The weather held up for the Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival in Deer Lake Park on Sunday, and, thankfully, the ominous looking clouds did not keep the fans away. Attendance was great at this very pleasant locale in Deer Lake Park with a mixed group of blues and roots fans, families, and visitors from all over. I was impressed with the couple I sat next to who hailed from Urbana-Champaign, Illinois who were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary by visiting BC, and staying at a hotel on Robson Street. They had read about the Festival in the Georgia Straight that morning and, with the help of MapQuest, decided to make the journey to Burnaby.

When I arrived the Dirty Dozen Brass Band from New Orleans (tuba, sax, trumpet, trombone and more) were engaging the crowd, and setting the tone on the Lake Stage (there were two stages: the Lake Stage and the West Garden Stage) with a great version of "Night Train." Very Marvin Gaye infused. The Dirty Dozen have translated the songs from Gaye’s "What’s Going On" into their own musical language and personal feelings resulting from Hurricane Katrina’s devastation in their home town. I really enjoyed this funky beginning to the day’s musical entertainment.

Shelby Lynne, who has paid tribute to the late, great Dusty Springfield with her terrific CD "Just A Little Lovin" was next up on the Garden Stage. Because of the proximity to both stages, all I had to do was turn my chair around to catch her set. She sang Springfield hit, "I Only Wanna Be With You" but unfortunately, I had difficulty hearing the lyrics as her voice was drowned out by the band for that song and most of her numbers.

Back on the Lake Stage, Ryan Shaw, a native from Decatur Georgia with a fabulous voice and a lot of charisma - a contemporary Rhythm and Blues powerhouse - was getting a giant reception from the crowd with his wonderful upbeat version of Janis Joplin’s "Take Another Little Piece of My Heart" - very danceable and lots of people down in the front of the stage were up on their feet. It is about 6:30 pm now and the crowd’s rocking!

Jonny Lang, the young virtuoso guitar player from North Dakota followed. He has an interesting, gritty, voice, a great band and plays wonderful guitar – particularly if you like Jimi Hendrix inspired long guitar solos. I loved their rocking version of the Stevie wonder song, "Living for the City"….it was great!

The award winning Colin James and his band were the final act and they did not disappoint. It is a very tight band with a terrific horn section. This is the Band's third appearance at the Festival and they are very polished, very professional. You can see why he caught the attention of Blues legend Stevie Ray Vaughan all those years ago. The highlights of his set were the wonderful slow, guitar solo he performed, which he dedicated to Jeff Healey, a very gifted musical friend who died this year and his tremendous version of Bob Dylan’s "Watching the River Flow." I also loved the great horn line up on "Must Have Been Good"…and he ended up with our old favourite "Voodoo Thing"….a great performance.

It was a fun musical day-out for everyone. Lots of food on hand (pizza, Greek food, burgers) or bring your own picnic and a beer garden to boot. I look forward to next year’s Festival and congratulate the City of Burnaby and everyone else who helped organize such a well managed event.

© 2008 Patricia Fleming