RiverWalk Blues Festival in Fort Lauderdale

[Miami-Ace]

:dance Recently went to the big blues fest on the New River in Fort LiquourDale as some like to call it. Highlights of our Saturday spent blues groovin': The Robert Randolph Family Band, which was large-scale and rockin'. If you don't know Robert Randolph, he plays a lap steel guitar (correct teminology?) like no one I have ever heard. Stunning. He makes it cry and wail and played one long solo that sounded like a master of the Strat playing a psychedelic number. The whole thing is a big, complex act that comes off like an updated Earth, Wind and Fire ... except it has tons of guitar and some synth/keyboard stuff rather than horns. He's an amazing musician ... and a master showman. He had at least two dozen ladies/babes/girls from the audience up on the stage and when he yelled out, "Ladies, shake your hips," I assure you they did.

Also, particularly enjoyed one of my very favorite musicians, stellar bluesman Albert Castiglia, :dance who played some energetic blues rock, much of if from his new album Keepin' On. It was some fun music.

All in all, it was a fine event

[Spudman]

Cool. Did Robert play his Telecaster at all? He's such a great musician.

[Miami-Ace]

Actually, Castiglia did most of his playing on a Les Paul ... doing some heavy blues-rock cranking. Too tell the truth, I like it when Albert sticks to Teles and Strats because his precise, cleanly articulated playing comes through better (IMO) on a single-coil instrument rather than a roaring high-gain approach. Oh, well. There was, however, an extraordinary Tele performance by a young lead player for a new blues group the Bluestones .... the name plays two different ways. This kid was really wailing on the Tele, a Thinline ... and I was very impressed with his ability to cover a tremendous amount of musical territory with that guitar.

[Spudman]

I meant Robert Randolph. When I saw him locally he played a Telecaster on a couple of songs.

[Bloozcat]

I went to the RiverWalk Blues Festival a few years ago. IIRC, it was called just the RiverWalk Music Festival then.

Anyway, it was a good music fest. I sorta lost track of when it's held each year. I'll have to watch for it next year.

[guitarhack]

Randolph normally plays a pedal steel.