July 2013 - Toronto Blues Society

July 2013 www.torontobluessociety.com Published by the Toronto Blues Society since 1985 info@torontobluessociety.com Vol 29, No 7 

Shemekia Copeland will 

set the main stage on fire at 

the Kitchener Blues Festival 

Saturday afternoon, August 10 

M 

Jun 

Sugar Brown 

Summer Blues Festivals 

John’s Blues Picks 

Loose Blues News 

Event Listings 

and more 

CANADIAN PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT #40011871

Toronto Blues Society 

910 Queen St. W. Ste. B04 

Toronto, Canada M6J 1G6 

Tel. (416) 538-3885 

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Email: info@torontobluessociety.com 

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MapleBlues is published monthly by the Toronto 

Blues Society ISSN 0827-0597 

2013 BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

Derek Andrews (President), Jon Arnold 

(Executive), Gord Brown, Lucie Dufault 

(Secretary), Sharon Evans, Sarah French, 

Michael Malone (Treasurer), Ed Parsons 

(Executive), Norman Robinson, Paul 

Sanderson, Mike Smith (Executive), John 

Valenteyn (Executive) 

Musicians Advisory Council: Lance Anderson, 

Brian Blain, Gary Kendall, Al Lerman, Lily 

Sazz, Mark Stafford, Suzie Vinnick 

Membership Committee: Mike Malone, 

Lucie Dufault, Gord Brown, Sarah 

French, Mike Smith, Debbie Brown, Ed 

Parsons, Norm Robinson, Rick Battiston 

Volunteer Committee: Ed Parsons, Sharon 

Evans, Lucie Dufault 

Membership Coordinator: Jordan Safer 

Honorary Membership Coordinator: Rick 

Battiston 

Office and Event Coordinator: Jordan Safer 

Grants Officer: Barbara Isherwood 

Sponsorship Coordinator: Dougal Bichan 

Webmistress: Janine Stoll 

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief: Derek Andrews 

Managing Editor: Brian Blain 

Contributing Editor: John Valenteyn 

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Loney 

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2 MapleBlues July 2013 www.torontobluessociety.com

MARK YOUR CALENDAR 

Thursday July 4 TBS First Thursday with Fraser/Daley 

at Gladstone Hotel. 

The Toronto Blues Society presents the best in blues talent 

the first Thursday of each month at the Melody Bar in 

The Gladstone Hotel. Catch Fraser/Daley on July 4 and 

mark your calendars for upcoming Gladstone series 

shows including Danny Marks (Aug 1), Jerome 

Godboo (Sep 5) and Michael Pickett (Oct 3). 

http://www.gladstonehotel.com. 

Communication Survey 

Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey on TBS's 

communication to help serve you better: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YZT8P5X 

The Toronto Blues Society 

has moved from a "group" to 

a "page" on Facebook! "Like" 

the page right away to not 

miss any announcements 

made on Facebook! https:// 

www.facebook.com/ 

TorontoBluesSociety 

For those on Twitter, 

follow us @tobluessociety 

The Toronto Blues Society 

is a Registered Charity! 

The TBS has lost our friend and long-time, dedicated volunteer Rick Battiston who 

passed away at the age of 71. One of his proudest moments was being presented 

with the Maple Blues Award for his contribution to the Toronto Blues Society for his 

many years of volunteer service. Rest in peace, Rick. 

Make a donation beyond membership 

and merchandise, and get your charitable 

tax receipt in time for this year! (Charitable 

# 87487 7509 RR0001). You will be helping 

to support events like the annual Women's 

Blues Revue at Massey Hall, The Blues 

in the Schools program, The monthly 

Gladstone Blues Series, numerous 

workshops and carreer development 

activities for the musician community 

as well as the Maple Blues Awards and 

the Blues Summit conference, the most 

important blues industry gathering in 

Canada that occurs every other year. 

Networking events within this conference 

allow for industry discussion alongside 

artist discovery through the showcase 

program. 

www.torontobluessociety.com 

MapleBlues July 2013 3

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Introducing 

Sugar Brown 

The winner of this year's Talent Search was 

Sugar Brown (aka Ken Kawashima), an artist 

with an interesting story, so we asked him to 

tell it himself. 

Bowling Green, Ohio, that’s where I was 

born on June 5, 1971. Bowling Green is an 

hour south of Detroit. My father was born in 

Tokyo, Japan and my mother was born near 

Pyongyang, Korea. They met in Seoul in the 

mid-60s and then my father did a PhD at 

Harvard to study ancient Korean history. He 

became a professor at Bowling Green State 

University and that’s why I was born there. 

When I was sixteen in Ohio, I started 

listening to blues music on NPR’s radio show, 

“Blues before Sunrise,” hosted by Steve 

Cushing in Chicago. Then, when I became 

an undergraduate student at the University 

of Chicago, a great blues harmonica player 

in Chicago named David Waldman took me 

under his wing, so to speak, and introduced me 

to great classic blues records and legendary 

blues musicians in Chicago. He introduced 

me to the music of Little Walter and everything 

changed. I practiced harmonica every day 

and bought used records every week. I 

couldn’t get enough. I started learning basic 

blues guitar in the style of Jimmy Rogers. I 

was long gone into the blues at that point. 

While many of my close music-loving friends 

from university listened to contemporary 

bands like Fugazi, the Pogues, Dinosaur Jr., 

and Sonic Youth, my favorite records were by 

Little Walter, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, 

Robert Nighthawk, Robert Jr. Lockwood, 

T-Bone Walker, and Lightnin’ Hopkins. Every 

week I saw incredible blues musicians 

perform live: Sunnyland Slim, Jimmy Rogers, 

Willie Smith, Pinetop Perkins, Dave and Louis 

Myers, Jimmie Lee Robinson, Big Wheeler, 

Little Mack Simmons, Byther Smith, Johnny 

B. Moore, Anson Funderburgh, Sam Myers, 

Junior Watson, and the singer I used to play 

with on the West Side, Taildragger. Eventually, 

Taildragger asked me to be in his band, The 

La-Z Boys. I played harmonica for him over 

the course of three years or so. Taildragger’s 

still performing today to delighted audiences. 

But in 1994, and for a few years after, he was 

doing time prison for fatally shooting Boston 

Blackie, another west side bluesman. Aside 

from that unfortunate incident, it was a truly 

great time to be in Chicago on the West Side. 

Listening to those records, combined with 

hearing, learning, and playing live blues in 

Sugar Brown (aka Ken Kawashima) will be joined by Montreal harpmeister Bharath Rajakumar for gigs at 

Dominion on Queen (July 6 and Aug 31) and Axis Bar and Grill on July 27. He plays The Local on July 9 with Mr. 

Rick. And the gig of a lifetime will be joining blues legends Junior Watson and Fred Kaplan (as well as Bharath) 

for a gig at The Paddock Tavern on July 13 

Chicago in small bars and clubs like the 5101 

Club and the Delta Fish Market, formed the 

core of my musical life down to the present 

day. I’m forty-two years old and pretty 

much the only music I’ve played since I was 

nineteen years old is the blues that I learned 

in Chicago. Maybe some day I’ll play music 

that isn’t blues, but I’ve realized—especially 

with the help of my friend in Montreal, 

Bharath Rajakumar—that the blues I listened 

to, learned, and play is my automatic-go-to 

music, my ‘default setting’, and no matter 

what instrument I play, whether it’s the guitar, 

harmonica, piano, or whatever, it’s the music 

that I always play and want to play. It’s taken 

me a while to realize this fully, but at least I 

know now and don’t have to think too much 

about it. Now, it’s only a question of how 

deeply I can plumb its depths and actualize 

it on stage and in the studio. 

Since the summer of 2011, I’ve been 

working closely with Montreal-based blues 

musician and recording engineer, Bharath 

Rajakumar. We’ve become strong brothers. 

We both share a profound love for, and 

devotion to, the music of Little Walter. I believe 

strongly that he is the greatest living blues 

harmonica player since Little Walter. In any 

case, Little Walter’s music is a very deep, 

common ground between us; it forms a core 

understanding of what we believe must be 

done to execute this blues live, today, both 

on stage and in the studio. He’s done amazing 

work with a great band (Bharath and his 

Rhythm Four) over the past fifteen years in 

Montreal, and I feel lucky to play with them 

all—Ben, Costa, and Colin. 

