Press | Villager Journal - ''Blues in The Park: Keeping Tradition Alive''

According to Loud and Clear Productions' Greg Rideout, executive producer of the event, this handing down of heritage is precisely what "Blues in the Park" is all about."

This event focuses on the rich culture, tradition and heritage of the artists that create the blues," he said. "We are excited about this opportunity to bring national, regional and Arkansas musicians to this community."

Rideout started the "Blues in the Park" series of concerts in California 13 years ago, and along with his wife, Sheri, has produced the event in Batesville for the past five years.

Headlining this year's event was Eric Sardinas, a West Coast guitar-slinger, who along with his rhythm section of drum and bass, evoked memories of Johnny Winter and the late Stevie Ray Vaughan.

The Dobro-playing Sardinas, draped completely in black, wowed those in attendance with the mastery of his instrument, tossing off fiery bottleneck riffs with machine-gun precision.

Though his sound is that of anew millennium bluesman, Sardinas paid tribute to his elders by playing the songs of Muddy Waters and Honeyboy Edwards, along with selections from his new CD "Black Pearls."

The show kicked off under beautiful mid-afternoon skies as local favorite Gerry Moss took the stage for a set of acoustic blues.

Moss highlighted his time onstage by debuting a number of original tunes and a few penned by songwriting buddies of his, some of which are slated for inclusion on his next CD.

After the acoustic renderings of Moss, John Craig's Pure Love Blues Revue hit the stage in full-stride by spotlighting a couple of Central Arkansas mainstays, Big John Miller and Luscious Spiller.

Miller and Spiller, both leaders of their own successful combos, took turns fronting the Craig Revue, who were solid musicians in their own right, knocking out soulful renditions of songs by the Rev. Al Green and Otis Redding, souped up with a bubbling groove.

The Fieldstones from Memphis, Tenn., were up next, treating the crowd to the same mixture of funky R&B they've been serving up to their hometown folks since the 70s.

The group, with a pair of CDs out on the Hightone label, has been voted "Best Band in Memphis" on a couple of occasions.

Another Arkansas bluesman, guitarist Charles Woods, stepped on stage for a batch of blues, accompanied by John Craig on rhythm guitar.

Woods, who calls Little Rock home, deserved the title of hardest-working bluesman on this day as he wrapped up a gig in his hometown earlier in the afternoon, hit the road to Batesville and arrived just minutes before his scheduled start time.

As day turned to evening, the show kicked into high gear as Carla Thomas, the queen of Memphis soul, took her regal position at center stage, backed by some of the funkiest and tightest musicians on Beale Street.

Thomas, who hit the charts big as a teenager in 1960 with "Gee Whiz," paid tribute to her home stomping grounds with a medley of some of the biggest songs on the Stax label, including Eddie Floyd's "Knock on Wood" and "Hold on, I'm Coming," by the legendary Sam and Dave.

Switching gears dramatically after Thomas finished her set, Pine Bluff's Cedell Davis belted the crowd with the stark, haunting moans and wails pouring out of his guitar.

Davis, confined to a wheelchair since his youth because of polio, uses a butter knife to fret his instrument, and sings with the anguish of a tortured soul.

As Sardinas stepped offstage, wrapping up nine hours of blues that ran the spectrum from traditional acoustic to hotwired electric, those standing on the banks of the White River were fortunate to see another brick laid in the pathway of tradition, helping keep the timeless art form and culture of the blues alive in 2003, this Year of the Blues.