Trois-Rivières Blues Guide

Short descriptions of all shows happening at Trois-Rivières en Blues, from Thursday August 22 through Sunday, Aug 25. This 11th edition of the festival will, for the fifth year in a row, allow me to check off at least three “bucket-list” groups or musicians. This year it will be four. See descriptions below to find out which ones they are. Although last year’s edition is going to be hard to beat, the organizers are trying hard to do so. The schedule has once again expanded, with more free shows, 45 this year, and 3 shows per night at the Amphitheatre, along with the tailgate show. Shows at the Cogeco Amphitheatre require a passport; all others are free. Since their web site has the schedule arranged by Amphitheatre shows at the top, this list will display them in chronological order to help you plan your shows.

Winner of The International Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2005 and winner of the Koko Taylor Award at the Blues Music Awards in 2014, powerful contralto singer Diunna Greenleaf returns for the third time to the festival. Diunna Greenleaf mixes soul, gospel and blues with passion. For three years she was president of the blues society in Houston, Texas, and she continues her mission to educate the youngest with the Blues in Schools program. A great lady of the blues. And backing her will be Mike Goudreau and his band, a great and well known Quebec Blues musician. See description below for his duo show for more info.

In the late seventies, he joined for the first time a professional band, the Shaky Al Blues Band, with which he toured for the two following years. During this same period, he accompanied some harmonica blues legends like B.B.King, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, J.T.Hotto, Willie Dixon, James Cotton, Albert Collins and Frank Marino. It was at this time that he met Alan Gerber with whom he founded the well-known Gerber-Zeller duo. Their popularity, both in Quebec and New York, allowed them to perform with renowned artists such as Loggins and Messina, and Bob Dylan. The unique sound that Jim manages to create with his harmonica quickly raises the level of phenomenon on the music scene, thus generating a strong solicitation from many musicians. It can be heard on the albums of Charlebois, Forestier, Higelin and Diane Dufresne just to name a few. Jim then collaborated with Michel Pagliaro. An unforgettable evening!

The musical intimacy created by the Katia des Bois trio is an introduction to sensitivity and passion. Each musical piece of the show is a favorite of the best blues and francophone song charts from yesterday to today, all with a jazzy touch.

A promising young singer, Miche Love performed at the festival in 2014. Along with The Atomic Bullets, she won the Band of the Year Award at Jive Fest in 2016 and made audiences sit up and take notice at the 2019 Blues Summit in Toronto. Her jump blues-swing-rockabilly band The Sugar Darlings consistently thrills crowds wherever they perform.

Montreal guitarist Dan Livingstone returns to the festival in a duet form with a plethora of songs from the beginning of the last century. A true anthropologist of the blue note, Livingston takes us back in time with his traditional blues, which, through their precious roots, have shaped all the subgenres heard today. Authentic and fascinating!

Always searching for new avenues, Quebec native MO brings us quietly down a musical road paved with notes accented with blues and jazz. Starting in New Orleans he carries us up the Mississippi with stops in Memphis and St-Louis and leads us onto the streets of Chicago to finish off this musical voyage on the melodious highway he constructed. Come along for the ride!

The versatile guitarist and singer Marc Parent is the co-founder and leader of the quartet Wang Dang Doodle, and a musical coach and member of Babylon Sisters, which is a tribute band to Steely Dan. With talents that encompass blues, soul, covers, rock, dance and funk, he was first inspired by Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore and Stevie Ray Vaughan. In the duet format, this should be a great show for a dinner crowd.

Guitarist Brooke Blackburn from the Toronto band with the same name offers his personal project as a duet with a trombonist and keyboardist. His new album, Songs, offers a mix of blues and contagious groove, as well as a pinch of ballads to thrill. Perfect to start or finish the evening!