So for the past couple of years, I’ve been 

driving back and forth between Toronto and 

Montreal to play these blues. I’ve composed 

endless verses to an endless song called, 

predictably, the “401 Blues.” But all the time 

driving back and forth between the 416 and 

the 514 has been worth it in order to play 

these blues that we play and sing. Fortunately, 

Bharath is now coming more and more to 

Toronto as well, and it’s great to play blues 

with him in Toronto. In Toronto, we’ve done 

gigs at Gate 403, The Local, Axis, Hawaii Bar, 

the Rex, the Paddock Tavern, and soon at the 

Dominion on Queen. In Montreal, I’ve been 

playing with Bharath’s band at Griffintown 

Café, Upstairs, and soon at a nice joint on 

St. Laurent called Sparrow. We’re currently 

planned to do a three-week tour in August 

spanning Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and 

New Brunswick. And, thanks to the TBS, we’ll 

be playing at the Kitchener Blues Fest in early 

August. 



Blues is the 

soundtrack 

of experience. 

Christmas With The Blues - 2012 

Soul Bender - 2011 

Different Views - 2009 

Acoustic: Official Bootleg Series 

Volume 2 - 2006 

Skeleton Key U.S. Release - 2006 

Vibe - 2004 

Live at Deer Lake Official Bootleg Series 

Volume 1 - 2003 

Skeleton Key - 2002 

Halfway to Memphis - 2001 

Change of Pace - 2000 

Bare Bones - 1999 

Dine Under The Stars - 1999 

DaviD GoGo - Come on Down 

AvAilAble everywhere July 2, 2013 

www.davidgogo.com | www.cordovabay.com 


The 2nd annual Amy Louie Grossman's Music Scholarship fund raiser took place at the club on Tuesday, June 18th 

with performances by The New Orleans Connection, Brian Cober & Bill Hedefine, Steve Grisbrook, Kim Doolittle, 

Danny Marks, Gary Kendall, Shakey Dagenais, Tyler Burgess, The McDonald Rush Band, The Swingin Blackjacks, 

Jerome Godboo and Caution Jam. This years recipients of the award, The Responsibles represented by Louis 

Waring(keys) and Michael Shapinko(bass) were presented with a cheque for $750 by Tony and Christina Louie on 

behalf of the scholarship fund in the name of their sister, the late Amy Louie. The group will receive another $750 

from the fund when they complete their current recording project. The fund raising event added another $1500 

to ALGMS and provided those in attendance with an evening of stellar entertainment. Photo by Eric Fefferman 

Musicians Take Note: If your band is 

ready for the big stage (“market-ready,” as 

they say), then there are a couple of career 

development opportunities you should 

consider: 

The International Blues Challenge will 

take place on Beale Street in Memphis 

January 21-25, 2014. The TBS is holding a 

live performance competition (date and 

venue TBC) to determine which artists 

will be sanctioned by TBS to compete in 

Memphis. Two artists will be selected in the 

following categories to perform in front of 

industry professional judges: Band, Solo/ 

duo, Youth (under 21). If you are an artist 

who is market-ready and financially able 

to incur all costs and time associated with 

registering and travelling to Memphis to 

compete, please send an inquiry email to 

info@torontobluessociety.com. Info at https:// 

blues.org/ibc/ 

Closer to home, The Ontario Council of 

Folk Festivals Conference (soon to be Folk 

Music Ontario) takes place October 17-20 at 

the Delta Meadowvale Resort and Conference 

Centre in Mississauga. The TBS will once 

again be presenting a showcase featuring 

market-ready blues artists. If you are an artist 

who is ready to be touring and performing 

at festivals, and can undertake the necessary 

registration, travel and accommodation 

costs, please send an inquiry email to info@ 

torontobluessociety.com. ocff.ca 

Blues Rules in Jazzland: It will come as no 

surprise to local blues fans that the first show 

to sell out at the Toronto Jazz Festival was Dr. 

John & Mavis Staples. Danny Marks was the 

MC at and started out by extolling the virtues 

of Mavis’ longstanding guitar player, Rick 

Holmstrom, who is the guitarists’ guitarist. 

And the consummate pro, even though the 

airline lost his luggage (which included his 

pedals - he only carries two - an overdrive 

and a reverb (he doesn’t like the reverb on 

the reissued Fenders). He even had to buy a 

suit at the Bay an hour before showtime but he 

looked as sharp as ever. 

Mavis was having a few physical difficulties 

but she sang great and had the audience 

entranced. Dr John was in great shape and 

positively chatty backstage, not the Dr. John 

we have encountered at previous Toronto Jazz 

appearances – and there have been many. 

Local musicologist Rob Bowman is Mavis 

Staple’s biggest fan and best friend in this 

town and he got a shout-out from the stage. 

He even delayed his trip to Europe where 

he is promoting his film on the life of Curtis 

Mayfield. 

Dr. John figures prominently in a film on 

the life of Doc Pomus which premiered at the 


NXNE filmfest. Dr John had not seen the film 

and was a little aghast when told there was 

a clip of his eulogy at Pomus’ funeral. He 

said, “geez I think I kinda messed that up”) 

In fact, it was a beautiful tribute in which he 

credits Doc Pomus for getting him off the 

junk. He said that he and Doc must have 

written a thousand songs together and he 

was grateful that Doc had more faith in him 

than he had in himself. 

Next day, James Cotton was moving 

slow but gave a great performance at the 

Horseshoe Tavern as part of the jazzfest. Not 

a lot of familiar harp players in the crowd but 

with a $42 ticket, some may have been a bit 

disinclined. If they had just made their way 

to the club, they would have appreciated 

that the festival just removed their doorperson 

towards the end of the show so any 

dedicated hanger-on got their fix of Cotton. 

It should be noted that the festival shows 

at Nathan Phillips Square are also quite 

accessible to non-ticket holders, many of 

whom find a spot behind the tent with good 

sightlines (and good sound). 

If there were not a lot of local harp 

players at the James Cotton Show, there 

was certainly no shortage of local organists 

the next night at the Shoe when Dr. Lonnie 

Smith, the guru of the Hammond B3 organ 

was in town. Spotted in the audience were 

Michael Fonfara, Bernie Senenski, Lou 

Pomanti, Jesse Whiteley and others 

Blues Radio increasing coverage: 

Johnny Max’s Sunday Morning Soul 

radio show has moved online to www. 

bluesandrootsradio.com, the sister station 

of The HAZE FM. Blues and Roots Radio is 

based in the GTA in the musical community 

of Port Credit. As the name suggests, this is 

an all Blues & Roots Radio station playing 

Blues, Folk, Celtic, Soul and R&B 24/7. 

Sunday Morning Soul with Johnny Max 

brings you “The Finest Music You’ve Never 

Heard !“ - brand new Blues, Roots, Soul and 

R&B (Sundays 11 - 1pm). Other Blues shows 

at BluesandRootsRadio include The Blues 

Train with Dave Watkins (from England) 

with mainly new blues and roots artists from 

around the world (Sundays 8 – 9pm), At The 

Crossroads with Brant Zwicker , bringing a 

dozen songs from veteran Radio (Sundays 

2 – 3pm) and The Blues Witness with Cindy 

McLeod, Calgary-based featuring the best 

in blues from across the continent and 

beyond, with a special focus on Canadian 

blues. (Saturday 7 – 8pm). native NYer and 

former radio pirate (WRFI - Radio Free 

Ithaca), has been an avid radio broadcaster 

on both sides of the Atlantic since 1978. 

He came to Switzerland in the 1980s as a 

physics researcher at CERN. 

cont’d on page 8 


loose blues news cont’d from p 5 

Mark Stenzler’s radio show out of Berne, 

Switzerland, Blues Zeppelin, has always 

had a lot of Canadian Content and will 

now be part of the program offerings on 

Blues & Roots Radio. Blues Zeppelin airs on 

Sunday afternoons from 15h00- 17h00 CET 

on Radio RaBe in Bern, Mark is a native 

New Yorker and former radio pirate (WRFI 

- Radio Free Ithaca), and has been an avid 

radio broadcaster on both sides of the 

Atlantic since 1978. He came to Switzerland 

in the 1980s as a physics researcher at 

CERN. Contact: blueszeppelin@rabe.ch 

Bluesmusicmagazine has been promoting 

the blues for years through print and digital 

magazines, a weekly blues newsletter, artist 

showcase, a website and now they have a 

new online radio station, MojoWax Radio. 

