwide.

THE "CRUISER REUNION WEEKEND" MUSIC LINEUP

Friday, May 23rd:

Royal Southern Brotherhood is an American blues and blues rock supergroup, consisting of singer and percussionist Cyril Neville, from the famed iconic Neville Brothers Band, co-band leader, vocalist and guitarist Devon Allman, son of Gregg Allman, co-band leader, vocalist and guitarist Mike Zito, drummer Yonrico Scott, formerly of Derek Trucks Band whose recording career looks like a Who's who, and bassist Charlie Wooton, also of Bonerama and his own band Charlie Wooten Project. royalsouthernbrotherhood.com

Joanne Shaw Taylor, raised in England and discovered by Dave Stewart of the Eurithmics, Joanne has won numerous awards in England and now has released 4 album CDs on Germany's RUF Records. Joanne is making her first KC appearance just coming off a tour of Australia performing at the acclaimed Byron Bay Blues Festival. A powerful blues rocker not to be missed. joanneshawtaylor.com
Saturday, May 24th:

Otis Clay is an American treasure, having been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame this past year. He's one of a handful of Deep Soul singers who still command the Hi Records Memphis sound, much in the vein of Otis Redding and Solomon Burke. His song "Trying To Live My Life Without You" was one of Bob Seger's bigger hits. Otis brings a 10-piece group of horns, keys and backup singers. otisclay.net

Kicking off the show will be Rick Estrin & the Nightcats, one of blues most colorful frontmen. Rick ranks up as one of the world's premier harmonica players, song writers and frontmen in the blues world having won the BMA in 2013 in the harmonica category. Rick and the San Francisco based band recorded and videotaped a homage underground track to the LRBC simply titled, "I Met Her On The Blues Cruise". rickestrin.com
Sunday, May 25th:

Ronnie Baker Brooks will be showcasing his new 7-piece band which he is bringing to the West Coast cruise in October. The son of Blues Hall of Famer, Lonnie Brooks, Ronnie also has Rodd Bland, son of the late Bobby Bland, on drums. Carrying o the torch of the masters, Ronnie and the full band have a new CD due for release this year. ronniebakerbrooks.com

Multiple Blues Music Award Winner and LRBC Piano Bar favorite, Eden Brent brings her band as she is touring in support of her latest CD, "Jigsaw Heart". Little Boogaloo as she is known to her Mississippi music fans carries on the deep style of the Boogaloo tradition she learned first hand. edenbrent.com

How to obtain tickets and lodging:

Tickets are only $50 per person for a 3 Day Pass!

Click to purchase your 3-Day Pass direct from the venue

Specific show tickets are also available @ $20/night in Advance or $25/night at the Door

A downtown host hotel has been pre-arranged for those traveling with
a limited number of hotels rooms still available until May 2nd!
Aladdin Holiday Inn, 1215 Wyandotte St., Kansas City, MO 64105
Reservations: 866-270-9274 and reference "LRBC Blues Cruise Reunion" or visit this link

2715 Rochester • Kansas City MO, 64120
(816) 483-1456 / (816) 483-6407
Voted KC's Best Live Music Venue 9 years running

# # #
For information or further press inquiries:
Contact LeAnne Clay: (816) 753-7979 or bluesin@bluescruise.com

A special thank you to Cruiser Reunion Party Weekend sponsor, Holland America Line!

313 Lawrence Ave. • Kansas City, MO 64111 • 816-753-7979 • 888-Bluesin' • BluesCruise.com

legendary.blues.cruise

I Had My Chance - Ronnie Baker Brooks

"Being there with my dad, Eddy Clearwater, Jimmy Johnson and Willie Kent, all of whom I admire so much, that was a dream come true. We all played our butts off that day and had a blast."

Brooks has earned his spot on the front lines. He spent a dozen years backing his father, watching how the master entertainer drew enthusiastic responses night after night. For years, the younger Brooks put his lessons on stage every night, opening his father's show to great response. With his father's blessing, he left the band to strike out on his own shortly after releasing his own debut album, Golddigger in 1998.

Like his father before him, Brooks became a Chicago blues mainstay, playing regularly in Chicago area clubs. After the release of his second album, 2001's Take Me Witcha, he hit the road for what turned out to be a seemingly non-stop three-year tour, picking up devoted new fans all along the way. And while he hadn't planned to take five years between recordings, he did want to do it right. He made up for lost time by packing as many tunes as possible on THE TORCH.

"The good thing is I had time to test almost all of these songs on an audience and to work them out with the band", Brooks says. "We knew what songs people loved, and we got them just the way we want them. It gave us a lot of confidence in the studio knowing that people already loved these songs."

