Getting down with the blues the Chicago way (Copenhagen Blues Festival)
Getting down with the blues the Chicago way
25 September 2009
Wesley Spyke
The Copenhagen Post
Holy-rollers beware: the devil’s music is coming to town in the form of the annual Copenhagen Blues Festival - a juke jamboree hell-bent on exorcising some of the best known blues acts north of the Old Scratch’s fiery den.
This year marks the festival’s ninth consecutive running and its theme, ‘Chicago Blues’, will serve up a healthy dose of electric energy throughout the five-day event. Both Danish and international blues acts - from local fan favourite CPH Slim to Chicago blues ripper Eddy ‘The Chief’ Clearwater - will comprise an all-star line-up that is sure to knock the socks off of any cool cat blues consumer.
Chicago blues, which derives its namesake from the city where it was created, takes basic acoustic guitar and harmonica blues (often called Delta blues) and adds an electrified twist, blending amplified guitar with electric bass, piano, drums and often saxophone.
The ‘Windy City’ blues scene has always been synonymous with some of the industry’s hardest hitters - Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon and Koko Taylor - all of whom have left behind an indelible legacy that clearly defines the unique style and feel of the ‘Sweet Home Chicago’ sound.
Copenhagen will also be hosting the International Olympic Congress (IOC) during the festival week, which will meet to decide which city will host the 2016 Olympic Games. And because Chicago is among the participating city hopefuls, this year’s gala is especially exciting for the blues metropolis.
Because the blues is such a broad term, this year’s programme will also offer many other styles of the musical genre. Particular stand-outs include Serbian-shredder Ana Popovich and American blues and soul diva Deitra Farr.
And although you might have to sell your soul at the crossroads in order to fully understand the blues, you don’t have to condemn it to an eternity of hellfire and brimstone in order to appreciate it. In fact, this year will spotlight a myriad of gospel music venues, including Christians Church (Ladies Sing the Blues) and Grundtvigs Churchas where a blues sermon entitled ‘The Devil in the Blues’ will be delivered followed by a concert by Danish blues heavyweights Troels Jensen, HP Lange and Jarno Varsted.
In 2002, the festival initiated the ‘Danish Blues Musician of the Year’ award, an honour that is given to the Danish blues musician who has contributed the most artistically to the Danish blues music scene. Seasoned veterans and young talents alike are nominated with the recipients being selected by a collaboration of festival board members, independent committee agents, and the Danish music press. The award is presented at the opening ceremony of the festival, which is being held at Mojo’s Blues Bar this year. The prestigious title is accompanied by a prize check of 10,000 kroner.
Copenhagen Blues Festival has always been a city highlight for blues authorities and amateurs alike, providing free concerts at Roedvre Centrum during the afternoon and setting fire to the various Copenhagen bar and club stages during the night. This year’s party will be so hot it’s smokin’, providing everything you need to authentically experience a little taste of how the Chicago blues has been making saints out of sinners for nearly a century.