They are also trying to raise subscribers for 

their publication, and write: “We are asking 

for your support as we venture towards the 

future with hope in our hearts, that we can 

help create more exposure for the music we 

all enjoy so it continues to grow and thrive.” 

www.bluesmusicmagazine.com/category/ 

mojowax-radio/ 

Bob Koester celebrates 60 Years in 

Blues: This month marked a very special 

anniversary in the blues world. It was 60 

years ago that Bob Koester recorded and 

released his first album, by a vintage jazz 

group from St. Louis called Sammy Gardner 

and the Fabulous Windy City Six. Thus 

began the amazing legacy of Delmark (then 

Delmar) Records. Junior Wells’ Hoodoo Man 

Blues, Magic Sam’s West Side Soul, Robert Jr. 

Lockwood’s Steady Rollin’ Man, J.B. Hutto’s 

Hawk Squat, Jimmy Dawkins’ Fastfingers, Otis 

Rush’s Cold Day In Hell, and Big Joe Williams’ 

Blues on Highway 49 all were recorded by 

Bob Koester. And this is just one part of his 

musical legacy. Koester has released over 

500 records, over 300 of them jazz albums, 

owned the Jazz Record Mart in Chicago, 

employed and mentored a who’s who of future 

blues label owners and scholars (Jim O’Neal, 

Bruce Iglauer, Michael Frank, Peter Aschoff). 

He even gavegogo the seed money to start 

Living Blues magazine. At age 81 Koester is 

still going as strong as ever with new releases 

on Tail Dragger, Arthur Crudup, and Lurrie 

Bell out now. Hats off to you, Bob…and thanks! 

Six-time Grammy Award winner and 2012 

Kennedy Center Honoree Buddy Guy will 

release his new studio album Rhythm & Blues 

on July 29th on RCA Records. The follow-up 

to his 2010 Grammy Award winning album 

Living Proof, this double-disc masterpiece 

features first time studio collaborations with 

A-list artists Kid Rock, Keith Urban, Gary 

Clark, Jr., Beth Hart and Aerosmith members 

Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and Brad Whitford. 

The Rhythm disc includes rhythm and bluesstyle 

blues with deep grooves, such as the 

Junior Wells’ 1960 hit “Messin With The Kid” 

featuring Kid Rock, the touching “One Day 

Away” with Keith Urban, and “What You’re 

Gonna Do About Me,” a rousing duet with 

Beth Hart. Guy rounds out the disc with “Best 

In Town,” “Whiskey Ghost,” Guitar Slim’s 

“Well I Done Got Over It” and more. The 

Blues disc taps into the genre’s rich history 

with “Meet Me In Chicago,” “I Could Die 

Happy,” “Never Gonna Change” and “All That 

Makes Me Happy Is The Blues.” Aerosmith’s 

Tyler, Perry and Whitford contribute to the 

musical lesson with “Evil Twin” while Gary 

Clark, Jr. joins Guy on “Blues Don’t Care.” 

There’s a bit of Canadian Content, too. David 

Gogo is thrilled to have a song he co-wrote 

appear on the album. Gogo’s contribution is 

a track titled “Never Gonna Change” which 

he co-wrote with the producer of Rhythm 

& Blues, Tom Hambridge. Guy’s album is a 

scheduled for release on July 30th on RCA 

Records. 

Living Blues Award Nominees 

announced: Voting for the Living Blues 

Awards is open until Monday, July 15, 2013. 

Instructions: Vote for one choice only in each 

category. In the categories for recordings, 

only albums with a 2012 release date are 

eligible. All ballots must include a valid 

e-mail address. Go to www.livingblues.com/ 

and click on "vote." 

NOW AVAILABLE IN CANADA 

CALL FOR LOCATION OF A 

RETAILER NEAR YOU 

905 415-0515 


RIP Bobby “Blue” Bland: Bobby “Blue” Bland, who delighted 

Toronto audiences with regular appearances in our town, died 

Sunday of complications from an ongoing illness. He was 83. Bland 

was known as the “the Sinatra of the blues” and heavily influenced 

by Nat King Cole, often recording with lavish arrangements to 

accompany his smooth vocals. He even openly imitated Frank Sinatra 

on the “Two Steps From the Blues” album cover, standing in front of 

a building with a coat thrown over his shoulder. From working as 

B.B. King’s valet and chauffer he sang his way into the Rock and Roll 

Hall of Fame in 1992. 

Born in Rosemark, Tenn., he moved to nearby Memphis as a 

teenager and, as the hall of fame noted, was “second in stature only 

to B.B. King as a product of Memphis’ Beale Street blues scene.” 

After a stint in the Army, he recorded with Sam Phillips at Sun 

Records in the early 1950s with little to show for it. It wasn’t until later 

that decade Bland began to find success. 

He scored his first No. 1 on the R&B charts with “Further On Up the 

Road” in 1957. Then, beginning with “I’ll Take Care of You” in early 

1960, Bland released a dozen R&B hits in a row. That string included 

“Turn On Your Love Light” in 1961. 

His “I Pity the Fool” in 1961 was recorded by many rock bands, 

including David Bowie and Eric Clapton, who has made “Further On 

Up the Road” part of his repertoire. 



Illustration by Nathaniel Mesner 

David Gogo Come On Down Cordova 

Bay/Universal 

A recent pilgrimage to the birthplace 

of the blues was the spark behind guitar 

virtuoso & multiple MBA winner David 

Gogo’s thirteenth album. The song ideas he 

picked up along the Blues Trail are delivered 

in true Gogo style – his unique blend of 

Rolling Stones, early Fleetwood Mac & 

Ray Charles. “Come On Down” suggests 

he wasn’t entirely happy with what he saw, 

with its lines about empty shacks and closed 

stores. He sings ‘we need to remove these 

rose coloured glasses and come on down 

from the hilltop’. We need to acknowledge the 

past but realize that this is the past and move 

on. A couple of songs later, in “Natchez Dog”, 

the closest he comes to a traditional blues, 

he sings about empty churches and schools 

over some lovely acoustic slide and excellent 

harp as he laments his departing love. If these 

songs are his way of moving forward, he’s 

done fine job. The rest of the disc stays closer 

to Gogo’s blues-rock style, with the opener, 

“Bad ‘n’ Ruin”, serving that purpose in fine 

fashion (the chorus goes: ‘Mother you won’t 

recognize me now’). “Worth It” is an anthemic 

soul work out and ‘worth it’ for the whole 

album, it is such a good performance. The 

Stones-ish rocker “Kings” turns out not to be 

about those blues greats but being wanting 

to be treated like one, even if only for one 

night. A couple of songs by the later version 

of Fleetwood Mac are here too. The best news 

is that he’s going to be bringing these new 

songs here this month. Starting at the Henry of 

Pelham Winery on the 14 th and Hugh’s Room 

on the 15 th before heading to Peterborough 

and Stevensville. www.davidgogo.com has all 

this info but you can also download his very 

own app and have it all at your fingertips on 

your phone. 

Anthony Gomes …Before The Beginning 

Up 2 Zero 

This Mississauga-born but longtime 

Nashville-based guitarist has been spending 

more time here recently and this is a good 

thing, especially when he puts out albums 

like this. An acoustic collection, he wanted 

to show that there is more his music than 

power trios, his usual performing style. He 

also wanted to ‘go back to where the music 

came from’. One of his new songs is “Blues In 

Technicolor”, in which he states clearly that 

he does not see the need to restrict himself to 

blues. To that end: “…Before The Beginning” 

is a brief gospel call & response intro with a 

trio of female singers who play a prominent 

role throughout, indeed they give the whole 

affair a gospel flavour. “Blues is Good” uses 

that trio to good effect for an anthem that is 

closely based on Little Milton’s “The Blues 

Is Alright”, which I think we’ve all heard often 

enough. 

“Lady Soul” is his tribute to Aretha and has 

a rather nice tune and a prominent piano part. 