Indeed, the album celebrates all that Ronnie Baker Brooks is -- a man with both a legacy and a vision, a man uniquely suited to carry THE TORCH.
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Chicage Blues: A Living History (The Revolution Continues) New Release Review

This is a very enjoyable double cd release of classic blues tunes played by the likes of Billy Boy Arnold, John Primer, Billy Branch, Carlos Johnson and Lurrie Bell with special guests Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Magic Slim and featuring Ronnie Baker Brooks, Zora Young and Mike Avery. They cover all of the bases from Chuck Berry to Lonnie Johnson. This is a cd that should be in everyones collection.
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Check it out you'll like it!

Stuck On Stupid - Ronnie Baker Brooks

"I grew up among the best of the best," Brooks says. "Every time I play, I feel like I've got to do it with the authenticity and passion that I saw in guys like Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and my father. But I also have to put my twist on it. None of those guys repeated what came before them."

Brooks' twist involves enlivening blues-rock with deep soul and modern hip-hop vocals and funk rhythms. Working with Minneapolis producer Jellybean Johnson, a veteran collaborator of Prince and Janet Jackson, Brooks takes roots sounds and transforms them into something that spans the ages.

"I like to think of how Muddy Waters took the Mississippi blues he heard in his youth and modernized it for his times by making it electric and harder," Brooks explains. "That's what I'm trying to do for my generation. I want to take what's authentic and powerful about the music I grew up loving and bring in other influences without losing the heart and conviction of it."


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Chesepeake Bay Blues Fest - Blues Ace Reporting

Blues Aficionado Allen "Blues Ace" Anthony was on the scene for the festival as usual and brought us some great photos as well as short commentary. The picture of

Motor City Josh is of him (left) and his brother bringing the house down at the end of their set. What a pleasant surprise that band was! I had no idea how good that guy was.

Mac Arnold made his guitar out of a gas can. While it’s more of a guitar than many of Super Chikan’s glorified Diddley Bows, it also sounds it’s best when played with a slide rather than any primitive attempts at fretting notes or chords. (More to come on Mac Arnold). He spent a lot of time in the LA music scene for much of his career and has semi-retired back to South Carolina where he bases his band, Plateful of Blues. Another interesting thing about him is that he grew up with James Brown and played in high school bands with “The Godfather of Soul.”

John Mayall played a nice set. Did 3 songs off the Bluesbreakers “Beano” albums. Parchman Farm, and a few others. Also did a song, L&M Blues, aka Ridin’ On The L&M, which I know from other blues artists covers of it. But he introduced it as being a Lionel Hampton composition which I did not know.

Little Feat is always interesting every time I’ve seen them and this was no exception. They called out Nighthawks harpist Mark Wenner to play a couple songs, in particular Dixie Chicken, which is what they were playing when the photo was taken. First time I ever heard them play Dixie Chicken “stand-alone.” All of the half dozen times I’ve seen them they have morphed Dixie Chicken into a medley of some sort which almost always included Tripe Face Boogie. But this was about a 12-14 minute rendition of Dixie Chicken by itself. Their set was cut short by the demands that Kenny Wayne Shepherd take the stage at exactly his scheduled time. Fred Tackett looked like he was ready to break the band into Feats Don’t Fail Me Now as an encore, but they swept their carcases off the stage promptly. They even said, “We’d like to play one more but our time is up.” They were having fun and the crowd was heavily into it.

Then Kenny Wayne came on and played a standard set.

Ray Manzarek-Roy Rogers was very good by my estimation but I don’t think too many people got as excited by them as I did. Manzarek at one point played an instrumental solo of The Crystal Ship that was the highlight of their set. They also did Riders On the Storm where Manzarek sang and the crowd loved that but it was just OK. He also announced some kind of 40th anniversary of Jim Morrison’s death concert in Paris next month where they were going to play.

Roy Rogers did not have his guitar coming through the PA like it should have. It was weak so it’s hard to tell how good he was really. It was the only issue I had with the sound production for the whole two days of the festival.

Ronnie Baker Brooks damn near stole the whole show. He was terriffic! Way better than Lonnie Brooks was a couple years back. Looking forward to seeing him on the Cruise.

The Lee Boys were great. It’s a band of all family, either brothers or nephews, cousins, and uncles. They call their music “Sacred Steel” which is a base of gospel with generous portions of blues, jazz, mixed with part soul, r&b, and country. It’s is much like Robert Randolph. This band is basically a top notch rhythm section in support of their centerpiece, keystone, and focal point, Roosevelt “The Dr.” on pedal steel and lap slide guitar. I got to say, in a head-cuttin’ contest with the Devil on pedal steel, and my soul on the line, I might take Roosevelt over anybody alive including Robert Randolph! That dude was awesome.