Greenbelt Blues Festival Mojo Keeps the Rain Away

Saturday’s all-day 8th annual Greenbelt Blues Festival, sponsored by Friends of the New Deal Café Arts (FONDCA), in Greenbelt’s Roosevelt Center did a fantastic job of keeping the blues—and the rain—at bay.

Festival volunteer Dorian Winterfeld, who helped with set-up that morning, said that volunteers kept an anxious eye on the clouds, and when the first act, Built 4 Comfort, opened at 1 p.m., everyone really thought that the show would have to move indoors to the New Deal Café.

But the music really worked its mojo on the weather, which mellowed out as the day progressed. The ominous steely clouds even added a dramatic backdrop to the songs, which ranged from traditional blues to R&B to Jimi Hendrix style-acoustic licks.

The festival drew a diverse crowd of townspeople, Café regulars, Greenbelt City Council members, out-of-town guests such as the DC Blues Society, hula hoopers, and craft artists.

Chef Karim and Maria even created a special menu item, the Blues Burger, served with sweet potato fries and coleslaw. The coveted outdoor café tables were packed with diners, who had ringside seats to the goings on, and the area in front of the stage was filled with enthusiastic dancers.

Although some festival regulars missed perennial Café favorite Andy Poxon, the day-long festival line-up presented outstanding blues musicians from across with the region, with some coming from as far away as West Virginia. In addition to Built 4 Comfort, the festival featured The Paulverizers, Capital Blues Ensemble, KERQ, Mike Westcott, Jonny Grave & The Tombstones, Jonny & The Stingrays, Lady Rose Blues Band, Fast Eddie & The Slowpokes, and the Unruly Blues Band. The music was lively, sexy, soulful, hard-drivin,’ and highly danceable.

The festival also had an indoor and outdoor component, as after 8 p.m. the music migrated to the café’s indoor performance area. Two of the indoor musicians, Fast Eddie & the Slowpokes and the Unruly Blues Band, will be competing in the DC Blues Society’s annual Battle of the Bands event on October 15, 2011.

The elimination event selects performers for the 4th annual College Park Blues Festival on November 12, 2011. In addition to performing at the College Park event, winners will be sponsored for the 2012 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tenn., described by a Blues Society volunteer calling herself a member of the “Jazs,” as “the ‘American Idol’ of the blues world!” They’ll also perform at the 24th annual DC Blues Festival.

Mike Westcott’s “baby” might have “done left me without a quarter, a nickel, and a dime,” but the Blues Festival left Greenbelters smiling and dancing.