Heat From Both the Sun and Stage for Giving Hunger the Blues Revival
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Dennis Maley
SARASOTA – It was an unseasonably sweltering Sunday in Sarasota, and the only thing hotter than the weather was the music coming from two stages for the return of SRQ's premier R&B event Giving Hunger the Blues, an all-day music festival that benefits the hungry through the food programs it supports.
The action started off at noon with local bluesman RJ Howson warming up the main stage. Howson, who has made a reputation as one of the best local blues musicians, got the early arrivals into the spirit of the day with a set of standards and originals from the Chicagoan's big repertoire.
Next up was everyone's favorite local jam band Kettle of Fish. Over the last decade, Dana Lawrence has been gracing local stages with his unique blend of genre-bending music that appeals to a broad spectrum of music lovers. For Sunday's event, KOF turned in a blues-heavy set that leaned heavily on their excellent original material, plus a scorching rendition of the Allman Brothers Band Classic, Soulshine, which was one of the day's highlights. I don't think I've ever seen a KOF show I didn't like, but I thought Sunday's performance might have been the best I've attended yet.
Reverend Barry & Funktastic Soul featuring the Hellacious Horns
As the crowd began to thicken in the late afternoon, Reverend Barry and Funktastic Soul hit the stage with their horn-heavy set of dance favorites from the '70s and '80s. Complete with a full horn section known as the Hellacious Horns and the silky-smooth vocal stylings of Shantel Norman, Rev. Barry and company got feet into the street with classics like Rick James' Give it to Me Baby and James Brown's I Feel Good.
Gumbi Ortiz's New Groove City opened for the main act with a set of conga-heavy Latin music, and by the time headliners the Selwyn Birchwood Band took to the stage around 6 p.m., the crowd had filled out to a near full house. With the sun beginning to set, the weather finally began to relent but after just a few songs, Birchwood, the man Rolling Stone called, "a young, powerhouse guitarist and soulful vocalist," had the stage hotter than it had been all night.
Kettle of Fish’s Dana Lawrence (left) and Selwyn Birchwood (right)
Riding high on the success of his first major studio album, Don't Call No Ambulance, Birchwood gave the crowd an electrifying set of songs from that LP as well as his preceding indie releases. The Orlando-born/Tampa-based bluesman has already won a BMA for Best New Artist Debut and bested 125 other bands from around the country to win the 2013 International Blues Challenge, while also taking the Albert King Guitarist of the Year award. He might be the best blues guitarist of his generation, often drawing favorable comparisons to legends like Buddy Guy.
Birchwood said he was impressed by the SRQ crowd.
"I thought the turnout was incredible," said Birchwood. "I didn't know what to expect for the event, but it is always thrilling to perform in front of huge crowds like that with such high energy."
Birchwood said the band is currently working on songs for the next record and hope to get into the studio early next year. In terms of what listeners can expect, Birchwood said he hoped to continue to evolve as a musician with a fresh take on an old form.
"I've done three albums of all original material so far and plan this to be a fourth," said Birchwood. "I'm trying to write some fresher blues tunes that have the feeling, emotion, and story telling of the old school, mixed with some more unique sounds. I love the original blues legends, but I don't want to recycle their sound. I also don't think anybody will do it better than Muddy Waters or Howlin' Wolf, so I wanna play it my own way."
Blues guitarist and vocalist Selwyn Birchwood
Local fans will next have a chance to see the Selwyn Birchwood Band when they return to Sarasota for a show at the Blue Rooster on Nov. 20. If you've yet to catch this talented young man play, I'd suggest taking advantage of the chance to see him in a small venue while you still can, as he's surely destined for larger halls in the very near future.
At the other end of Hillview Street, the youth stage showcased an impressive array of local talent, beginning with a set by Riverview High students Alli Fuchs and Jaime Velez, a guitar and vocal duo that put together a unique set of rearranged covers, most notably, Blackstreet's I Love the Way You Work It(No Diggity). Fuchs' tender voice and confident singing was well-backed by Valez's capable guitar work and the result was a solid set of fun songs that suggested a bright artistic future.
Riverview High students Alli Fuchs and Jaime Velez on the GHTB Youth Stage.
For most of the rest of the day, the youth stage was occupied by a marathon session featuring students from the Drum Studio of Sarasota and their instructor Sandy Grecco. Grecco's young charges displayed an incredible degree of both skill and diversity, drawing a crowd that at times rivaled the main stage.
A flash mob organized by the Manatee School for the Arts Middle School dance club
The long-running festival had been on hiatus since 2014 and looked to be permanently defunct when Peter Anderson, who'd been on the board in the past, convinced his close friend and former chair and organizer George Generoso (5'O Clock Club) that it could be revived. Anderson took the reins this year with Generoso staying on as something of an adviser. Anderson is owed a tremendous credit for putting together an impressive talent line-up and organizing a first-rate festival, while preserving one of the area's true musical gems.
Giving Hunger the Blues benefited the Women’s Resource Center and The Mayor’s Feed the Hungry Program, and while an official tally was not yet in as of deadline, Anderson said they were pleased with the results which he predicted would rival 2013's numbers.
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