Blue Wing Blues Festival's fourth year keeps Upper Lake hopping

Written by T. Watts   

Tuesday, 10 August 2010

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – It has been this correspondent’s pleasure to witness the four season metamorphosis of the Blue Wing Blues Festival from a neighborhood musical gathering to a full-fledged, world-class entity.

Saturday night’s opener was Boogie Piano Queen Wendy DeWitt. As reported 16 months ago when she last played the Tallman Hotel’s Concerts With Conversation series, DeWitt is a gifted stylist. She is fluent in the styles of the great masters of blues and boogie piano. The list includes Otis Spann, Memphis Slim, Big Maceo, Joe Duskin, Meade Lux Lewis, Little Brother Montgomery, Pete Johnson and a host of others.

Wendy DeWitt with Kirk Harwood on drums performed at the Blue Wing Blues Festival on Saturday, August 7, 2010. Photo by T. Watts.

  DeWitt is quite capable of holding a crowd’s attention without accompaniment but came to this year’s engagement with a drummer, Kirk Harwood.

  DeWitt and Harwood kept the crowd’s rapt attention throughout. So intense was her captivation of the guests that even the dancers remained seated throughout, slack-jawed in awe of DeWitt’s dexterity and comic timing.

  She closed with a Memphis Slim tune and left to a standing ovation. Of course she was convinced to do an encore. DeWitt offered up tasty servings of the aforementioned styles. She included compositions penned by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Fats Domino, Ahmet Ertegan, Gershwin and many others.

T. Watts is a writer, radio host and music critic. Visit his Web site at www.teewatts.biz .