JUNE 11,2007: "1ST ANNUAL YAZOO COUNTY BLUES FEST" Hello Blues and Southern Soul fans,2007 can be dubbed early on as the year of the outdoor blues shows.I've attended more outdoor shows this year than all of 2006 combined and looking at my calender for other shows that I plan on attending,there are several more to come.I love attending blues shows no matter where the venue is but I have to be honest I do love the outdoor shows a lil bit better.Sunshine and blue skies to go along with good music,good food and most of all good people and you have the setting for a blues paradise.Bentonia,Mississippi was paradise as it hosted the "1st ANNUAL YAZOO COUNTY BLUES FEST".It was a beautiful sunny day(hot as fish grease though) for this blues and southern soul gathering.When I arrived it looked more like a big family reunion was going on,there were the usual spectators on hand with the lawn chairs and ice chests but to my suprise there were a lot of kids on hand, oh sure I've seen kids at these outdoor shows in the past but it was the number of kids that caught my eye.The promoters for this show must have welcomed grown ups and kids because there were plenty of those large inflatable gadgets(the ones where the kids jump around in) on hand that allowed the kids to have Christmas in June.It was a BYOE(Bring your own everything) affair,there were also plenty of vendors on hand and the smell of hot wings,bar-b-que,fried fish and other down home southern cusines filled the air.The smell of the catfish was too much for me so you know I had to get me a plate,well two plates.It was a nice crowd on hand for this show,the lineup included Reggie P,Omar Cunningham,Wilson Meadows,Vick Allen and special guests Lebrado and Billy "Soul" Bonds.The mc was WMPR(90.1 FM Jackson,MS) radio personality DJ Outlaw.With the gin and juice on hand chased with plenty of cold Bud Lights,sit back good people and allow me to take you on this blues and southern soul ride. The first performer was The Prince of Southern Soul,Reggie P.I've seen a few of his shows now and its one thing that I can honestly say about his performances,I never know what he is going to do and sometimes I don't even think Reggie P knows what he is going to do.He hit the stage and the crowd went wild.I guess waiting in the shade allowed the fans to get their drank on because they were as the young folks would say,crunk up in here.He opened his performance with a rendition of Bobby Womack's "Nobody Wants You".He begin to ad-lib with the crowd using some grown folks language,I had to look around because of the number of kids that were on hand and wouldn't you know it,kids will always be kids because all of them were playing their lil hearts out and allowing the grown folks to enjoy the music.His next song was "Come On Girl" and man did the ladies come.They all flocked down by the stage to get their groove on.His next song was "Hold On" and anyone that has seen his show knows he can't stay on the stage and like vintage Reggie P he exited stage left and walked through the crowd.Midway through the song there was a long pause(I guess about a minute and a half) as he continued his tour through the crowd.I never understood this but the title of the song is "Hold On" so I guess he had to do just that but the crowd all loved it.He made his way back to the stage and did a wonderful rendition of Z.Z. Hill's "Down Home Blues".He closed his performance with his hit single "Why Me" and he received his biggest ovation.Reggie P was very energetic with his performance and this set a great tone for the rest of the show.To get more info on Reggie P please visit ALLINSON RECORDS at www.allinsonrecords.com After Reggie P's crunk performance DJ Outlaw announced that he had a couple of special guests on hand,the first guest he brought to the stage was Mr. Scat Cat himself,Billy Soul Bonds.I thought that he was going to bless us with a song or two but he only acknowledge the crowd and his time on stage was very brief.The second special guest had no intentions of doing that.IFGAM recording artist,Lebrado was introduced and the ladies started to scream.For those of you who aren't familar with him he is the younger brother of the r&b duo K-Ci and Jo Jo(Jodeci) but he is making a name for himself in the southern soul industry.He acknowledge the crowd and then to everyone's delight begin to perform "Try Me" from his latest cd with the same namesake.He closed his time on stage with the hit song that propelled him to southern soul popularity,"Missing You"(I miss them good old days)and this got everyone on their feet and dancing.I really enjoyed his time on stage.For more info on Billy Soul Bonds please visit www.malaco.com and to get all the latest news on Lebrado please go to his website at www.lebrado.com The next performer was my man Omar Cunningham.His shows in my area are far and few but whenever he's in the area I make it my business to try and get there.Before he came on stage I noticed three female backup singers and they were harmonizing oh so sweet as Omar made it to the stage area.He received a huge ovation from the crowd and the stage area was now packed with several of the female fans screaming.He opened his performance with "Before I Let You Go" and I rose to my feet to watch this performance.His next song was "Hell At The House" and with the gin and juice kicking in this jam had me trying to cut a rug.He slowed it down with "Baby Don't Leave Me" and this had some of the couples holding each other tight.His next song caught me by suprise.He did a rendition of Johnnie Taylor's "Last Two Dollars" and you know any JT cut will get a crowd going and Omar did his thang on this one.I was really suprised by the depth of his vocals on this one. His next song was my personal favorite,"Sweet,Sweet" and it sounded just like its namesake.I've always boasted that in my opinion Omar has THE BEST LIVE VOCALS in the industry and it continues to remain true.This song should be played on all the mainstream radio stations and his face should be seen on BET,MTV and VH1.He picked up the tempo with his hit "Married Woman,Married Man" as he gave a shout out to someone named Big K9.He closed his performance with the song that introduced us to the best live vocals in the industry."Check To Check" had everyone on their feet and dancing once again.Omar Cunningham's body of work speaks for itself.He is one of the top performers in the industry and did I mention that he has THE BEST LIVE VOCALS IN THE INDUSTRY.Damn good show.To get more info on Omar Cunningham please visit his website at www.endzonerecords.com and his myspace page at www.myspace.com/omarcham The next performer of the night was one of my favorite artists,the smooth crooner Wilson Meadows.It has been awhile since I last seen him perform.He received a nice ovation as he walked out on stage.He opened his performance with a cut song earlier by Omar,yes JT was given some love on this night as he belted out his version of "Last Two Dollars" and the crowd didn't seem to mind that they had just heard it sang a few minutes ago.During this song Wilson's guitar player Lil 2 Hype gave the crowd a thrill as he went to his knees and almost tumbled backwards grinding out a mean guitar lick.He was set on making this a dance party as he performed "Stroll It".His next song was my personal favorite,"Baby I Promise" filled the night air as I did my personal sing along(too much gin will do that).He did an outstanding rendition of The Love Doctors "Slow Roll It" and this one lady by the stage area stole the moment with her seductive dance version.LAWD HAVE MERCY!Let me just say this every man in attendance cheated on their wives or girlfriends doing this dance routine.DAMN!His next two songs were "I Wanna See You" and "Love Bomb".He was suppose to close his performance with the southern soul classic "Still My Love" but at the end of it the women down front wanted to hear "Just Like I Promised" and Wilson Meadows being the artist that he is,couldn't refuse them so he closed his performance with a bang and the women down front were very appreciative.Wilson Meadows is a smooth crooner that I've always enjoyed.You can purchase his music on several websites including www.amazon.com and www.cduniverse.com The last performer of the night was the artist that I wanted to see the most.It was late and like other shows many in attendance were beginning to leave but there were still some true dedicated fans on hand to see Vick Allen do his thing.I've seen his performance a couple of times awhile back and I wanted to see how he handle himself on stage.As he walked out on stage I quickly noticed that his stage presence was a lot different from the last time I saw him perform.He looked more comfortable and confident.He opened his performance with "I Better Walk Away" and his soulful voice came across very well on this cut.His next song was "I'm Giving It Up" and this allowed a few of the remaining fans to cut a rug,one lady even kicked her shoes off.His next song was his newest single and my personal favorite,fans I know that this one is going to be a smash hit for him."Baby Come Back Home" is dominating all of the southern soul airways and should be played on mainstream radio.This is a jam that all music lovers can relate too.Vick had the crowd grooving on this cut.You can hear a lil Al Green vibe as his terrific voice echoed through the night.For all you fans who haven't heard this cut yet please do so and I mean very soon.His next song was one that he wrote for his mentor and friend,Willie Clayton.He gave a very soul-stirring performance of "I Love Me Some You" and it sounded oh so good.This gut wrenching version made you think back to his days singing along side Harvey Watkins Jr. and The Canton Spirituals.In other words he took us to church with that tune. I love to see artist paying tribute to the old school and his next two selections brought everyone front and center and cutting a rug.Tyrone Davis "If I could Turn Back The Hands Of Time" and "Give It Up,Turn It Loose" filled the night air.It was a great tribute to Tyrone Davis.He closed his performance with "Lets Dance" and the crowd was in total agreement.His performance was more polished since the other times I saw him perform and with his soulful voice I only expect to see and hear great things from this talented brother.For more info on Vick Allen please visit his website at www.vickallen.com and on myspace at www.myspace.com/vickallen In closing I would like to say to the fans lets continue to support the artists of this genre of music.I'll never know why this genre of music get black balled by mainstream radio.A few of these artists SHOULD be mainstream artists.I've listened to the likes of Usher,R. Kelly,Akon, and other so called mainstream artists and just can't figure out why Omar Cunningham,Sir Charles,T.K. Soul,O.B. Buchana,Willie Clayton and other artists of this genre of music are labled southern soul blues artists.I'm thankful to be able to not only listen to these talented artists but also have the opportunity to see them all live right here in my own neck of the woods.For all of you who buy Usher and Akon cds they aren't coming to Greenville,Greenwood and Bentonia,MS.They not coming to Ruston,Lafayette and Monroe,LA,they not coming to Pritchard,Huntsville and Dothan,AL but I know you can see the hardworking artists of this genre of music in all those places, so again fans I urge you to continue to support these artists.I want to give a shout out to Reggie P,Billy Soul Bonds,Lebrado,Omar Cunningham,Wilson Meadows and Vick Allen who all took the time to meet,greet and take some terrifc photos for the fans.Also I would like to give a shout out to DJ Outlaw,Lil 2 Hype(Wilson Meadows guitar player),Brenda(from T.K. Soul's camp),members of Soul For Real(T.K. Soul's band)Tshenay(Vick Allen's backup singer and Tammy(Reggie P's camp).I really had a great time at this show and like always I just wanted to share it with you the greatest fans in the world.TAKE CARE AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS. BIG K9
WELCOME 2 DA DAWG POUND! DA HOME OF BIG K9
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