Harmonica 101

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Hard Knox Blues Bash




Inaugural bash puts blues fans in happy place


After some hard knocks, the first Hard Knox Blues Bash will take place Saturday from 2-10 p.m. on Market Square.

Until now, the free blues festival has been nothing more than a string of melodies playing in Michael Gill's head since 2000.

Call him a blues crusader: Gill, the organizer of the bash, which will benefit children with disabilities through The Heartsong Center for Accessible Music & Art, said he wants to take the blue out of the blues.

"Blues is often thought of as sad music," he said, "and that just isn't the whole story of the blues."

Telling that story will be Nashvillians Stacy Mitchhart & Blues U Can Use and Texans Diunna Greenleaf & Blue Mercy.

The sounds of Mitchhart's guitar and voice (along with his seven-piece band) hold down Nashville's Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar when he isn't touring.

Mitchhart will bring a taste of his sultriness to Knoxville when the music begins at 5 p.m.

Mitchhart, who dresses to the nines, said: "I don't want to be considered a blues artist, but as an artist that is blues-based. I do my own stuff - jazz, Latin, rock - all influenced by R&B and gospel."

Similar to Mitchhart, Diunna Greenleaf & Blue Mercy don't want to be isolated into the blues box, but rather, "we let the people decide who or what we sound like," said Greenleaf.

Born to gospel-singing parents, Greenleaf said the family legacy must have "seeped down in me."

The military veteran and one-time college counselor gave up her higher-education post nearly two years ago to pursue singing full time.

Growing up, Greenleaf said, she was surrounded by the likes of music legends Johnnie Taylor and Sam Cooke "because my dad was a vocal coach, and he trained some of the best in the gospel music industry."

Not formally trained, Greenleaf, dubbed the "siren of the blues," learned from the best - her family.

"I simply don't want the legacy to die," she said.

Greenleaf's mixture of jazz, gospel and svelte soul will take center stage during the bash.

Also taking to the stage will be Knoxville's own Jenna &The Joneses, along with Hard Knox Blues Harp Summit, which includes harmonica players Michael Crawley and Henry Perry. Other performances will include the "Hard Knox Blues All-Stars," who will be representing local blues bands.

Along with food vendors and educational tents, the festival will include a display of all things blues in Knoxville, including a tribute to Knoxville's Blues Hall of Fame legends.

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Copyright 2006, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.

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