A true Canadian blues icon, Jack De Keyzer is a 64-year-old singer, guitarist and producer who is as comfortable with blues, as he is with soul and funk. He has won two Juno Awards, in 2003 and 2010 in addition to seven Maple Blues Awards. In 2007, he won the first prize at The International Songwriting Competition for his song That's The Only Time and in 2019 for My Love is Gone from the album Electric Love. Jack De Keyzer has worked with the greatest, including Etta James, Otis Rush, John Hammond Jr., Bo Diddley, Ronnie Hawkins and Blue Rodeo. Giving over 150 shows a year, he owns his own record company, Blue Star Records. This is a return trip to the festival for Jack, after igniting Badeaux Street two years ago.

The former late-night radio host of “Blues with Endy” puts his music scholar talents into practice as the leader of The Sandwiches. Endrick’s guitar, harp and vocals are supported by Greg “The Mac” McEvoy (guitar and vocals), Mandela Coupal Daigleflesh (drums), Simon Ethier (bass) and Elyze Venne Deshaies (saxophone). As they like to proclaim, they are just a bunch of kids trying to emulate the sound of Hooker and Muddy’s boogie and blues.

The first of the four “bucket list” shows for me. Doyle Bramhall II, a 51-year-old American composer, guitarist and singer, is known for his collaboration in Eric Clapton’s band, where he was the second guitarist in 2004. Playing on a Fender guitar whose strings are inverted like Albert King, he grew up with brothers Stevie Ray and Jimmie Vaughan. In 1992, he founded the Arcangels with Charlie Sexton and Double Trouble (Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon). In 2000, Eric Clapton took back two titles of Bramhall II (Marry You and I Wanna Be) on his Riding With The King album. He also played in concert with Roger Waters on his tour In The Flesh: Live (1999-2002). In 2011 and 2012, he participated in the recording sessions of Elton John's new album (Voyeur). In 2016, he released his fourth studio album, Rich Man, and in 2018, he launched Shades featuring a duet with Eric Clapton (Everything You Need) in addition to a collaboration of Norah Jones. His visit to the festival is an event itself! 

It was in the late sixties that Mike Goudreau first picked up a guitar. His passion for playing was fueled by his love of The Beatles, The Stones, Chuck Berry and Albert King, as one might expect. But he was also influenced by Johnny Cash, Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra. That’s probably why Mike masters a wide range of musical styles, from blues to jazz to rock. You have probably heard some of his compositions, even if you have never seen him live, as he has developed a solid reputation as a music writer for the visual arts mediums, like TV and film.

Stante says that he sings, writes songs and plays guitar as a means to express himself: “Playing blues rock music allows me to get in touch with my innermost feelings. It takes me away from the drudges of everyday life.” He has already released three records, One Way Back, Man Out of Time and At It Again. Catch him performing live and you’ll also be transported away from the mundane.

Melissa Etheridge is one of rock music’s great female icons. Her critically acclaimed eponymous debut album was certified double platinum. Etheridge’s popularity built around such memorable songs as “Bring Me Some Water,” “No Souvenirs” and “Ain’t It Heavy” for which she won her first Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal. Etheridge hit her commercial and artistic stride with her fourth album, Yes I Am, featuring the massive hits “I’m the Only One” and “Come to My Window,” a searing song of longing that brought her a second Grammy. The six times platinum album spent more than two and a half years on the album chart. Etheridge is also an Oscar winner for Best Original Song in 2007. In 2011 Melissa made her Broadway debut as St. Jimmy in Green Day’s rock opera, American Idiot, where she replaced Billie Joe Armstrong for one week, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In October 2016, Melissa Etheridge released Memphis Rock & Soul, her first album since 2014’s critically lauded This Is M.E. Recorded at Royal Studios in Memphis, the album has received stellar reviews from the likes of Entertainment Weekly, Parade, Rolling Stone, American Songwriter and more.

On April 12, 2019, Melissa Etheridge released her 15th and most recent album, "The Medicine Show".

Normand Béliveau is a self-taught guitarist and singer who has been immersed in the world of Blues from the beginning. He has many styles in his repertoire since he participated in different rock and pop bands at a young age. However, blues has always been his favorite style. Normand "Bill" has performed at many blues festivals throughout Quebec, in addition to several performances in legendary establishments in the Montreal area such as Les Beaux Esprits and Le Grand Café. An experienced musician, you will recognize him due to his involvement in the first edition of the late Labatt blues with the band Blues Minute which included several good musicians from the Trois-Rivières area.