“Sinner’s Song” is an excellent soul blues. 

“Rescue Me” is perhaps the highlight of the 

disc for me, another well-written soul blues. 

His vision includes pop tunes and even dance 

hall tunes. “Golden Wheel” is the only overtly 

gospel tune and it’s a good one, reminding me 

of Danny Brooks. A country song like “Old 

Ten Wheeler” even turns into a gospel rave 

up. Gomes does not have to sing over the loud 

guitars here and does it very well, no matter 

the song style. 

His acoustic guitar playing is excellent 

and beautifully recorded. This is an ambitious 

album and I hope he does well with it. It’ll 

be interesting to see how he fits these songs 

into his show. He stops in Kincardine for their 

Lighthouse Festival on July 12 before heading 

to the Festival International du Blues de Mont 

Tremblant the next day. 

Mark Bird Stafford Live at the Delta Self 

One of our elite harmonica players and 

singers, an educator, and a longtime member 

of our Board of Directors, Bird Stafford (a 

childhood nickname) has given us a master 

class in Chicago blues. He was involved 

in the previous Little Walter tributes and 

has a couple of CDs to his name and now 

he has chosen perhaps the highest hurdle 

of all: a program of songs from that golden 

age. He may not quite make us forget the 

originals but he has given us a performance 

that will impress you time and time again. In 

particular, his singing is simply superb. The 

playing is completely idiomatic as well, with 

Bird stellar on harp, Aaron Griggs and Fabio 

Parovel showing us how to play guitar in this 

music and Dennis Pinhorn & Tyler Burgess 

showing us how on bass & drums. There are 

some lesser-known songs here from Sonny 

Boy Wlliamson (II): “Blind Love”, “I Found 

Joy” & “I Don’t Know”, there’s a lovely set of 

variations on Little Walter’s “Juke” along with 

the more familiar “Sloppy Drunk”, “Mellow 

Down Easy” or “It’s Too Late Brother”. You’ll 

know instantly that Bird and the band have 

lived with these songs for their entire lives. 

They’ll do it all again at the Delta on July 18. 

Mike Goudreau Time For Messin’ Around 

PMG 

This veteran Quebec performer has 

only occasionally gone by his own name, 

having performed for years as leader of the 

Boppin’ Blues Band, whose music was firmly 

in the Downchild mold. That’s a bit of an 

oversimplification and I use it only because 

with this album he has gone for something 

more basic and has come up with a gem. 

In a quartet setting and mostly live off the 

floor, he wanted to create a bar band album 

and he came up with the songs to carry 

it off. The title song is an infectious, open 

invitation to go out to a blues club tonight 

and it is irresistible. Other highlights include: 

“Mind Your Own Business” which proves 


conclusively that Magic Slim penetrated the 

Eastern Townships. Well done! There’s also a 

very fine slow blues in French, “J’essaierai 

De Tenir Debout”, or “I’ll Try To Stand Up 

Straight”. A couple of his songs deal with the 

perils of overdoing it: “Blame It On Addiction” 

and “Should Quit Your Drinking” but they 

don’t detract too much from the party mood. 

He was here a couple of years ago at the Ex 

with his organ trio, it’s time he returned. 

“Mean Momma Blues” has some fine harp 

from Hoerl on this hoedown. Lawrence is 

an excellent blues guitarist, coming up with 

very imaginative arrangements that have 

been well recognized in the community. My 

only reservation concerns his singing, which 

has not improved much over the course of 

his discography. But if you go to his web site, 

www.marshalllawrence.com, you’ll see that 

my reservation hasn’t kept him from getting 

quite a lot of work. 

for action. This theme continues after one (of 

two) Slim Harpo songs with “Prison Walls” 

and a little later “The Foreign Policy Blues”. 

Two trucking songs, which may have been left 

off the earlier country albums are here too but 

in the hands of the Workers, they fit right in. 

Another, not as unusual, departure from the 

norm, is a masterful a capella version of “Take 

My Mother Home’. He then adds another: 

Stan Rogers’ “Northwest Passage” – a breathtaking 

performance. There’s also a heavily 

amplified harp instrumental, “The Wobble” 

and a delightful original folk song, “Words 

Are Coming To An End” just accompanying 

himself on acoustic guitar. With a little time on 

his hands, there seems to be no limit to what 

Watermelon Slim can do. Welcome back, Slim. 

-John Valenteyn 

jvalenteyn8724@rogers.com 

Marshall Lawrence House Call Self 

A Ph.D. in Psychology keeps him busy 

in Edmonton when not performing, and 

hence the album’s title. This is the fourth 

CD for this acoustic guitarist and it is also a 

step upward for a solo act, with supporting 

musicians including the Holmes Brothers 

on one song. The unobtrusive band consists 

of David “Hurricane” Hoerl on harp, 

Russell Jackson on upright bass, David 

Aide on occasional B3 and Dwayne Hrinkiw 

on drums. Barry Allen adds background 

vocals. Lawrence has come up with eleven 

originals and adds two covers to round out 

the program. Prairie life supplies the subject 

material for most of these, “Another Saturday 

Night” being a pretty accurate depiction of 

a night on the town there. “Ballad of Molly 

Brown” sports a lively tune for his tale of love. 

“Factory Closing Blues” has lyrics that a lot of 

us can relate to but even the Homes Brothers 

can’t do much to rescue the drone vocal line. 

Watermelon Slim & The Workers Bull 

Goose Rooster NorthernBlues/Outside 

When Watermelon Slim was first signed 

to Ottawa-based NorthernBlues, he was a 

regular visitor around these parts, playing 

numerous shows and participating in TBS 

workshops to enthusiastic reviews. His 

dramatic arrival on the North American scene 

generated multiple awards and nominations. 

He hasn’t been back as frequently recently 

and has had a rather low profile of late. It turns 

out he’s been living quietly in Clarksdale, 

MS and his last album was a duet with Super 

Chikan, the Clarksdale veteran. Before that 

he had talked about retiring after doing a 

couple of well-received country albums. The 

Workers were laid off. Maybe now he felt 

that his retirement had lasted long enough, 

but in any event, the Workers are back and 

this disc shows that the lay off hasn’t hurt his 

music one bit. A signature Watermelon Slim 

version of Junior Wells’ “Tomorrow Night” 

sets the stage and it doesn’t let up after 

that. His slide opens “Bull Goose Rooster”, 

a signifying song if there ever was one. 

He tries his hand at jazz crooning next, an 

original ballad done as a duet with Diane 

Schnebelen, of the young Kansas City band 

Trampled Under Foot backed only with 

piano. It’s not a bad performance but I must 

say I was relieved when his electric slide 

guitar played the roaring intro to Woody 

Guthrie’s “Vigilante Man.” It leads very 

nicely into one of his own political songs, 

“Wrench In The Machine”, a stomping call 




New Members: Stephen Remego, Henry Baranowicz, Paul 

Carolan, Rachel Cameron, Elizabeth Dawe, Bruce Allan, Kirk Baert 

Renewing Members: Brian Soltau, Cindy McCleery, Dave 

Sampson, Richard Barber, Michael Charles Cole, Patricia McCully, 

Beverley Tompson, Jenn Martin, Tim Usher-Jones, Glendon Singleton- 

Wood, Andrew Kent, Martin Wills, Gord & Debbie Brown, Ross Kenney 

Institutional/Benefactor Members: Brian David Johnston, 

Stony Plain Records, A Portrait of Blues in Canada Grand River Blues 

Society, Dan Aykroyd Wines, Aurora Winter Blues Festival, Choose 

the Blues Productions, Dominion on Queen, Busted Flat Records, 

Philip Edward Brent, Rick Barber, Dana R. Clarence, Dee's Deeds, 

Dickenson Group, Dr. Scott Peaker, Joel Goldberg, Brian David 

Johnston, Michael Malone, Music By The Bay Live, Orangeville Blues 

& Jazz Festival, Radio Ryerson, Stony Plain Records 

Mark Stafford has a new CD titled Live At The Delta. He will be performing July 18th 

at the Delta Chelsea Toronto (Monarch's Pub) 8pm and it will be a release party. The 

project was recorded late last summer and features Mark on Vocals and Harmonica, 

Aaron Griggs and Fabio Parovel on Guitars, Tyler Burgess on Drums, and Dennis 

Pinhorn on Upright Bass. Look for Mark at Fenlon Falls Blues Festival, Southside 

Shuffle, Wasaga Beach Blues Festival and more this summer. 

