Prairie
Dog Blues Festival - 2021
Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin
July 31, 2021
By Phillip Smith; Aug.2, 2021
Saturday, July 31, 2021, I
landed in Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin, just off the mighty Mississippi River,
for the second day of the Prairie Dog Blues Festival, and had an enormously
good time. Soaking in the blues, while
soaking up the sun is absolutely one of the best things life has to offer. On the main stage, I caught Lurrie Bell
with Jason Ricci, Amanda Fish, Tony Holiday, The
Altered Five Blues Band, and made several visits to the beer tent to hear Avey
Grouws Band.
Lurrie Bell, son of famed bluesman Carey Bell was originally
scheduled to appear with his brother Steve, and perform as the Bell
Brothers. Sadly, Steve could not
make, but on the bright side, they couldn’t have picked a better replacement
than Jason Ricci. Lurrie
and Jason were totally in sync, and this show was as real as the blues
could get. They sounded great together as
they smoked though songs like “You Gotta Help Me” and “Sweet Home Chicago”.
Amanda Fish took the main stage next, playing a mix of originals and
covers. Just as a drone was hovering
over the stage and crowd, she went right to “Helicopters in the Sky”. Other originals included “Friends” and “2020”
from her Free Album. She belted out
a great cover of “Me and Bobby McGee” and steered off the blues highway with “Fortunate
Son / Free Bird / Born this Way”, ending her set with her take on the Ramones’
“Blitzkrieg Bop”.
Tony Holiday came to play.
I’ve reviewed two of his albums, and he’s one of my favorites. With Gordon Greenwood on guitar, they delivered
wonderful covers of Otis Rush’s “Right Place, Wrong Time” and Sean
Costello’s “Hard Luck Woman”. I was
pleased as hell to hear “Payin’ Rent on a Broken Home”, “Good Advice” and “The
Hustle”, all off his Soul Service album released in 2020. Those songs are absolute gems. Holiday brought his set to its finish
with another cut off that same record, “It’s Gonna Take Some Time”. Tony’s soulful vocals and harmonica
sounds so good paired with Greenwood on guitar. I really hope I get a chance to hear these
guys play again.
I didn’t get to hang around
for the entire set of the Altered Five Blues Band, but the portion of their
show I did hear was phenomenal. It was
an absolute treat to see Jason Ricci on stage once more. He was on fire playing harp. The songs I did catch from them were “Great Minds
Think Alike” and “Too Mad to Make Up”.
And they had the audience in the palms of their hands. The performance was absolutely electric.
As tradition goes at the Prairie
Dog Blues Festival, there is always a band in the Beer Tent to provide a series
of smaller sets which take place between the sets on the main stage. This year the Beer Tent stage was blessed to have
Iowa’s own Avey Grouws Band. They
are quickly becoming one of my favorite bands.
With Chris Avey on lead guitar, Jeni Grouws on vocals and
rhythm guitar, Bryan West on drums, Randy Leasman on bass guitar,
and Nick Vasquez on keys, they literally rocked the tent. Their enthusiasm and rapport with the
audience is second to none. A big smile
was planted on my face as soon as I heard the opening sequence of “Two Days Off
(and a Little Bit of Liquor)”. When they
broke into ZZ Top’s “La Grange”, everyone felt the love for Dusty Hill, who
had just recently passed away. It was a
very welcome tribute, and they sounded so damn good too.
Until next time, thanks to
all the volunteers who put this wonderful festival together each year. It’s really one of the best.
* all photos by Phillip Smith
Lurrie Bell and Jason Ricci
Amanda Fish
Tony Holiday
Altered Five Blues Band
Avey Grouws Band
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