The Hammond organ is an all-too-often overlooked instrument in the blues, relegated to the guitar and the harp’s shadows. Lachy Doley is rectifying that injustice. He first caught the world’s attention when his “Stop Listening to the Blues” video went viral on Facebook. It now has more than 4.3 million views. The celebrated blues-soul-rock organ player has been called the Jimi Hendrix of Hammond. Like the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the Lachy Doley Group is a power trio, augmented by drummer Andrew Lamarche and bassist Joel Burton.

Brooke Blackburn gives his second show of the festival.

Excellent in the finger-picking style, Denis Viel has already been a finalist at the Montreal Guitar Grand Prix. The guitarist from Rivière-du-Loup is the king of the blues roots. With the album Red River in his suitcase, he teams up with guitarist-harmonicist Little Leslie. From Louisiana via the Mississippi Delta to Chicago, each musical stopover is brilliantly recorded by these two scholars.

MO does his second show of the festival.

Marc Parent is back for his second show.

Winner of The International Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2005 and winner of the Koko Taylor Award at the Blues Music Awards in 2014, powerful contralto singer Diunna Greenleaf returns for the third time to the festival. Diunna Greenleaf mixes soul, gospel and blues with passion. For three years she was president of the blues society in Houston, Texas, and she continues her mission to educate the youngest with the Blues in Schools program. A great lady of the blues.

Another of the “bucket list” shows for me. California harmonica player Rick Estrin has long performed on the big blues scenes of the world alongside his acolyte Little Charlie Baty. Inspired by the traditional Sonny Boys Williamson II and Little Walter, the band became a fixture of the Alligator label era during the '90s. The two high-flying musicians and their songs left an indelible mark on their fans. Voted "Band of the Year" at the Blues Music Awards in 2018, Rick Estrin and the Nightcats can count on the amazing guitarist Kid Andersen to give the answer. A lot of fun in sight!

Castro Coleman, aka Mr. Sipp The Mississippi Blues Child, is another winner of the International Blues Challenge, and the Albert King Award as best guitarist, in 2014, as well as BMA Best New Artist Album in 2016. He has roots in Gospel, starting out with his family, and then forming his own band in the genre, before changing to the Blues. Castro knows how to please the crowd with his shows. I guarantee this show will draw a huge response from the crowd. Trust me, my wife likes these guys, which means everybody will like them. ;)

Dan Livingstone returns for his second show, at a different venue.

Montreal guitarist Dwane Dixon is an excellent ambassador of the Roadhouse Blues. Stevie Ray Vaughn, Billy Gibbons and Jeff Healey are certainly dominant figures in his vision of the sturdy electric blues. With three albums on the clock, including his most recent Betting on a Gambling Man, he leaves no one indifferent! Another popular Quebec Blues artist.

In 2018, Colin James presented Miles to Go, his 19th album in which he enjoys playing songs from his favorite blues artists, Howlin’ Wolf, Blind Willie Johnson, Little Willie John, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Robert Johnson, to name a few. Added to this are two new original songs. This new opus is the perfect opportunity for the 53-year-old musician to indulge in a Canadian tour that will stop in Trois-Rivières on August 23rd. 

Jack will be doing his second show of the festival as the nightcap at this great Irish pub. The late night shows here are always special, and with Jack here for this one, it should be no different.

South Breeze is a guitar-harmonica duet composed of Michel Ouellette and Guy Marcotte. Born from a great complicity between two veterans of the Quebec and Trois-Rivières blues scene, the pair plays in acoustic format according to the inspirations of the moment, as shown on their album Summer Afternoon, which offers a landscape of cheerful sounds. The southern breeze that warms!

Winner of two Blues Music Awards 2019 last May in the "Best Female Artist, contemporary blues" and "Best bass player" categories, Danielle Nicole Schnebelen is a blues woman who will certainly mark the 11th edition of Trois-Rivières en blues. Since the beginning of her solo adventure in 2015, she has accumulated successes: her record Wolf Den has reached the second position of Billboard Blues and Cry No More, published in 2018, the first position of this same list. A singer with powerful vocal cords, inspired by Etta James and Aretha Franklin, the blues soul of Kansas City played by this spirited bassist will leave no one indifferent.

