Le magazine du Blues et de la Soul depuis 1968
Text: Jacques Périn
Photos © Thierry Wakx
Stephen Hull with Sheryl Youngblood
Bay-Car Blues Festival 2024
November 8 and 9, 2024, Palais du Littoral, Grande-Synthe (59)
The 2024 vintage of the Chicago Blues Festival inaugurated its long tour here in Grande-Synthe. The small problems noted sometimes (like the underemployment of Johnny Iguana on keyboards) will probably be resolved over the weeks on the road. First positive point: all the participants are present on stage, from the beginning to the end of the concert, avoiding the impression of a parade of individuals sometimes felt. Without doubt the least known, Sheryl Youngblood opens from the room and reveals a real entertainer temperament . Coming from gospel, she mixes blues and soul with conviction, well in phase with the rhythm (Cresenciano Cruz, b; Victor Reed, dm). She also pays tribute to Jimmy Johnson by covering his last composition, Every day in your life , which she recorded on Delmark. The atmosphere becomes tense when Dave Herrero takes the reins, he plays well and loud, often in a funky vein. Stephen Hull , who we saw in this room with Andrew Alli, chooses a more personal path, even if he tends to often change register over the course of the songs. Symptomatically, it is with a 70-year-old song, Caldonia , that he wins over the audience. The obligatory encore gives us a beautiful unusual cover of Al Green’s Take me to the river .
Text: Jacques Périn
Photos © Thierry Wakx
Chicago Blues Festival 2024
Stephen Hull, Sheryl Youngblood & Dave Herrero: multigenerational Blues!
54th fall for the legendary Chicago Blues Festival tour, launched in 1969!
After a foray into Mississippi in 2023, it’s a return to the blues capital this year, with a lineup mixing different generations!
Leading the tour is one of the finest talents on the new blues scene, Stephen Hull , just 25 years old, accompanied by his group Trio Experience , who will join the ranks of the legendary Alligator label to release a first album in 2024!
Hailing from Wisconsin, Stephen never received any particular musical training. Coming from a family where music was a daily companion, he touched his first guitar at 14 and has never stopped since!
When it comes to influences, Stephen cites Albert King as his main influence alongside other legends BB King and Elmore James.
To accompany Stephen and his group, two other big names from the Chicago scene, who have never yet taken part in this legendary tour: Sheryl Youngblood and Dave Herrero !
In recent years, Sheryl Youngblood has been a force to be reckoned with on the Chicago blues scene, with notable appearances at the June Festival and energetic performances at all the city’s clubs: Rosa ‘s Lounge, Blue Chicago and Legends.
But the singer-drummer is no beginner. In fact, she sang for a long time in a very famous gospel group, that of the Rev. Milton Brunson and the Thompson Community Singers of Chicago, better known as The Tommies, with which she won a Grammy Award.
Dave Herrero grew up in the Tampa Bay area. Passionate about music since his childhood, particularly American blues and rock and roll of the 1950s/60s, he began his professional career at the age of 18.
Little by little, the call of the ” Windy City” is felt and he moves to Chicago where he intends to devote himself to his own career. One thing leads to another, his name circulates and Dave finds himself producing an album by Jimmy Burns with whom he will go on tour around the world. At the same time, he continues his solo career with his group the Hero Brothers and now regularly performs under his own name in all the clubs in the city.
After 2023, it’s a new , 100% new line-up for the 2024 vintage!
https://www.baycarbluesfestival.fr/chicago-blues-festival-2024-artiste-219-0.html
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