King Biscuit Blues Festival: Sixth annual “Call and Response, The Blues Symposium”

Helena, Arkansas — When Louisiana swamp blues veteran Kenny Neal discovered that Steady Rollin’ Bob Margolin, Bob Stroger, and Lonnie Shields were also on the sixth annual Call and Response Blues Symposium at this year’s King Biscuit Blues Festival, he laughed and wondered aloud if an hour was enough time. “We got a zillion stories to tell.”

This year’s symposium starts at 10:45 with Delta blues ambassador Roger Stolle hosting Hezekiah Early, Robert Lee “Lil Poochie” Watson, Mark “Mule Man Massey and Sean “Bad” Apple. Veteran blues journalist Don Wilcock hosts the second hour from noon to 1:15on Saturday, October 8th, at the Malco Theater in downtown Helena, Arkansas, a featured event of the 31st King Biscuit Blues Festival.

What was it like for a 17-year-old Kenny Neal to break away from his large Louisiana family to tour with his dad Raful Neal’s former musical partner Buddy Guy? Find the answer from Kenny who four decades later has just released Bloodline, an album co-produced by Buddy’s producer Tom Hambridge.

How does Muddy Waters’ lead guitarist Steady Rollin’ Bob Margolin find his own style 33 years after the death of the iconic bluesman? Discover the answer when Bob discusses how he put together My Road, his critically acclaimed new album.

How did growing up in Helena help fashion Lonnie Shield’s eclectic musical style? Lonnie discusses that and a B. B. King tribute album he’s currently recording.

What prompted Otis Rush’s longtime bass player Bob Stroger to take up songwriting in his 80s? Find out at Don Wilcock’s portion of the Call and Response symposium at noon.

How did country blues artist Robert Lee “Lil Poochie” Watson end up in a Paul McCartney video? What did Sean “Bad” Apple, a younger white guy from Pennsylvania, learn from Mississippi blues veterans Jack Owens and RL Boyce? What did blue-eyed blues/soul singer Mark “Mule Man” Massey from Senatobia, Mississippi learn about playing the blues while serving time in Parchman prison? Roger Stolle will pose those questions in the first half of the symposium beginning at 10:45.

Call and Response co-founder Roger Stolle owns Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art store in Clarksdale, Mississippi — which just celebrated 14 years. He is a Blues Music Magazine columnist, Juke Joint Festival co-founder, Hidden History of Mississippi Blues author, former Sirius-XM Bluesville contributor, and co-producer of blues films like Hard Times, M for Mississippi and We Juke Up in Here. He is co-creator of the acclaimed Moonshine & Mojo Hands web series (www.moonshineandmojohands.com) and a recipient of both Keeping The Blues Alive and Blues Music Awards. An authority on Delta blues and tourism, he has been quoted by The New York Times, The Economist and Travel+Leisure.

Don Wilcock has been active in blues journalism for nearly half a century and is a recipient of the Blues Foundation’s Keeping The Blues Alive in Print Journalism Award. He is a contributing editor of the Blues Music Magazine, a columnist for Blues Blast magazine, and a regular contributor to the Blues Foundation’s Blues Music Awards programs. He is the author of Damn Right I’ve Got The Blues, the 1991 authorized biography of the blues legend that precipitated Buddy Guy’s seven-Grammy run, and has edited several blues publications including King Biscuit Time, BluesWax, and Elmore. Wilcock interviewed scores of artists and wrote all the copy for Helena Blues, photographer Bob Van Degna’s just released art book capturing the pulse of the 2015 King Biscuit Blues Festival.

HottyToddy.com staff reports.

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