The Northern Arizona Blues Alliance will present the Sedona Red Rockin’ Blues Festival on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 6 and 7.
The two-day event features a Friday night, intimate performance with two premier blues solo artists at the Mary Fisher Theatre at 7 p.m.
Saturday. Sept. 7, from noon to 6 p.m. at the Posse Grounds Amphitheater in Sedona will be a free outdoor festival with five acts, including Gulf Coast Recording artist Diana Rein
.Leon J and Chuck Hall
- Appearing at the Mary Fisher Theatre Friday, Sept. 6, from 7 to 8 p.m. will be Jay Morton, aka Leon J, who was inducted into The National Heritage Foundation’s Blues Hall of Fame in 2011, as ambassador and performing artist. Leon J has been acknowledged for his “edutaining” shows keeping this unique art of acoustic-based roots blues/folk music inherited from the West African influence alive and well. Traversing through Muddy Waters, Leon J’s notable style influence flows from the Delta. Leon J has performed at the Music Instrument Museum in Phoenix, the Phoenix Theater and the Telluride Blues Festival, where he was an honored winner in the Acoustic Showdown in 2009. He is also the San Diego Acoustic Showcase winner.
- From 8:15 to 9:15 p.m., Chuck Hall will take the stage. Hall was born in Louisiana and raised on the Texas side listening to the likes of Lightnin’ Hopkins, Muddy Waters, Freddie King and Albert King as well as many others. As a 35-plus-year veteran in the music business Hall has opened shows for Albert Collins, B.B. King, Johnny Winter, Albert King, Willie Dixon, Robert Cray, Gregg Allman and the Fabulous Thunderbirds. He recently opened for Charlie Musselwhite and Cray. He has written over 100 songs and more than half of his playlist is original material. He won “Best Blues Guitarist” in Arizona two years in a row and his song “Young Boy” was selected Best Song by Soundboard magazine. He also was inducted into the Arizona Blues Hall of Fame in 2000. His most recent offerings include a two-disc compilation CD and the “Live in Sweden” disc.
Free Concert at Posse Grounds
- On Saturday, Sept. 7, the free concert will begin with “Innocent Joe” Kopicki appearing from noon to 1 p.m. Kopicki has entertained audiences in and around his hometown of Scranton, Penn., for years. His first love is the blues and he is known for being a blues performer with a soulful voice and authentic blues guitar chops. Notable performances include the Chandler Jazz Festival, Phoenix Blues Blast, Flagstaff Blues and Brew Festival and an upcoming Oct. 5 show at the Phillip England Center for the Performing Arts. Kopicki won the Phoenix Blues Society’s International Blues Competition solo competition in 2018 and will be representing them in Memphis in 2020.
- From 1:15 to 2:15 p.m., is guitarist Big Daddy D and the Dynamites with Ray DeSylvester on harp. This is a high energy band blending American roots, rock, soul, rhythm & blues to create an up tempo, house rockin’ sound that will keep the dance floor filled. Darryl opened for Buddy Guy in 2018 at the Colorado River Blues Festival and has represented both the Phoenix Blues Society and NAZBA in the Memphis IBC in 2008 and 2015. DeSylvester competed as a solo artist representing NAZBA in the Memphis competition in 2014. Joining Big Daddy D and Ray are the power rhythm section of bassist Troy Perkins and drummer Dr. Bob Sellani, four-time IBC competitor and semifinalist.
- Next up from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. is Diana Rein. Her latest CD, Queen of My Castle, produced by Gulf Coast Records, was released June 19 and immediately hit the Billboard and RMR Blues charts. Rein toured Romania and came home for several very successful CD release shows in Los Angeles. Rein’s parents escaped communist Romania in 1981 when she was 3 years old. She brought her family’s strong Romanian work ethic to performing arts school, where her talents flourished, eventually leading her to a role in the 1990s comedy “Home Alone.” Her love of blues started at age 8, when her parents brought her to a Chicago blues club, arranging to have her perform some songs with the band. This was a defining moment as a blues artist was born. Over the years, her music heroes and influences emerged: SRV, Prince and Philip Sayce to name a few. But it all started back in Chicago, the home of amazing blues legends like Buddy Guy.
- Next up from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. will be Mother Road Trio, a Memphis International Blues Competition IBC 2019 semi finalist band, representing Northern Arizona. The MRT has had another busy year, playing many high profile events including the Musical Instrument Museum for a second time. Their performances have taken them locally from Phoenix to Flagstaff and last year they were on a European tour and opened for blues legend, Guitar Shorty, at the Orpheum in Flagstaff. Passing through eight states and stretching from Chicago to Los Angeles, the superslab of wigwam dreams, neon empires, giant plastic dinosaurs and American Pie carries on. The Mother Road Trio embodies the quirky and free-wheeling spirit of this mighty highway. MRT’s style is as diverse as Route 66 itself, with offerings of rhythm and blues, original ballads, Motown, swing, jazz standards and good old rock n’ roll. Sure to please crowds from Budapest to Barstow, Mother Road Trio consists of Mike Shiner, the upright bass bombardier and vocal powerhouse; and Larry Czarnecki, virtuoso guitar whose playing drives the trio’s infectious rhythm with precision and panache. Sammy McRae will be rocking, rolling and reeling a crazy stream of notes on the magic blow harp. The top dog on harmonica, he has a genuinely soulful voice and the ability to get a crowd up on their feet begging for more.
- Rounding out the evening from 5 to 6 p.m., J Bad and the Witness Protection Band is a local Sedona group featuring Johnny Badico on lead vocals and bass, Douglas Forero on lead guitar, Shane Haberstroh on percussion and Sellani on drums. The band has played in the Verde Valley, Flagstaff, Scottsdale and south of the border in Mexico, frequently appearing at Puerto Penasco’s famous Wrecked at the Reef bar.
Everyone is invited to bring folding chairs, blankets and sunshade and come out for an hour or the day to this free event. Beer and wine will be available, as well as a food truck. Coolers must be left at home. There will be vendors, NAZBA merchandise and memberships for sale and a 50/50 raffle. This is a pet-friendly environment with the Verde Valley Humane Society bringing some of their furry friends for adoption consideration.
Northern Arizona Blues Alliance
Founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2014, the NAZBA’s mission is to promote, teach and advance blues music through networking with fans, musicians, entertainment venues, promoters, other music and civic organizations and the community-at-large throughout Northern Arizona.
Proceeds from all events go to support local blues musicians and to further promote blues as an American art form.
International Blues Competition Each year in October, NAZBA hosts the local International Blues Competition in Clarkdale where the band and solo/duo competition winners go on to compete in Memphis’s IBC, the premier Blues Foundation event. For the last 36 years, winners of the local band and solo/duo local competitions from 125 U.S. Blues Foundation affiliates and 20 countries descend upon Memphis to compete for the coveted IBC title. This year’s Red Rockin’ Blues Festival lineup features some performers who have competed and/or won their local competition in both the Phoenix Blues Society and NAZBA competitions, some making it to the semifinal round of Memphis competition. The lineup features styles ranging from Americana and swamp blues, Chicago Blues, jazz blues, R&B style blues and rock blues.