With a new album recorded live during a concert in Montreal, the Ben Racine Band and its three horns land on Badeaux Street. From soul to funk to blues to R & B, the Ben Racine Band, who accompanies Dawn Tyler Watson, was crowned the winner of the Albert King Award in the Best Guitarist category at the 2017 International Blues Challenge in Memphis . Several nominations and awards at the Maple Blues Awards have honoured the collective's efforts and in late October, BRB will be among the Legendary Rhythm'n Blues Cruise artists in Mexico.

The Australian keyboardist gives his second show of the festival.

 

Guitarist and singer Paul Deslauriers, from Cornwall, Ontario, is a mainstay of the Canadian blues scene. Since his debut with Black Cat Bone in the 90s, Deslauriers has multiplied shows from coast to coast. In the last years, his trio formed of Sam Harrison on drums and Alec McElcheran on bass, gives several concerts in the United States and Europe. The band's newest and third album, Bounce, was released in the spring of 2019 and received excellent reviews for its blues rock songs. For this show at the festival, the Paul DesLauriers Band storms rue Badeaux with its muscular blues!

More than 20 guest artists jamming at the Park.

Dwane does a second show, this time for the Tailgate party of the last night at the Amphitheatre.

Dan performs one more show.

MO does his third show of the festival.

Winner of the 2018 Canadian Folk Music Awards in the category "Singer of the Year" and nominated the same year at the Maple Blues Awards in two categories, the singer, guitarist, author and composer from Montreal Rob Lutes has a unique voice. His most recent CD and eighth album, Walk in the Dark, is a tour de force of Americana music. Blues, folk, country and more! 

Back for a second show in a different venue.

The third of my “bucket list” shows, after missing him twice in the last four years, once at the Southside Shuffle, and once at Tremblant Blues Festival. Coco is a 67-year-old musician from California, who was recruited in the mid-70s as a drummer by prominent Texan guitarist Albert Collins. Albert later taught him the basics of the guitar and his unique "Ice Picking" style that made him famous. In the mid-80s, he became a member of the legendary Bluesbreakers of John Mayall fame (succeeding Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor), an adventure that would last ten years. Since 1993, Coco Montoya's solo career has taken him to the top of blues guitarists, playing in every major blues festival on the planet. Nine solo albums later, including his newest Hard Truth, Montoya continues to entertain us with his incendiary notes and his extraordinary control on the guitar neck. A bluesman to discover!

Marc Parent is back for his third show.

Jack does a third show, at a third venue.

Formed in California in 2010, Vintage Trouble is a band of rhythm 'n' blues, soul and rock that made a sensational debut in 2011 with his first album The Bomb Shelter Sessions. The band has just released its ninth album, a mini disk untitled Chapter II - EP I, which features five new songs played on stage. Building on the exceptional charisma of the singer Ty Taylor, who is reminiscent of the 60s heroes like Otis Redding and Sam Cooke, the quartet has made the openings on tours of Brian May (Queen), Bon Jovi, The Rolling Stones , The Who and AC / DC. Vintage Trouble also performed at Kiss member Paul Stanley's 60th anniversary party at the latter's request, as well as seeing one of his energetic performances captured for the prestigious Austin City Limits TV show in 2015. Travelling the globe, it is in concerts that Vintage Trouble attracts the most praise and nourishes its legend. Selected to be on the prestigious Mediterranean Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea cruise from August 16 to 21, 2019, the band then arrives for the first time in Trois-Rivières.

The veteran 64-year-old guitarist Michel "Mike Deway" Lavoie launched in 2011 Turbulence, one of the few blues records sung exclusively in French. With his band, he gives the best of himself wherever he goes. A wonderful person to meet, one of my favorite Quebec musicians.

Brooke Blackburn gives his third show of the festival.

