Rockford Blues fans were treated to a great evening of blues when BB King and Magic Slim came to town.  The show opened right at about 8 PM on Thursday, December 2^nd with Magic Slim and the Teardrops doing a 45 minute set.  After a short break, BB’s band played for nearly a half hour.  BB then came out and did over an hour and a half himself.  At 79 years of age, he is still in great vocal and musical shape.  His diabetes forces him to sit for concerts now, but he is vibrant, energetic and puts on a great show.  BB’s verbal asides and interaction with the audience between songs were as entertaining as his music. 

BB’s band includes James Bolden in his 25^th year of leading the band and on trumpet.  Also on trumpet was Stanley Abernathy.  Melvin Jackson was on sax and James Sells Toney was the keyboard player.  Backing BB up on guitar was Leon Warren while Michael Doster, the youngest member of the band, was on bass.  On drums laying down the beat was Calep Emhrey Jr..  They are a superb group who provide Mr. King with a solid sound.

Doing warm-up for BB were Magic Slim and the Teardrops.  Slim is not a youngster either, but his prowess on guitar is also not affected by his age.  He and his band gave the crowd a superb performance of a set of his tunes.  After the show, Slim and his band visited Nino’s Big Cities Lounge on State Street.  Slim’s performance was also great and it was hoped he’d play a bit at Nino’s, but they listened to Pistol Pete play, chatted with him at the break and left.

BB King and Magic Slim provided the blues fan wonderful evening and the Coronado is a great venue.  All who attended were enthralled and had an outstanding time.

BB King Festival

There is an annual BB King Homecoming Festival in Indianola, MS, BB’s birthplace.  This year it will be on Friday evening, June 3.  Check out this link www.cathead.biz/livemusic.html for Delta Blues Events for more information.  Some Crossroads member may be going- stay tuned!