Jack Rowell Jr. Blues Band at Memphis Music and Heritage Festival #MMHF13

The Jack Rowell Jr. Blues Band is one of Memphis’ best-known blues bands, with a long-standing Thursday night gig at T. J. Mulligan’s in Hickory Hill. At this year’s Memphis Music and Heritage Festival, I noticed that the band featured my homeboy Cedric Keel on drums, and his solo toward the end of the set enthused the crowd.

John Saint Holiday and Friends at the Memphis Blues Showcase, Rum Boogie Cafe

John Saint Holiday was a new name for me, but his band of all-stars, thrown together for the occasion, provided some of the best blues I’ve ever heard on Beale Street. Judging from what I read online, he is an actor and writer in addition to being a musician, and he is from Batesville, Mississippi, which has probably produced quite a few great bluesmen. His drummer, at least for tonight, was an old acquaintance of mine, Cedric Keel, who provided a rock-steady foundation. Altogether an inspiring evening of blues at the Rum Boogie Cafe.