Honorary Members (Honorary Membership is assigned to 

musicians in the past year who have participated in a TBS event): 

Morgan Davis, Sugar Brown, Chris Field, Lindsay Barr, The Don River 

Blues Band, Rich and the Poor Boys, Big Crush,Chris Antonik, Rob 

Lutes, Kevin Breit, Fire Belly, Danny Marks, Sacha Williamson, Soul 

Stack Rick Fines,Curley Bridges, Diana Braithwaite, Fraser Daley, 

Jerome Godboo, The Fraser Melvin Band, Dan Livingstone, Brian 

Blain, Donald Ray Johnson, David Vest, The Harpoonist and the Axe 

Murderer, The 24th Street Wailers, Monkey Junk, The Distillery, Cecile 

Doo-Kingue, John Knight & Soulstack, Steve Strongman, Bill Durst, 

Digging Roots, JW Jones, Boogie Patrol, Ben Racine, David Owen, 

Dawn Tyler-Watson & Paul Deslauriers, David Gogo, Michael Jerome 

Browne, Carlos del Junco, The Maple Blues Band, Danny Brooks, Sacha 

Williamson, Tanika Charles, Saidah Baba Talibah, Lily Sazz, Sabrina 

Weeks, Kellylee Evans, Steve Strongman, Mike “Shrimp Daddy” 

Reid, Paul Reddick, Irene Torres & The Sugar Devils, Amanda Davids, 

Ambre McLean, Tim Bastmeyer, Carolyn Fe Blues Collective, Robbie 

Antone’s Blues Machine, Raoul Bhaneja, Kevin Breit, Joe Murphy, 

Bill Johnson, Paul Reddick, Julian Fauth, Harrison Kennedy, Richard 

Henderson, Rebecca Hennessy, Carrie Chesnutt, Colleen Allen, 

Brandi Disterheft, Shakura S'Aida, Donna Grantis, Matt Andersen, 

Angel Forrest, Nicole Christian, Bradleyboy MacArthur, Ken Yoshioka, 

Brooke Blackburn, Suzie Vinnick, Tracy K 

Lifetime Members (Blues Boosters are Maple Blues Award 

recipients for their good work in the national blues community): 

John Valenteyn, Liz Sykes, Gord MacAuley, Ed Torres, Rob Bowman, 

Brad Wheeler, Mako Funasaka, Richard Flohil, Brian Slack, Elaine 

Bomberry, Andrew Galloway, Fred Litwin, Ralph Strodeur, Brent 

Staeben, Mark Monahan, Holger Petersen 

Lifetime Members (Blues With A Feeling Award members are the 

Maple Blues Award lifetime achievement recipients): Matt Minglewood, 

Paul James, Rita Chiarelli, Chris Whiteley, Amos Garrett, Big Dave 

McLean, Colin Linden, Danny Marks, Jackie Richardson, Mel Brown, 

Chuck Jackson, Jack de Keyzer, Michael Pickett, Long John Baldry, 

Morgan Davis, Gary Kendall, Donnie 'Mr. Downchild' Walsh, Dave 

'Daddy Cool' Booth, B.B. King, Holger Petersen, Bruce Iglauer 

Donors Joel Goldberg, Sharon Evans, Trynie de Vries, Carol Flett, 

Sue Bracken, Derek Andrews, Michael Malone, Noah Blackstein, Jon 

Arnold, Gordon Brown, Suzie Vinnick, Ed Parsons 

Many thanks to Paul Hentschel, Janice Knowles, Geoff Virag, Jo- 

Anne Daponte, Joanna Swan, Carol Flett, Tom Hanes, Ken Wilson, Nick 

Lanaro, Valerie Chamberlin, Sherill Middleton and Shirley Gibson 

for their help at the Waterfront Blues Festival. Many thanks as well to 

Vinciane Jacquet, Nick Lanaro, Geoff Virag and Patricia McCully for 

their help at the TBS Birthday Party and many thanks to Geoff Virag 

and Nada Saronovich for their help with the TBS Talent Search. More 

thanks to Geoff Virag, Patricia McCully, Pat Powers Joanna Swan and 

Don Loney for their help with the newsletter mailing and distribution. 

Ongoing thanks to Roz for helping out with the listings. 



JAZZ-FM (91.1) 

"Bluz FM" w/ Danny Marks 

Saturday 8:00 pm-midnight 

CIUT-FM (89.5) 

"John Valenteyn's Blues" 

w/ John Valenteyn 

Thursday 4-5pm 

CBC Radio One (99.1) 

"Saturday Night Blues", 

w/ Holger Petersen (national) 

Saturday 9:05pm-11:00pm 

(on Radio 2 Saturday at 6:05pm), 

CHRY-FM (105.5) 

"Everyday I Have the Blues", 

w/ Vince Vitacco Monday 9-11pm, 

The Haze FM www.thehazefm.ca 

"Sunday Morning Soul "w/Johnny Max 

Sundays at 11AM-1PM 

"At The Crossroads" w/Brant Zwicker Sundays at 1PM 

"Southern Crossroads" w/Patrick Le Blanc Sundays 2-4PM 

"Dawg Howlin’ Blues Show" Mon-Fri 10 pm – Midnight 

Radio Regent, Toronto 

"Blue Remedy" 

w/ Blues Doctor Julie Hill, 

Wednesdays 8-10 pm ET, at www.radioregent.com 

Mavis Staples One True Vine Anti- 

David Gogo Come on Down Cordova Bay 

Various Artists Classic Harmonica Blues Smithsonian Folkways 

Booker T. Jones Sound the Alarm Stax 

*Delbert & the Commotions Let Me See Ya Dance Self 

This month’s recommended 

listening by Brad Wheeler, music 

writer for the Globe and Mail 

(globeandmail.com and 

Twitter: bwheelerglobe 

*Al Lerman Live at the Acoustic Grill Self 

Rory Block Avalon-A Tribute to Mississippi John Hurt Stony Plain 

*Amos Garrett Jazz Trio JazzBlues Stony Plain 

Lurrie Bell Blues In My Soul Delmark 

Vieux Farka Touré Mon Pays Six Degrees 

Rokia Traoré Beautiful Africa Nonesuch 

JJ Grey & Mofro This River Alligator 

James Cotton Cotton Mouth Blues Alligator 

*Vince Maccarone’s Los Variants jass/blues Self 

*Diana Braithwaite & Chris Whiteley Scrap Metal Blues Electro-Fi 

The Slide Brothers Robert Randolph Presents The Slide Brothers Concord 

Eric Burdon Til Your River Runs Dry ABKCO 

Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite Get Out! Stax 

Corey Harris Fulton Blues Independent 

*Kid Koala 12Bit Blues Ninja Tune 

David Lynch The Big Dream Sacred Bones 

* = Canadian 

DAWG-FM (101.9 FM Ottawa) 

www.dawgfm.com 

CKWR (98.5 FM) 

“Old Chicago Blues" w/ Willy A, 

Friday 10:30 pm-midnight (Waterloo) 

CIOI FM (INDI 101 FM) 

Blues Blast, with Ken Wallis 

Tuesdays, 4-6pm (Hamilton) 

CIWS 102.7FM (Whistle Radio) 

Blues on Whistle with Dave “Daddy Cool” Booth 

Mon, Tues, Fri 11pm (Stouffville)whistleradio.ca 

CJLX (91.3 FM) 

"Saturday Night Blues Review", with George Vaughan. 