The young harmonica player from Montreal has evolved so much in recent years alongside Gaston Breton that he won a place in Colin James band, who will be on stage at the Cogeco Amphitheatre on August 23rd. Shawn McPherson learned from Barath Rajakumar and the late Rick L. Blues, who have taught him the science of ruin-babine and authentic and crisp sound.

The fourth of my “bucket list” shows, this band is sure to win over a lot of new fans with this show. Los Lobos is a Mexican American six-member band founded in Los Angeles in 1973 that gained their reputation to the public in 1987 for its wild version of La Bamba (Ritchie Valens). With the incomparable guitarists and singers David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas, in addition to the excellent multi-instrumentalists Louie Pérez and Steve Berlin, Los Lobos offers a hybrid of styles. From rock, Tex-Mex, blues, country, cumbia and bolero to many types of traditional Spanish and Mexican music, the musical styles cohabit harmoniously and for our greatest pleasure. In concert, in addition to their hits How Will the Wolf Survive and Do not Worry Baby, according to the mood of the moment, the legendary musicians can swing strong versions of Cinnamon Girl (Neil Young), Bertha (Grateful Dead) and Shakin Shakin Shakes (T-Bone Burnett / Rosas). Admitted to the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame in 2018, Los Lobos has been celebrating festive and free music for almost 50 years! 

Steve Strongman has an impressive list of awards to his credit, including a JUNO Award for Blues Recording of the Year, several Maple Blues awards and this year, the top honours as Best Guitarist (Solo/Duo) at the International Blues Challenge. When you hear him perform, it’s easy to understand why so much acclaim has been heaped upon him. He’s always energetic, incredibly inventive, original and versatile. With the release of his latest album, Tired of Talkin’ in May, Strongman is back with an even stronger fire in his belly.

The Trois-Rivières en Blues Festival has once again the honour of naming the winner who will represent the Montreal Blues Society in Memphis during the 36th International Blues Challenge presentation from January 28th to February 1st, 2020, in the solo/duo category. Five artists offer the best of themselves from 12:30 pm onward. The jury will then crown the person who will represent Quebec at the prestigious competition on Beale Street in six months. Dan Livingstone, Jay Sewall, Mike Deway, Rob Lutes with Rob MacDonald, and the tandem Denis Viel & Little Leslie will be there. Come encourage them!

Bluesmen veterans of the Trois-Rivières area create an event each time they go on stage. Night Bluemers possess and master a blues repertoire that spans a wide spectrum, from New Orleans to Chicago! With Normand "Bill" Béliveau who sings and plays the guitar, Christian Gamache guitarist, harmonist and founding president of Trois-Rivières en Blues, Pierre Verville, keyboardist and composer, Jean Boudreau, bassist and finally Jacques (Coco) Livernoche on the drums, Night Bluemers is the Cadillac Eldorado of the blues. For the occasion, the legendary Breen Leboeuf (Offenbach) joins them as a special guest. Do not miss them on Badeaux Street!

Steve brings his show to the main stage downtown, for his second appearance at this year’s festival.

An obvious uniqueness that identifies and sets apart the band is that Blackburn is a band of brothers – literally. Duane (lead vocals), Brooke (guitar), Cory (drums) and Robert (who took part on harmony vocals and songwriting on the newest release) all share the Blackburn name; a name that has become truly connected to Toronto music history.  

Musically, the Blackburn name has been forever imprinted in our ears by Bobby Dean Blackburn, an R&B artist who gained legendary status in the Toronto music scene, performing the city circuit for over 30 years. Beyond the music, other history runs deep too. The Blackburn name is tied to the history of the Underground Railroad, and there is a direct connection to the musical talents that we know and listen to today. A band not to be missed.

Danielle returns for her second show, this time with a full band.

Marc Parent is back for his fourth show.

MO does his fourth show of the festival.

Marc Parent is back with his band this time. The Wang Dang Doodle Quartet is dedicated to blues rock, with vitamin-filled versions of classics, from Jimi Hendrix to Deep Purple and from Stevie Ray Vaughan to ZZ Top. It's an invitation to party for the end of the 11th edition!