by: JENNIFER CHANCELLOR World Scene Writer
8/31/2007 6:24 AM
Dusk Til Dawn Blues Festival 2007 features some 35 acts playing some 65 hours of music
Rentiesville may be a small town, but it is home to a blues music institution of sorts – the Down Home Blues Club – D.C. Minner’s grandmother’s old corn-whiskey hall.
And this year, the esteemed musician will open the club’s doors to fans young and old as he hosts the 16th annual celebration of gritty Oklahoma, regional and national blues music.
The Dusk Til Dawn Blues Festival will be Friday through Sunday, at the intersection of blues, John Hope Street and D.C. Minner Avenue.
Thirty-five acts are scheduled to play over three days – that’s 50 sets with more than 65 hours of music, from festival veterans and newbies alike.
Acts to watch…
Michael Burks
“I haven’t played this event in years,” said Arkansas-based Michael Burks, “But I’m coming back for D.C. and Selby (Minner). They’re great people, like friends to me.”
The blues veteran is performing two sets on Sunday, at 9:45 p.m. and 1 a.m., according to the festival’s Web site, www. tulsaworld.com/Minner.
This will be his third time to play the event, he said.
In 2001, his album “Make It Rain” was named one of the top 200 greatest guitar recordings by GuitarOne magazine, and in 2004, Living Blues Magazine named him “Most Outstanding Musician – Guitar” in its critics poll.
He started playing guitar at the tender age of 2, and played his first gig at age 6. By the ’70s, the musician was fronting his own band, and backing blues and R&B greats such as Johnnie Taylor and O.V. Wright.
The Chicago Sun-Times has called his work “chilling and heartfelt.” His most recent CD, “I Smell Smoke,” is lit with passion and red-hot guitar.
He’s currently working on a new album, not yet titled, which he hopes to release in early 2008.
“I don’t play Oklahoma much, so I’m really looking forward to bringing something back for my fans there,” he said. “It’ll be a good, high-energy show.”
E.G. Kight
Fondly known as the “Georgia Songbird,” Kight was nominated for her third Blues Music Award in the Contemporary Female Blues Artist category this year. She has received multiple nominations in previous years for her songs and performances.
Her latest CD, “Live & Naked,” noted for its unique combination of Southern rock, jazz and gospel contemporary riffs, is getting airplay across the nation.
Look for her at 9:45 p.m. Saturday on the Outdoor Main Stage and midnight on the Indoor Club Stage with the D.C. Minner Band.
Gary Von Tersh of Sing Out magazine said “Kight’s is a voice to be reckoned with, no matter what the genre.”
Like Burks, Kight’s been playing guitar since childhood. And it shows.
And of course, D.C. and Selby Minner
Yeah, if you’re coming to D.C.’s festival, it’s smart that you see the couple who started it all.
There will be plenty of chances to catch them – 9:45 p.m. Friday on the main stage and again at midnight on the indoor stage; 9 p.m. Saturday on the main stage and again at 11 p.m. on the indoor stage; 8:30 p.m. Sunday on the main stage and again at 11 p.m. on the indoor stage.
Born in 1935, D. C. Minner has performed with artists ranging from O. V. Wright, Freddie King, Chuck Berry, Eddie Floyd to Bo Diddley and many more.
In the 1960s, he met Selby, who was working the clubs in Berkeley and San Francisco with Jim Donovan, playing and singing acoustic blues.
The couple have been together ever since, and toured relentlessly for 12 years before settling in D.C. Minner’s birthplace of Rentiesville.
Minner is a member of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, and most blues musicians have been through Minner’s place at some point.
Photographs of blues legends line the walls, adding authenticity to his place.
Like he needs it.
He is the real deal.
DUSK TIL DAWN BLUES FESTIVAL
When: Doors open at 4 p.m. Friday-Sunday.
Where: 701 D.C. Minner Street, Rentiesville, Okla.
Admission: $15.00 per day, children under age 12 admitted free, available at gate or by phone, (918) 473-2411.
Online: www.tulsaworld.com/Minner
FRIDAY SCHEDULE
Outdoor Main Stage
5 p.m. – Roger H. Wilson/Selby Minner
6 – Battle of the Bands
7:15 – Wild Card
8:30 – One Arm Bandit
9:45 – D.C. and Selby Minner
11 – Joanna Connor, “the Slide Queen”
Indoor Club Stage
6 p.m. – Odd Sheep Out
7:15 – Berry Harris
8:30 – OK Ollie
9:45 – Harry and Debbie Blackwell
11 – Jam
midnight – D.C. and Selby Minner
1:15 a.m. – Joanna Connor, “the Slide Queen”
2:30 – All Star Jam
3:45-5 – All Star Jam
Back Porch Workshops/Kids Village Stage
6 p.m. – Jahruba
7:30 – Joann and puppets
8:30 – Tony Mathews
9:15 – Roger “Hurricane” Williams
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
Outdoor Main Stage
5 p.m. – Snakeboy and Cathy Rae Shiner
6 – Checotah Jazz Band
6:45 – Garrett “Big G.” Jacobson
7:50 – James Walker
9 – D.C. and Selby Minner
9:45 – E.G. Kight
11 – Larry Garner
midnight – James Peterson
Indoor Club Stage
6 p.m. – Pat Moss Deep Blues Dance Band
7:15 – Wanda Watson
8:30 – Miss Blues
9:45 – Pat Moss Jam
11 – D.C. and Selby Minner
midnight – E.G. Kight
1:15 a.m. – Larry Garner
2:30 – James Peterson
3:45-5 – All Star Jam
Back Porch Workshops/Kids Village Stage
6 p.m. – Jahruba Drum Circle
6:45 – Perry Thomas
7:15 – Lee McWaters
8:30 – Blue Fire/Jonathan Fox/Jahruba
11 – Reggae Kids Jam
SUNDAY SCHEDULE
Outdoor Main Stage
5 p.m. – Smilin’ Bob
6 p.m. – Gospel w/ Tommy Ray O’Dell, Mt. Olive Star Choir
7:15 – Blind Dog Smokin’
8:30 – D.C. and Selby Minner
9:45 – Michael Burks
11 – James Peterson
Indoor Club Stage
6 p.m. – Blues Extravaganza w/Lonny Pearson and Satin Doll
7:15 – Red Dawn with Cecil Gray
8:30 – Walter Watson Pure Silk
9:45 – Jam
11 – D.C. and Selby Minner
midnight – Michael Burks
2:30 a.m. – James Peterson
3:45-5 – All Star Jam
Back Porch Workshops/Kids Village Stage
6 p.m. – Wewoka Blues Band
7:15 – Jahruba
8:30 – Jimmy Hobbs
9:45 – Tony Mathews
Associate Images:   Blues fans will have six opportunities to catch D.C. Minner perform at Dusk Til Dawn.  E.G. Kight performs twice on Saturday. |
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