Saturday 6-7pm (Belleville) 

CFRU (93.3 FM) 

"The Thrill is Back" with Andy and Andrew Mondays 1 to 3pm 

"Wacky World of Waldo Fourtunes" with Mo' Kauffey Mon 8-9pm 

"The Blues Review", with Roopen Majithia Tues 9.00 pm (Guelph) 

CFBU (103.7 FM) 

"Eclectic Blues" with Deborah Cartmer 

Tuesday 7-9 pm (St. Catharines) 

CKCU(93.1 FM) 

www.ckcufm.com 

"Rockin The Blues from Canada" 

w/ Diane Wells (aka Misty Blue) 

Every Saturday 2-7 am (Ottawa) 

CKMS (100.3 FM) 

"Poor Folk Blues" w/ Bruce Hall (aka Brewski) 

Monday 7:30-9 pm (Waterloo) 


TORONTO LISTINGS 

Axis Bar and Grill 3048 Dundas St 

W 416-604-3333 

Jul-27 Sugar Brown and Bharath 

Rajakumar 9pm 

Celebration Square Celebration 

Square 416-423-2224 Mississauga 

Jul-18 The Johnny Max Band 8pm - 

Mississauga Rotary Ribfest 

Dominion on Queen 500 Queen St. 

E. 416-368-6893 

Jul-6 Sugar Brown and Bharath 

Rajakumar 9pm 

Jul-13 Rocket Rached & The Fat 

City 8 9pm CD Release Party 

Aug-31 Sugar Brown and Bharath 

Rajakumar 9pm 

Dora Keogh 141 Danforth Ave. 

416-778-1804 

Jul-20 Gary Kendall Band 8.30pm 

Aug-3 The Swingin’ Blackjacks 

9.30pm 

Aug-10 Gary Kendall Band 9.30pm 

Aug-14 Gary Kendall Band 8.30pm 

El Mocambo 464 Spadina Ave. 

416-968-2001 

Jul-5 James Anthony & Jay Douglas 

8-12pm 

Gate 403 403 Roncesvalles Ave. 

416-588-2930 

Jul-2 Blain Davis Gould 5-8pm 

Jul-24 Robin Bank$ 9pm 

Grossman’s Tavern 379 Spadina 

Ave. 416-977-7000 

Jul-7 Brian Cober Blues Jam 9:30 

amps and drums provided 


to close 





Aug-16 The Swingin’ Blackjacks 

10pm 

Horseshoe Tavern 370 Queen St. 

W. 416-598-4753 

Jul-11 The Slide Brothers 8.30pm 

Jul-12 JC Brooks and The Uptown 

Sound 9pm 

Hugh’s Room 2261 Dundas St. W. 

416-531-6604 

Jul-3 Buckwheat Zydeco 8.30pm 

Jul-12 Andria Simone 8.30pm 

Jul-15 David Gogo 8.30pm 

Jul-27 Fathead 8.30pm 

Aug-16 Johnny Max, Robin Banks, 

Chuck Jackson 8.30pm - A Tribute 

to Elvis 

Lola 40 Kensington Ave. 416-348- 

8645 

Jul-11,18,25,Aug-1 Brian Cober 

acoustic 9:30 to close 

Melody Bar - Gladstone Hotel 

1214 Queen St. W. 416-531-4635 

Jul-4 Fraser/Daley 9pm TBS 

Presents 

Jul-20 Al Lerman - solo acoustic 

9pm 

Aug-1 Danny Marks 9pm TBS 

Presents 

Molson Ampitheatre 909 Lakeshore 

Blvd. W. 416-260-5600 

Aug-14 John Mayer 7.30pm 

Enjoy a red or white 

with your favourite Blues! 

Sunday ,July 28 at Kew Gardens will provide a solid blues component to the Beaches Jazz Festival with Sugar Ray Norcia and 

the BlueTones closing out the afternoon with some harmonica blues at 5pm. The day will kick off with Irene Torres and the Sugar 

Devils at 11am and festival founder and Artistic Director Bill King's Rhythm Express play at 3:30. Don't forget lots of great blues 

bands on Queen Street, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 

Monarch’s Pub - Eaton Chelsea 

Hotel (was Delta) 33 Gerrard St. W. 

416-585-4352 

Jul-2 Tim Bastmeyer with Jerome 

Tucker 8pm 

Jul-4 Jerome Godboo Band 9pm - 

Jerome’s 51st Birthday Party 

Jul-10 Robin Bank$ 8pm 

Jul-11 Rick Taylor Band Rick Taylor 

Band - All Star line-up featuring 

Steve Taylor on drums, Terry Wilkins 

on bass, Teddy Leonard on guitar. 

Jul-18 Mark “Bird” Stafford 8pm - CD 

launch 

Aug-8 The Distillery 9pm 

Moskito + Bite 423 College St. 

416-862-2323 

Jul-23 Johnny Max with the Vipers 

8pm 

Aug-27 Johnny Max with the Vipers 

8pm 

On Cue Bar & Billiards 349 Jane 

St. 416-761-9245 

Jul-6 Blues & Troubles 10pm 

Aug-3 Blues & Troubles 10pm 

Ringside Blues 263 Adelaide St. 

W.-B10 

Jul-19 McDonald Rush Band 8pm 

Aug-23 Robin Hawkins with Tattoo 

Love Child Music 8pm 

The CNE Midway Stage 210 

Prince’s Blvd. 416-263-3800 

Aug-29 The Canadian Blues Caravan 

7pm 

The Empire Sandy Spadina Quay 

416-364-3244 

Aug-16 Blue Room 7-10pm 

The Hole In The Wall 2867A Dundas 

west 647-350-3564 

Jul-5 Ken Yoshioka Trio 10:00pm 

The Local 396 Roncesvalles 416-535- 

6225 

Jul-4 Ken Yoshioka 9:00pm 

Jul-9 Sugar Brown with Mr. Rick 9-11pm 

Acoustic blues 

The Paddock Tavern 178 Bathurst St. 

416-504-9997 

Jul-13 Junior Watson and Fred Kaplan 

w Bharath Rajakumar and Sugar Brown 

10pm 

Jul-20 The Distillery 10pm 

Jul-27 Alfie Smith & Nicole Christian 

The Rex Hotel 198 Queen St W 416- 

598-2475 

Jul-28 Doctor Nick & The Rollercoasters 

9.30pm 

Timothy’s Pub 344 Brown’s Line 416- 

201-9515 

Aug-15 The Heart Attacks 8pm 

905 & BEYOND 

2012 Etwell Rd. 2012 Etwell Rd 705- 

789-2972 Huntsville 

Jul-7 Paul Reddick 3-6pm Etwell 

Concert Series 

Jul-21 Jerome Godboo 3-6pm Etwell 

Concert Series 

Bayview Park Bayview Park 416-423- 

2224 Thornbury 

Jul-7 The Johnny Max Band w Chuck 

Jackson & guests 5pm - Thornbury 

Jazz by the Bay Series 

BP 284 Toronto St. S. 905-852-0003 

Uxbridge 

Jul-10,17,24,31,Aug-7,14,21 Tim Bastmeyer 

- solo 7pm 

Celebration Square 301 Burnhamthor- 



pe Rd. W. 905=615-4311 Mississauga 

Jul-20 Blackboard Blues Band 9pm - 

Mississauga Ribfest 

Cove Inn 2 Bedford St. 613-273-3636 

Westport 

Aug-26 The Harpoonist & The Axe 

Murderer 6-10pm Acoustic Blue 

Monday Series 

Dominion Hotel 113 Main St. 705- 

286-6954 Minden 

Jul-20 Morgan Davis Band 8.30 pm 

Dunn Street Grill 6095 Dunn Street 

905-357-1011 Niagara Falls 

Jul-5 Rick Taylor and the Legendary 

Brothers 9.30pm-1.30am 

Jul-13 Daryl Gray 9.30pm-1.30am 

Jul-19 Rich and the Poor Boys 

9.30pm-1.30am 

Jul-26 Dean Malton 9.30pm-1.30am 

Jul-27 George McMillan 9.30pm- 

1.30am 

Grace Hartman Amphitheatre Bell 

Park 705-671-2489 Sudbury 

Jul-17 Morgan Davis Band 8pm 

Harbour Nights Series Owen Sound 

Harbour 519-376-1440 Owen Sound 

Jul-21 Morgan Davis 7pm 

Havelock Arena (outdoors) George 

St. E. 705-778-2891 Havelock 

Jul-1 Al Lerman 4pm 

Henry of Pelham Winery 1469 

Pelham Rd. 905-688-3550x106 St. 

