Daytona Blues Festival

The Fifth annual Daytona Blues Festival was held on a  beautiful three day weekend, October 10th, 11th and 12th at the Jackie Robinson Ballpark right on the Halifax River. Organizers of this event outdid themselves as some of the very best talent in blues music today was booked. The large crowd clearly enjoyed the sights and sounds on stage during this first-class festival.
A great mix of up and coming blues acts and established veterans were scheduled on each day of the Festival. Friday evening featured Samantha Fish, John Nemeth and Southern Hospitality. Day two was equally exciting, as Little G Weevil & Billy Gibson (great acoustic act) took the stage. Their delightful hour-long set was followed by a polished Rhythm and Blues group -Diedra and The Ruff Pro Band. The Mississippi Blues Child -Mr. Sipp delivered his high-powered, guitar driven southern blues to the appreciative crowd. After a short break, one of the highlights of the evening; Davina and The Vagabonds delivered a tasteful dish of Saint Louis Blues and eclectic music that had the audience participating. (See the October 18th post to this blog). Guitar virtuoso Jimmy Thackery demonstrated his master of the Strat- delivering Hendrix-like notes to the air waves. One of Chicago's very best: Bobby Rush closed out the evening on a high point. These first two days of blues acts fully satisfied Central Florida's thirst for the blues with day three's activities still yet to come. As is usually the case, I did have my camera bag with me and had access to the stage. Wish you could have been there, or maybe you were!

Davina & The Vagabonds

Most of my friends and family have strategically migrated from the north to the south. After years of shoveling snow, ice storms, white outs and enduring weeks of cabin fever, they rent a truck and move their earthly belongings to the warmer climate of the southland.  However, some folks are different. Consider Davina Sowers- a musician who moved from tropical Key West Florida  all the way to the winter wonderland of Minnesota to change her life. How does a classically-trained pianist from the southernmost city in the US successfully make it in the frigid Land of Lakes? By exceptional song writing, great arrangements and assembling one of the county's finest bands featuring a dueling horn section, drums,upright bass and of course Davina on the keyboards singing her heart out with stunning sultry vocals. The cherry on top is a suitable name: Davina and The Vagabonds.
I am a lover of  blues and eclectic music -stuff you really can't put an identity on. All I know is I grew up listening to Louis Armstrong, Floyd Cramer, Bill Black's Combo, The Beatles, Stones and Kinks. . . .Davina and the Vagabonds is all of that and a bag of chips wrapped up into one!
The recent Daytona Beach Blues Festival gave me a front -row and center opportunity to buy into what they are selling. On an extremely humid and hot afternoon, Davina and the Vagabonds took  the stage and in a matter of a few minutes had the audience eating out of their hand. I spotted dancing, toe tapping and spontaneous clapping in the every section of the stadium. The hour-long set borrowed heavily on the last two albums released: Sunshine (2014), and Black Cloud (2011). Musically  and vocally D & The Vagabonds are spot-on and very tight. The horn section was outstanding. Percussion was exceptional. Davina is a one of a kind vocalist. A throw-back mix of some of the best female singers of all time throughout the years. Her voice has a wonderful range, but the best part of Davina is her stage presence and ability to ad-lib and entertain. The hour set was over way too fast. That is my gauge of a great show. So glad I got to see and hear the girl that moved from the sunshine state almost to Canada! Great Move! Please give them a listen and by all means go see them as they are on tour a good part of the year. Check out their on-line home: http://davinaandthevagabonds.com/ Of course I had my trusty Nikon with me and will post a few photos from the Daytona Blues Festival show.