Annual event features an array of blue’s artists.
Columbia radiated with sound Saturday during the 19th annual Blues Festival held in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park in Five Points. People stood in crowds with beers perched comfortably in their hands.
Dogs eagerly trotted on their leashes, bringing strangers together with ease. Families and friends sat together to cover a bare lawn with chairs, blankets and warm conversation.
“These are the people who infiltrated Five Points in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s,” said Clair DeLune, the emcee of the festival and a DJ for USC’s campus radio station, WUSC.
The music of Danielle Howle, Andrew Scotchie & the River Rats, Mill Billy Blues, Tommy Malone, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Sonny Landreth and The Dixieland Codgers was featured, as well as a tribute to guitar legend Frank Smoak.
As Malone, a Louisiana native, tested the microphones, he said, “Never bringin’ it down, always bringin’ it up!”
Malone was accompanied by Sam Brady on piano and bass. He sang a piece he wrote named “Mississippi Bootleg” explaining that his father and grandfather brewed whiskey during Prohibition.
The smell of vinegar and cigarette smoke filled the crisp fall air as the young and the old experienced soulful music.
DeLune was accompanied by her German Shepard RockyDawg, Blues Defender. DeLune will be releasing a book, “A Historical Perspective on Blues and Roots Music of S.C.” in the fall of 2014.
“These guys work all year to produce a free concert for the city of Columbia. This is like Christmas for me,” DeLune said. “I grew up with that beat in my body. I have a truly pentatonic soul.”
DeLune said the bands really appreciate the hospitality they’ve received in Columbia. Timothy Graves, son of Geoffrey Graves, spoke on behalf of Word of Mouth Productions, a company that began in 1991.
“This all got started because of my dad’s love for music. He always says this festival is a labor of love,” Graves said.
Graves explained that it takes a network of people to put on this festival every year.
“The city of Columbia gives us their blessing,” he said.
Editor’s Note: The Daily Gamecock is a sponsor of Columbia’s annual Blues Festival.