Catharines 

Jul-14 Hogtown All Stars, JP Soars, 

David Gogo and more 2pm fundraiser 

for Niagara Children’s Centre 

Jul-21 Jack de Keyzer, Dive House 

Union, Krista Blondin, Harrison Kennedy 

and more 2pm 

Holiday Inn 150 George St. N. 705- 

743-1144 Peterborough 

Jul-12 The Gary Kendall Band 6-10pm 

Gazebo Blues Series 

Aug-23 Fathead 6pm - “Blues on the 

Patio” 

Kerr St. Park Kerr St. 905-827-5141 

Oakville 

Jul-27 Al Lerman - solo 12pm Concert 

in the Park 

King Henry Arms 15570 Yonge St. 

905-726-4433 Aurora 

Jul-18 Lou Moore Band with Al Lerman 

8.30pm 

Lancaster Smokehouse 574 Lancaster 

St. W. 519-743-4331 Kitchener 

Aug-9 Al Lerman - solo 7pm 

Lavigne Hotel 10521 Hwy 64 705- 

594-2301 Lavigne 

Jul-18 Morgan Davis Band 9pm 

Liquid Lounge 159 Sydenham St. 

519-756-3939 Brantford 

Jul-13 Delta Moon 3-6pm Saturday 

Matinee 

Jul-15 Kenny Brown with Gary 

Kendall 3-6pm 

Jul-27 Joel Johnson Band 3-6pm 

Saturday Matinee 

Aug-3 Teddy Leonard and The Pocket 

Rockets 3-6pm Saturday Matinee 

Aug-17 Dwayne LaForme Band 

3-6pm Saturday Matinee 

Aug-31 Terry Edmunds Band 3-6pm 

Saturday Matinee 

Livery Theatre 36 South St. 519- 

534-6262 Goderich 

Aug-31 Steve Strongman, Bill Durst 

Band, Doug Watson R & B Band 

7pm - West Coast Blues 

London Music Club 470 Colborne 

St. 519-640-6996 London 

Jul-10 Delta Moon 8pm 

Jul-10 Delta Moon 8pm 

Jul-12 The Legendary Brothers 

(ISteve & Rick Taylor) with Robbie 

Antone 8pm 

Jul-26 Big Rude Jake 8pm 

Aug-9 Bharath & His Rhythm Four 

7.30pm 

Music in the Square Harmony 

Square 519-751-9900 Brantford 

Aug-2 Blue Room 8-9pm 

Peter’s Players 830 Muskoka Rd. S. 

705-687-2117 Gravenhurst 

Jul-11 Matt Schofield Trio 8pm 

Jul-12 Jon Cleary & The Philthy Phew 

8pm 

Jul-13 Jully Black 8pm 

Jul-18 Smokin Joe Kubek & Bnois 

King 8pm 

Aug-9 Gordie Johnson with Sit Down 

Servant 8pm - blues,gospel and dub 

Aug-17 Johnny Winter 8pm 

Aug-18 Johnny Winter 8pm 

Porquis Blues Festival Porquis 

Junction 705- Porquis Junction 

Jul-6 The Gary Kendall Band 6:15pm 

Port Credit Marina 15 Stavebank 

Rd. S. 905-274-1595 Port Credit 

Jul-1 Robin Bank$, Gary Kendall, 

Johnny Max & The Heart Attacks, Davide 

Leask, Chuck Jackson and more 

2pm - Canada Day Celebration 

West Coast blues legends Junior Watson and Fred Kaplan will be joining King 

Kumar (aka Bharath Rajakumar) and Sugar Brown (aka Ken Kawashima) for an 

international all-star blues review on Saturday, July 13 at a great new blues venue, 

The Paddock Tavern at 178 Bathurst Street - yes, that's upstairs from the old Healey's 

Roadhouse. It's a beautiful, classy room with a lot of jazz history (Oscar Peterson 

used to play there). The Montreal rhythm section is Ben Caissie (drums) and Costa 

Zaphiroupolos (bass). Cover charge is $15. 

 

 

 


Where the 

Music 

Begins 

Sales / Rentals / Repairs / Print Music / Lessons / In-Store Financing 

www.long-mcquade.com 

8 locations in the GTA, including 925 Bloor St. W. Toronto, 416.588.7886 

Barry A. Edson LL.B. 

Barrister 

80 Carlauren Road Unit 23 

Woodbridge Ontario L4L 7Z5 

t: 416.36EDSON(33766) 

905.856.3770 

f: 905.856.3703 

bedson@edsonlegal.com 

| www.edsonlegal.com 

BC's David Gogo will be in our area supporting the release of his new CD, Come on 

Down (see John's Blues Picks for a review). He plays Hugh’s Room July 15, the Henry 

of Pelham Winery in St. Catharines on July 14 and Safari Niagara Ampitheatre in 

Stevensville on July 26. And, this just in, a song he co-wrote will be included on Buddy 

Guy's new release, Rhythm & Blues. Go David Go! 

M ASTERING MANUFACTURING DESIGN 

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Jul-1 Johnny Max & His So Called Friends 

2pm 

Jul-6 The Johnny Max Band 3pm - 

Charles Sousa’s BBQ 

Richmond Green 1300 Elgin Mills Rd. E. 

905-737-1236 Richmond Hill 

Jul-28 Blackboard Blues Band 2pm - 

Richmond Hill Ribfest 

Roc ‘n Docs 105 Lakeshore Rd. E. 905- 

891-1754 Port Credit 

Jul-5 Jerome Godboo Band 

Royal Botanical Gardens 680 Plains Rd. 

W. 905-527-1158 Burlington 

Jul-17 The Smoke Wagon Blues Band 

6pm Red Hot Jazz and Cool Blues Series 

Jul-24 Jordan John and The Blue Angels 

6pm Red Hot Jazz and Cool Blues Series 

Aug-7 The Stingrays 6pm Red Hot Jazz 

and Cool Blues Series 

Aug-14 Harrison Kennedy 6pm Red Hot 

Jazz and Cool Blues Series 

Aug-28 Melissa Bel 6pm Red Hot Jazz 

and Cool Blues Series 

Safari Niagara Ampitheatre 2821 Stevensville 

Rd. 905-382-9669 Stevensville 

Jul-26 Colin James, Steve Strongman & 

David Gogo 7pm 

Salvatore’s Trattoria & Cafe 263 

Queen St. 905-983-3500 Port Perry 


Shrewsbury Community Centre New 

Scotland Line 519-809-3151 Blenheim 

Jul-20 The Johnny Max Band 6pm 

Sticky Fingers 199 Essa Rd 705-721- 

8793 Barrie 

Jul-7 Tres Hombres 8pm 

Stinking Rose Pub 26 Bridge St. W. 

705-653-0001 Campbellford 

Jul-3 Al Lerman 9pm - “Whiskey 

Wednesday” 


Stonewater Pub 490 Stone St. S. 613- 

382-2542 Gananoque 

Jul-13 Al Lerman - solo acoustic 8pm 

The Cove Inn 2 Bedford St. 613-273- 

3636 Westport 

Jul-15 Fraser/Daley 6-10pm Acoustic 

Blue Monday Series 

The Duck 244 Ontario St. 905-687- 

9505 St. Catharines 

Jul-27 The Mighty Duck Blues Band 

6:30pm special guest Jonathan Knight 

The Harp Pub 55 Lakeshore Rd E 



905-274-3277 Port Credit 

Jul-4 Granine Ryan and Tony Visconti 

8pm - Storytellers 

Top Spot Pub 87 1/2 High St. 905- 

722-7202 Sutton 

Jul-13 Blue Room 9.30-1am 

Waterdown Memorial Park Waterdown 

Memorial Park 905-659-6079 

Waterdown 

Jul-1 Groove Corporation 8-10pm - 

before fireworks - Oh Canada Ribfest 

SUMMER 

BLUES 

FESTIVALS 

RBC Royal Bank Bluesfest July 4-15 

Wreckhouse Jazz & Blues Festival 

July 4-7 

Thunder Bay Blues Festival July 5-7 

Mariposa Folk Festival July 5-7 

Porquis Blues Festival July 5-7 

Tremblant Blues Festival July 5-14 

Lighthouse Blues Festival 


Windsor Blues Festival July 13-15 

London Blues Festival July 24-15 

Festival Beauport en Blues 


Beaches Jazz Festival July 19-28 

Calgary Blues Festival 

July 29-August 4 

Kitchener Blues Festival 

August 8-11 

Festiblues August 8-11 

Dutch Mason Blues Festival 

August 9-11 

Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival 

August 10 

Donnacona Blues Festival 

August 14-18 

Calabogie Blues Festival 

August 16-18 

Winnipeg BBQ & Blues Festival 

Aug 16-18 

Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival 

Aug 16-18 

Edmonton Blues Festival 

August 16-18 

PEI Jazz & Blues Festival 

August 21-25 

Summertime Blues August 23-25 

Limestone City Blues Festival – 

August 22-25 

Wasaga Beach Blues Festival 

Sept 13-15 

Southside Shuffle September 6-8 

Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival 

Sept 10-15 

Canal Bank Shuffle October 17-19 

Every Saturday 

Lake Affect 1 Port St. E. 905-274-8223 Port Credit The Pie Guys with guest 8-12pm 

