2005 Madison Ribberfest Blues Bash
Harman-Watson
duo, Castro
to headline 2005 blues event
Castro headlines on Friday night
By
Levi King
Staff Writer
MADISON, Ind. (Aug. 12, 2005) – With several
big name musicians on the schedule, event organizers have promised that
this year’s Madison Ribberfest will be the “bluesiest”
yet. The fourth annual event will feature the Tommy Castro Band, Mark
Selby, Omar and the Howlers, James Harman, and Junior Watson.
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James Harman |
The Tommy Castro Band will take the stage at 8 p.m. (EST-slow
time) Friday. Castro, a native of San Jose, Calif., discovered the blues
through B.B. King’s “Cook County Jail” album as a kid.
Inspired by the music, he picked up the guitar and never looked back.
Castro’s music reveals influences like Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters,
Otis Redding, Ray Charles, and James Brown.
Castro, 50, played in several bands in the San Francisco area, including
Warner Brothers recording act the Dynatones before starting his own
band in 1991. Castro produced his debut album, “No Foolin’,”
in 1993 and followed up two years later with the breakthrough “Exception
to the Rule” on Blind Pig Records.
The Tommy Castro Band was selected as the house band for NBC’s
“Comedy Showcase” in the late 1990s. Castro’s 1999 album,
“Right as Rain,” featured guests Dr. John and Delbert McClinton.
In 2001, Castro and crew toured and performed with heroes John Hiatt,
Guy and King. The late John Lee Hooker performed on Castro’s critically
acclaimed 33rd St. Records release, “
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Mike "Junior" Watson
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Guilty of Love,” that same year. Area blues enthusiasts may be familiar with the guitar slinger’s live performances, since he has appeared several times at Stevie Ray’s in Louisville.
Songwriter and Vanguard recording artist Mark Selby follows
at 10 p.m. Friday with his brand of fat guitar blues. Selby, an Oklahoma
native, moved to Nashville in the 1990s to pursue songwriting. His versatile
style paired him with artists from diverse genres. Selby struck gold
when he wrote the No. 1 hit, “There’s Your Trouble,”
for the Dixie Chicks, as well as songs for Wynonna Judd, Trisha Yearwood
and Keb Mo’.
Don’t be fooled, however. Selby promises to bring soulful blues
to the riverfront. He has toured with King, Robert Cray and Jeff Beck,
and written several tunes for blues whiz kid Kenny Wayne Shepherd, including
the 1998 smash, “Blue on Black.” Selby’s own albums,
“More Storms Comin’” and “Dirt,” have garnered
praise from fans of rock and blues alike.
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Tommy Castro
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Saturday’s musical lineup begins at noon with Louisville’s LA Groove. The Gordon Bonham Blues Band of Indianapolis will perform at 1:30 p.m., followed by Chicago bluesmen Studebaker John and the Hawks at 3 p.m., and Guy Davis and the High Flyin’ Rockets at 5 p.m.
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Guy Davis
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Fans will recognize Davis’ rootsy acoustic blues
from his performances on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,”
radio’s “World Café” and numerous festivals around
the globe. Those who don’t may recognize him from another performance
– as Dr. Josh Hall on the soap opera “One Life to Live”
in the mid 1980s. The son of the late famed actor, Ossie Davis, Guy
Davis draws influence from southern bluesmen like Blind Willie McTell
and Mississippi John Hurt as well as storytellers like Zora Neale Hurston.
Omar and the Howlers take the stage at 7 p.m. Omar Dykes was born in
McComb, Miss., where he learned to play guitar by hanging around the
black clubs. Dykes graduated from high school, formed the Howlers and
began performing in the southeast. In 1976, the band moved to Austin,
Texas, where they perfected their style of “electric Texas blues.”
Omar and the Howlers, who claim Stevie Ray Vaughan as one of their greatest
influences, have recorded more than 10 albums in their prolific career.
Saturday’s headliner, James Harman, with very special guest Mike
“Junior” Watson, will perform at 9 p.m. Harman, whom many
consider to be one of the greatest living harmonica players, was born
into a musical family in Anniston, Ala.
