"Before the '03 event, we realized that if we are going to celebrate this period when riverboats were relevant, what were they doing then?" said Mike Smith, the event's executive director.
"They were moving goods and people.
But those people coming from Nashville, New Orleans and St. Louis also served as a way to integrate all these different lifestyles and cultures. As that Americana/roots music made its way up and down the river - blues out of Memphis, New Orleans jazz, Chicago blues - it mixed together.
That led us to this list of contemporary entertainers who had a foundation in this history who we could link to these legends of bluegrass, country, blues and folk."
John, bluegrass stars Peter Rowan and Tony Rice, Ralph Stanley the Clinch Mountain Boys, Skaggs Kentucky Thunder and blues idol Buddy Guy, there are an equal number of emerging and lesser known acts that Smith said were chosen for their less obvious ties to the rhythms of the river. Or because they simply rock. Cherryholmes: Keeping it all in the family, this Arizona-based six-member traditional bluegrass band features two generations of Cherryholmes' (parents Jere and Sandy and their four children, ages 13-21) playing traditional tunes and buck dancing in a high energy show.
After releasing three albums on their own, the group was signed by Skaggs Family Records, which released the group's self-titled fourth album last year. Betty LaVette: Though she had her first hit at age 16 in 1962 with "My Man - He's a Lovin' Man," Detroit soul singer LaVette was mostly a musical footnote until last year. With a unique style that mixes blues, gospel, soul, funk and country, LaVette continued to tour for three decades without achieving chart success until the release of 2005's "I've Got My Own Hell to Raise.
" The album of soul-stirring, smoky-voiced covers by artists as diverse as Fiona Apple, Aimee Mann, Dolly Parton, Sinead O'Connor and Lucinda Williams signaled the welcome return of a long-ignored legend.
Sarah Borges the Broken Singles: Take a scoop of Uncle Tupelo's prairie-dusted roots rock and a dollop of Lucinda Williams' country blues swagger and you have Boston native Borges, who has been winning accolades for what one reviewer called the Joan Jett-meets-Patsy-Cline tone of her debut, "Silver City." She plays early in the day, but Borges is guaranteed to jump start an evening that culminates with headliners Rosanne Cash and Rodney Crowell, formerly husband and wife, playing on separate stages.
Tea Leaf Green: In just a few short years, this four-man band has shared the stage with everyone from the Black Crowes to the Dave Matthews Band, developing a reputation on the jam-band circuit for a mind-expanding mix of blues, psychedelia, rock and '70s folk. As an added bonus, if you close your eyes, singer/keyboardist Trevor Garrod is a vocal dead ringer for Paul Simon one minute, and late Grateful Dead leader Jerry Garcia the next.
Yerba Buena: If Smith is looking to mix things up, this New York Afro-Cuban funk party band is the one to do it.
With elements of hip-hop, Colombian cumbia, soca, gypsy music and reggaeton rhythms, Yerba Buena is a distillation of the American melting pot, with a beat you have to dance to. Sonya Kitchell: Before she turned 17, singer/songwriter Kitchell had already released an acclaimed debut album, written more than 100 songs and shared the stage with such legends as the Pretenders and Lyle Lovett. Is hard to believe that the sensual jazz and smoky blues originals sung in the voice of a seasoned, road-tested pro (think Nina Simone and Norah Jones) come from this teenage prodigy.
Rhett Miller the Believers: Miller, the singer for long-running alt-country rock band Old 97's, has always had a flair for powerful pop hooks. But on his second solo album, this year's "The Believer," Miller further staked his claim as one of the most eloquent hopeless pop romantics of his generation. Songs like "My Valentine" and "Meteor Shower" mix wistful vocals with poetic lyrics and lush arrangements that beg to be heard on a long drive with the windows down.
Old Crow Medicine Show: If this New York string band didn't exist, Tall Stacks would have had to invent them as the poster boys for the kind of authentic, six-degrees-of-musical-separation mix that Smith says he's trying for. Their recently released album "Big Iron World" sounds like a lost relic from a Depression-era record store. The mix of blues, ragtime, Appalachian and foot-stomping jug-band hell-raisers like "Cocaine Habit" brim with an infectious enthusiasm and loving regard for American music history and styles.
Ollabelle: If Old Crow Medicine Show grabs you, make sure to check out this band, too. It's anchored by Amy Helm, daughter of Levon Helm, famed drummer for one of the original Americana rock groups, the Band. Playing an earthy mix of gospel, country and blues, the New York group got together five years ago while hosting an open mike night called "Sunday School for Sinners" and have since released two critically acclaimed albums that mix covers of traditional country and gospel songs with inspired originals.
Sean Costello: The term "prodigy" is applied a lot in the music world, but you have to give Philly guitar slinger Costello his due. After all, the soulful blues rocker released his debut album in 1996 at the tender age of 17 and was nominated for the W.C.
Handy Best New Artist award four years later. A veteran at 27, Costello sings and plays with the grit and sweet soul.
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