PhillyCheeze's Rock & Blues Reviews: Bluesberry Cafe

Sunday, June 25, 2023

#621 : CRUZ the Dame, Watermelon Slim, & Sean "Bad" Apple - Live in Clarksdale (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

June 23 - 24 , 2023

Clarksdale, Mississippi

By Phillip Smith; June 25, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

I took a short break this weekend for an excursion to Clarksdale, Mississippi to surround myself with some live blues. After a mandatory stop at Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Arts, I landed at Sean “Bad” Apple’s place to hear some music from Sean and Miss Australia “Honeybee” Jones. Their performances were mesmerizing. I still find it hard to comprehend that Honeybee is eighty years old.

After a delicious catfish dinner at Hooker Grocery, I landed at Ground Zero Blues Club to take in the soulful sounds of CRUZ the Dame. This is the act I really wanted to see. CRUZ has a voice that only comes around once in a blue moon. Whether she is taking on Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Etta James, or Billy Holiday, she approaches the microphone with a dynamic fearlessness and angelic delivery. Her original songs are funkdafied with an energy that the Godfather of Funk George Clinton would surely bless. Graced with three amazing sets of music, I had a wonderful evening indeed.

The next morning, I headed to Bluesberry Café to catch Watermelon Slim. CRUZ and her band were just departing to begin their five-hour journey to Biloxi to play the new Ground Zero Blues Club. After a short stop-and-chat, we wished each other safe travels, and I proceeded inside for breakfast and a wonderful three hour set from the great Watermelon Slim. The coffee was much needed, the omelet was delicious, and seeing Watermelon Slim perform live, was plumb fascinating.