Thursday, Oct. 01, 2009
Folk art and blues battle for your attention
Nouveaux Honkies
Folk art and blues go hand-in-hand like ... dark beer and German oompah-pah music, or French impressionism and red wine. OK, not my best analogies ever, but you get the idea. Combining the House of Blues' long-running Folk Art Festival (this year with more than 40 artists) with a Battle of the Blues contest, featuring 30 or so local and regional bands and soloists, was the brainchild of local artist and community do-gooder Kimberly Clayton. The festival, which sports free admission runs, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday with the proceeds benefiting South by Southeast (SXSE), a local non-profit music education organization, at the House of Blues.
The event will mark the Myrtle Beach debut of the Nouveaux Honkies (8 p.m. Sunday) featuring the triumphant return of Rebecca Dawkins (Wicked Gift/Myrtle Beach Girls), our hometown fiddling femme fatale who left us for Florida several years ago. A ticketed H.O.B. music hall concert by B.B. King is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, and the Black Crowes will perform in the music hall at 7 p.m. Sunday. All in all, that's a lot of music and art in one 48-hour span.
Clayton, a Myrtle Beach-based folk artist for the past 14-years, travels the art festival circuit, and is a fan of live, earthy music, especially when featured in an art-rich atmosphere. Earlier this summer she visited her hometown of Chattanooga, Tenn., and was moved by the many street musicians playing the blues throughout the hip, tourist-visited art gallery neighborhoods in that city, and was inspired by how well the music melded with the art crowd. So much so that she decided to try to recreate the same atmosphere here and have it benefit SXSE. The Myrtle Beach-based music education non-profit organization hosts regular Americana music concerts at the Myrtle Beach Train Depot and provides local schools with used and refurbished instruments for their music departments. The organization also sponsors guest musicians' school visits, and has provided cash grants for needy music students. To Clayton, combining the Folk Art festival with a Battle of the Blues, seemed like a no-brainer. "The House of Blues just seemed like the perfect place," she said. Clayton has been a part of the H.O.B.'s annual Folk Art Festival since its inception eight years ago. "When we had to cancel earlier this year because of the [Barefoot] wildfires, we looked to see what weekend might be good. With B.B. King and the Black Crows playing it seemed perfect."
In addition to the 40-plus folk artists, who will sell their creations, some 30 musical acts will perform a variety of originals and covers, most all with a blues theme. The winner will receive a paid gig at the House of Blues, and a free graphic from artist/designer Jeff Norris of The Sellers Group, to be used as a CD cover, or poster. The acts will compete on two stages - the acoustic stage in the courtyard adjacent to the front entrance of the venue's restaurant, and larger acts performing on the Sugar Shack Deck stage in back.
While the schedule was still being adjusted as of press time, and there were a few holes to fill, Jeff Hulse, booking manager for the event, has put together an impressive array of talent from the beach and around the region.
SATURDAY: Beginning at 11 a.m. on the Sugar Shack Deck stage and changing every 90 minutes: TBA, A. Smith Band, Jump Back Jack, Amendment 21, Greg Bowman Blues Band, Truluck Johnson, Skye Paige and the Original Recipe, My Buddy Todd. Beginning at 11 a.m. in the courtyard and changing every 90 minutes: The Misspent Ukes, The Megan Davis Band, Fleetwood Covington, Jeff Norwood, Dustin Lee, Tammy Rochelle, Spider Mike Bochey, and Carolina Shame.
SUNDAY: Beginning at 11 a.m. on the Sugar Shack Deck stage and changing every 90 minutes: TBA, TBA, Jeff Norwood Band, Rickey Godfrey, Burn 1 Down, Chicken Head Blues Band, Nouveaux Honkies, The Chainsaws. Beginning at 11 a.m. in the courtyard and changing every 90 minutes: M. Smith, Rick Tobey, Coco Harwick and Above the Shadows, Tammy Rochelle Band, Alica Smith, Jessica Sagan & Family, Jaynie Trudell, Lon Eldridge.
Clayton has created and donated a stunning full color painting, with limited, numbered and signed prints for sale at the festival. A sample is available on the festival blog (hobartfestivalandbattleoftheblues.blogspot.com). "The House of Blues has one of the biggest, if not thee biggest, collections of American folk art, anywhere" said Clayton, referring to the rare and valuable artwork hung on virtually every vertical surface of every wall throughout the entertainment complex. "And they're known for music, and of course food and South by Southeast is near and dear to my heart, so this is a beautiful, beautiful combination."
For more information visit: www.hobartfestivalandbattleoftheblues.blogspot.com
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