By: Skip Sheffield
It rained but it didn’t pour and the fans came anyway to the first Sunshine Blues Festival at Mizner Park Amphitheater.
My brother and I arrived late because we had a gig of our own, but we were able to catch the main headliners.
Matt Schofield is a young British blues man with a bright future. He wails on his Fender Strat and does some good blues shouting. He is also a very friendly guy. He hung out by the stage door, greeted fans and gladly gave out autographs.
Dr. John was looking and sounding fit. His New Orleans-style outfit included a female backup singer who also played the trombone with flair.
I had never heard of Joe Louis walker before this festival. He has been around a long time (he’s about my age), but only recently signed to Alligator records.
Walker is an excellent guitarist and a powerful singer. What I really liked was his sense of humor. Who says the blues must be depressing? His young band is really hot too.
The main attraction was the husband-and-wife team of Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks. I first saw Derek when he was a young guitarist playing the Musicians Exchange in Fort Lauderdale. I saw singer-guitarist Tedeschi first when she had her own band. Both Tedeschi and Trucks have gotten better every time I’ve heard them. I can say without reservation that Trucks is one of the best guitarists in the world today, both with slide and fingers. Tedeschi is the best female singer in the blues today, and it doesn’t hurt that she is so attractive too. Together Tedeschi-Trucks are the power couple of American blues.
If you missed them you have another chance when they play the Wanee Festival April 18-20 in Live Oak, Florida.
Palm Beach Poetry Festival in Delray Beach
Poets and poetry have taken over Delray Beach in the vicinity of Old School Square through Saturday, Jan. 26. The festival was the recipient of this year’s Muse Award for Outstanding Arts & Cultural Organization (budget under $500,000) from the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County. Go to www.palmbeachpoetryfestival.org for a schedule, or call 561-868-2063.
Love is Blue and Beautiful in “Amour”
There has been a lot of critical buzz about “Amour,” which is up for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It features two of France’s best, oldest actors, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva, directed by Michael Haneke, who also wrote the story.
To say this is a sad love story would be understating the fact. Now in their 80s, Georges and Anne are still very much in love. But as so often happens in old age, one of them suffers a stroke, and the other must become caretaker, with increasing difficulty.
“Amour” is infused with melancholy classical music, as both characters are musicians, as is their daughter Eva, played by Isabelle Huppert.
“Amour” shows what happens when love is put to its ultimate test. Wonderfully acted, it is both sad and wistfully beautiful.
Photos By: Tom Craig
Captions: (top) Tedeschi Trucks (bottom) Joe Louis Walker