Last weekend my buddy Nazz and I went to the Friday night edition of the Edmonton Blues Festival at Klondike Park to catch the legendary Booker T Jones in concert. Thanks to Alley Kat Brewing for the free passes for the weekend!
This was the first time the festival had been held at Klondike Park and first time I have been to the venue as well. It's actually a pretty cool venue had it been set up properly. The biggest issue with the set up here was the tents set up around the bowl of the seating area. I presume they were VIP tents, the tents were about 15 feet high and obstructed the view for everyone that wasn't in the bowl. Which meant about half the crowd couldn't see the stage, ridiculous! And there was no open area in front of the stage where people could dance and be up close to the bands. With Hawrelak Park under construction, which is where the festival has been held for the previous 23 years, the festival has had to hold the festival at two different venues now. Last years festival was held at Re/Max Field. But apparently that didn't work for them. So this year it was Klondike Park. If they hold it there again there is certainly some kinks to work out, the biggest one being lose the tents and a dance area near the stage. Other then that I think this would be a great venue for the festival.
A shot of the tent, which went around the whole seating area.
We got to the venue in time to catch Vanessa Collier. An artist I had never heard of before, as most of the weekend line-up were bands I had never heard before. One of the reasons that I never bought tickets.
Vanessa Collier is an artist from Dallas, Texas who plays saxophone, guitar and is a singer and songwriter. Her music is a mix of soul, funk and of course the blues. Her hour long set was quite good.
Headlining the first night of the festival was the legendary Booker T. Jones (he of Booker T. & The M.G.'s). Booker T. has collaborated with everyone that is someone, with the likes of Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Otis Redding, Sheryl Crow, Levon Helm,Sam & Dave, John Lee Hooker, Elton John, Albert King and the list goes on. And at 79 years old he sounds and looks great and doesn't look to be slowing down at all. This show was billed as Booker T Presents: A Stax Revue and Journey Thru Soul, Blues and R&B. And he hit the nose on all fronts. It was super cool to hear him do such songs as "Green Onions", "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay", "Melting Pot", "The Thrill Is Gone" and so much more. His hour and a half long set was just one classic song after another. His back up band of course was stellar too. A great way to end the first night. Good times!!!
A very cool special edition Blonde Ale can of beer from Alley Kat Brewing just for this occasion.
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