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Mark Selby
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As a child, he learned to play several instruments, including
piano, guitar and harmonica. In 1962, he moved to Panama City, Fla.,
where he frequented black nightclubs to hear acts like Little Milton
Campbell, Jimmy Reed and Redding. Harman began performing with local
musicians and put together his own bands, performing under many different
names. In 1964, a label manager took the 18-year-old bluesman to Atlanta
to record a 45 rpm record, and he spent the next several years touring
the eastern United States.
In 1970, Harman moved to southern California, where he still resides.
In his career spanning more than four decades, Harman has released 29
recordings, received 14 W.C. Handy Blues Award nominations and played
alongside greats like Freddie King, Waters, T-Bone Walker and Albert
Collins. While Harman doesn’t go on tour with a band anymore, he
often performs weekend festivals alone, with Watson or with guitarist
Kid Ramos, who performed at last year’s Madison Ribberfest.
Watson, meanwhile, boasts an equally impressive resume. In more than
30 years as a blues guitarist, he has performed and recorded with an
all-star roster of musicians, including Big Mama Thorton, Charlie Musselwhite,
Shakey Jake and Jimmy Rogers.
Watson was a founding member of The Mighty Flyers. Watson joined Canned
Heat in the 1980s and continued to tour with the band through much of
the 1990s.
“Every year we get a little bit better and a little bit bigger,”
said Rocky Harrell, who serves on the Madison Ribberfest's Blues Bash
subcommittee, which selects the bands.
“We showed the brochure for this year’s festival to Tommy
Castro, and he went nuts. He couldn’t believe the acts we had listed.
Castro wanted to know how in the world we got James Harman to fly out
here all the way from California. He wanted to cancel a gig he’d
booked for Saturday in northern Indiana so he could stay and watch Harman
and Junior Watson.”
Harrell added the festival has become so well known in the blues community
that artists from all over the country are sending their publicity kits
and CDs for consideration.
“We’ve got different styles of blues musicians coming – horns,
acoustic, swing-style, keyboards," Harrell said. "We feel
every year that we take one step farther. The biggest reason the festival
is so good is because of the sponsors. If fans went to see these acts
without the sponsors, they’d be paying $25 each night.”
• For more information or to order tickets, call the Madison
Area Convention & Visitors Bureau at 1-800-559-2956 or visit: www.madisonribberfest.com.
 Pick Up our Madison Ribberfest Guide in mid-August! Madison Ribberfest Friday-Saturday, Aug. 19-20, 2005 on the Madison, Ind., riverfront Friday Bands - (EST-slow time) • 6 p.m.: Chicago Rhythm & Blues Kings • 8 p.m.: The Tommy Castro Band • 10 p.m.: Mark Selby Saturday
Bands - (EST-slow time) Aug. 19. Single day tickets: $10 Friday; $15 Saturday. Children 12-under free. To order call (812) 265-2956 or 1-800-559-2956 or visit: www.madisonribberfest.com |
Other
Weekend Events:
Ribberfest Food Court: Enjoy delicious beef, chicken and pork
from Midway vendors.
Pigmania: Community sponsored concrete pig decorating contest
to benefit local scholarship awards to agricultural-related majors.
Festival Times:
Gates open at 5 p.m. Friday;
11 a.m. Saturday
Admission Wristbands
Through Aug. 1, $20 for Two-Day Pass (Includes $10 in food/beverage
tickets)
Aug. 2-20, $20 for Two-Day Pass (No food/beverage tickets)
Friday, Aug. 19 only: $10
Saturday,
Aug. 20 only: $15
Children 12-under free.
Cooking Competitions
Indiana State Barbeque Cookoff Entry Fee: $200 per cooking team
Backyard Barbeque Blast
(Amateur Contest) = $20 per team
Balloon Rides = $125 per person (Reserve early by calling the
CVB)
No video or audio recording allowed; no coolers, food or beverage allowed;
no pets, skateboards, bikes or rollerblades allowed.