Black Swan 4040 Palladium Way 905-336-1200 Burlington James Anthony with guest 2-6pm 

Castro's Lounge 2116 Queen St. E. 416-699-8272 Big Rude Jake and guest 4.30-6.30pm 

Rex Hotel 194 Queen St. W. 416-598-2475 Danny Marks & Friends 12 Noon Brunch Matinee 

Carrigan Arms 2025 Upper Middle Road 905-332-6131 Burlington The Sil Simone Band with special guest 2.00 pm 

Romby's Tavern & Smokehouse 488 Lake St. 905-937-0331 St. Catharines Kenny B and Company 3.00 pm to 6.30 pm 

The Street Tap & Eatery 547 Ontario St. 905-937-1218 St. Catharines Terra Firma with guests 3.30 to 6.30 pm Blues Matinee 

Dominion on Queen 500 Queen St. E. 416-588-4633 Toronto Ronnie Hayward & His Trio 4.00 pm to 7.30 pm 

Timothy's Pub 344 Brown's Line 416-201-9515 Etobicoke The Meteors 4.00 pm to 8.00 pm 

The Local Pub 396 Roncesvalles Ave. 416-535-6225 Arthur Renwick 5.00 pm 

Frankie's Ristorante 1 Main St. 905-852-1011 Uxbridge Tim Bastmeyer 7.00 pm 

The Niagara 4683 Chrysler Av. 905-354-7474 Niagara Falls Rich & The Poor Boys 7.30 pm to 11.30 pm 

Feathers 962 Kingston Rd. 416-694-0443 Johnny Wright, Michael Fonfara and friends 3.30-6 pm 

Blackshire Pub 511 Talbot St. 519-433-7737 London Blues Masters Series with various guests 6-9pm 

The Old Winery 2288 Niagara Stone Rd 905-468-8900 Niagara on the Lake Niagara Rhythm Section with guests 9.30 pm 

Axis 3048 Dundas St. W. 416-604-3333 Julian Fauth Noon to 3.00 pm 

Every Sunday 

Shore Grill & Grotto 71 Lakeshore Rd E 905-990-9200 Port Credit Fraser Melvin (solo) 3.30-7.30pm 

Slainte Irish Pub 33 Bowen St. 905-529-8000 Hamilton Steve Strongman 8.30pm 

Busholme Inn 156 Main St. 519-833-9119 Jerry Staples Blues Jam 2.00 pm to 6.00 pm 

The Niagara 4683 Crysler Ave. 905-930-8731 Niagara Falls Rich and The Poor Boys with Paul Sonier 3.00 pm to 6.00 pm 

Blue Goose Tavern 1 Blue Goose Way 416-255-2442 Mimico with The Pie Guys plus special guest 3.00 pm to 7.00 pm 

Stonewalls 339 York Blvd. 905-577-0808 Hamilton Jack de Keyzer Band with special guest 4.00 pm to 8.00 pm 

Roc 'N Docs 105 Lakeshore Rd. E. 905-891-1754 Mississauga Chuck Jackson & The All Stars 4.30 pm to 8.30 pm 

Roc 'N Docs 105 Lakeshore Rd. E. 905-891-1754 Mississauga Tony Springer and The Wild T 10pm-2am 

Lake Effect 1 Port St. E. 905-274-8223 Port Credit The Meteors 8.00 pm to 12 midnight 

Grossman's Tavern 379 Spadina Ave. 416-977-7000 Blues Jam w/The Nationals - Brian Cober & Bill Hedefine 9.30pm-1am 

Duffy's Tavern 1238 Bloor St. W. 416-628-0330 Ken Yoshioka 9:30pm 

Axis 3048 Dundas St. W. 416-604-3333 Julian Fauth Noon to 3.00 pm 

The Boathouse of Victoria Park 57 Jubilee Dr. 519-745-7202 Kitchener Miss Angel 3pm 

Every Monday 

On Cue 349 Jane St. 416-761-9245 Ken Yoshioka 

8pm 

Fox and Fiddle 190 Laird Dr. Toronto 416-467-8682 Blues Jam w/James Anthony 8-12pm 

Relish Bar and Grill 2152 Danforth Ave. 416-425-4664 Bentroots N'Awlins Blue Monday on the Danforth 8pm 

Glow Fresh Grill Shops at Don Mills 416-384-1133 Johnny James & The Sharks 7.00 to 9.00 pm 

The Wilson 96 615 College St. 416-516-3237 Jordan John 9.00 pm with Prakash John and Al Cross 

Every Tuesday 

Sauce on Danforth 1376 Danforth Ave. 647-748-1376 Julian Fauth 5-8pm 

Gate 403 403 Roncesvalles 416-588-2930 Toronto Julian Fauth 9.00 pm 

Every Wednesday 

Reservoir Lounge 52 Wellington St. E. 416-955-0887Big Rude Jake Sextet 9.45pm-1.45am 

Intersteer Tavern 361 Roncesvalles Ave. 416-588-8054 Fraser Daley 8.00 pm to 11.00 pm 

Alleycatz 2409 Yonge St. 416-481-6865 The Graceful Daddies 8.30 pm 

Beacon Restaurant 146-45th St. 705-429-4433 Wasaga Beach Wayne Buttery Band, jam 9.00 pm 

Grossman’s Tavern, 379 Spadina Ave., 416-977-7000, Bruce Domoney, 9.30 pm. 

Every Thursday 

Stealth Lounge - The Pilot 22 Cumberland St. 416-923-5716 Julian Fauth 5.30pm 

Black Swan 4040 Palladium Way 905-336-1200 Burlington James Anthony 7.30 pm to 11.30 pm Jam and Open Mike 

Rubbs Barbecue Bistro 18 Bridge St. 705-632-0227 Campbellford Al Lerman 8.00 pm 

Greyfriars Pub & Restaurant 231 Oak Park Blvd. 905-257-3620 Oakville Steve Strongman 8.30 pm 

Joe Mamas 317 King St. W. 416-340-6469 Blackburn 8.30 pm to 12.30 am 

Lola Pub 40 Kensington Ave. 416-348-8645 Brian Cober 9.30 pm 

Every Friday 

Augusta House Gastropub 17 Augusta St. 905-522-5111 Hamilton Every Friday Live Blues Night 10.00 pm 

Fitzgeralds 2298 Queen St. 416-698-5111 Mike McKenna and Friends 

Browse to www.torontobluessociety.com and click on 

"Live Blues" and enter your event into the form provided. 

From there it will be promoted in this newsletter, on our 

website and in our weekly e-mail blasts. Please keep 

the gig listings within reasonable driving distance of 

Toronto. If you're having trouble send a note to Roz at 

mapleblues@gmail.com 


20th EDITION | JULY 5 TO 14, 2013 

More than 150 free outdoor concerts 

in the heart of Tremblant Resort. 

tremblant.ca/blues 

Proud partners 

Media partner 

DOCKET PROJECT VERSION 

8449 FESTIVAL DU www.torontobluessociety.com 

BLUES MAPLE BLUES 

APPROBATIONS MapleBlues July 2013 19 

DIRECTEUR DE CRÉATION SERVICE À LA CLIENTÈLE

13 TH ANNUAL! 

AUGUST 8-11, 2013 

MORE THAN 

60 ACTS 

ON MULTIPLE 

STAGES

July 2013 - Toronto Blues Society

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