Kansas Acoustic Arts Association

If 'THE BLUES' is your thing, you might want to mark on your calendar for the second weekend of October. That should be the time for the 9th Annual Blues Masters at the Cross Roads Concert. Local blues enthusiast, Randy Crump, has been their emcee all those years, and I heard him talking about this year's concert. It was dedicated to the memories of Wild Child Butler and Harry Hypolite. It happens at the Blue Heaven Studios, (a converted church with grand acoustics) in Salina, Kansas which is also the home of Acoustic Sounds, the largest audio file on line store with a huge warehouse of vinyls and CD's. Check out www.acousticsounds.com. The concert was filmed and recorded for future release. This was not an acoustic event but there were several acoustic performers including John Mooney. Some big names were Barbara Lynn, a top name in the 60's who is back and as good as ever and Jimmy Dawkins who played Chicago Blues here in Wichita in 1982 for the first Blues concert at the River Festival. Bios for all the performers can be found at www.blueheavenstudios.com.

AND MORE BLUES! Rory Block will be performing at the Historic Gregg Theater in downtown Sedan, KS. on Feb. 18. Tickets, $10. She is a four-time WC Handy award winner and Randy was excited to hear that she was playing in our region.
Contact info: phone 620-725-3834 or www.cqbluesfest.com. Rory's website is http://www.roryblock.com/.

Traveling in the other direction into a different world, one of my friends attended the 17th Annual Western Music Association Festival, Nov. 17th-20th at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was a gathering of Western Music artists, businesses, broadcasters and fans. There were seminars, a trade show and displays for artists including Native American crafts. Activities included a memorial to the late Chris Ladeux, a live radio 'Barn Dance' broadcast and a presentation ceremony for RIDERS IN THE SKY as entertainer of the year. There was also some sharing of Patsy Montana memorabilia including a previously unrecorded song. And, of course, the after-hours jam sessions ran till whenever in the morning. This was reported to be an all acoustic event; not even an electric bass was spied. The 2006 Festival and awards show will again be held in Albuquerque. Information about the WMA can be obtained from Roger Ringer, 1660 S. 343rd W., Cheney, KS. 67025. WMA has moved their headquarters to Texas and are currently developing a renewed website, and he plans to keep up on all the details.

The Fall 2005 issue of KANSAS! has articles on the Walnut Valley Festival; Black Lodge recording studio in Eudora, www.blacklodgerecording.com, a state of the art recording place where some of the big names hang out and the Wilmore Opry in tiny Wilmore, KS, with a population of 57. The Opry provides good family fun and entertainment in Comanche County. The reserved seats are free, and the entertainers, aged 5 to 90-plus, present gospel and country-western music and comedy skits. Wilmore is located 35 miles west of Medicine Lodge in the south-central part of the state. Ph. (316) 617-7682 or (620) 886-3293. Also listed as resources for recording studios are www.rockkansas.com and www.thezone.org.

Doc's Guitar: The finger picking and flatpicking of Doc Watson was an interesting video that I picked up from the City Library System. Produced by Smithsonian/Folkways & Homespun Video, it included a booklet transcribed and inscribed by Steve Kaufman of the various songs demonstrated by Doc. You can see and hear Doc's guitar playing in slowed-down, close-up detail, with split-screen images so you can watch both his hands. His clear explanations & demonstrations show you how to play his arrangements. Homespun Tapes, Box 694, Woodstock, NY, 12498 -- (914) 246-2550 -- info listed on the tape.

Wichita Guitar Society Concerts -- Jan. 21, Isaac Bustos from Nicaragua, http://bustosguitarist.com, and Feb. 25, Carlos Perez from Chile, http://www.carlosperez.cl . Info and tickets online at WichitaGuitar.Com or (316) 263-7561. And don't forget that a ticket to the concert is a ticket to audit the Master Class at 7 p.m. that evening at WSU.

I really enjoyed the evening with the Waybacks. The music was great, the turnout was a good crowd and the cause was one dear to my heart. I love to read and was glad to participate so others can do likewise. I made it to Century II for the 'BARRAGE -- Vagabond Tales' evening and thoroughly enjoyed the energy, the fiddling, the dancing, and the rhythm. The sound of those drums hit the spot that night. I understand that they will be back again, and I plan to be there just to hear it all again. I recommend it as a fun relaxing evening.

For Christmas I heard the Wichita Chamber Chorale present SOUNDING JOY, sung a cappella in Latin and Italian with traditional carols for the second part of the concert. I also made my way to hear Stephen Bennett for his Christmas Concert. It was a light-hearted evening, and I was able to add a couple of his CDs to my guitar music collection. AND I'm excited to be getting into the music of ABBA for our winter choir semester. That should be a lot of fun, and of course that will keep me singin'. Happy New Year and Many Wishes for More Peace, Great Fun and Good Music!