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B.B. KING THRILLS CHICAGO BLUES FESTIVAL

THE THRILL IS GONE

BY JIM WHITE

B.B. King made his first appearance at the Chicago Blues Festival in 20 years.CHICAGO — The Official Big Deal at last weekend’s 25th Chicago Blues Festival was the presence of B.B. King after an absence of 20 years.

He’s already a legend in his own time, and he deserves the attention.

And it’s a shame that he hasn’t been more of a fixture at the festival.

The really big deal at the Thursday-Sunday fest, however, was the abundance of blues talent spread across six stages and over multiple musical styles, all in the very lush and occasionally soggy Grant Park venue.

There was great guitar, harp and piano blues. There was good old-fashioned Chicago blues, Mississippi hill country blues, old country blues, fantastic R&B and soul, a little gospel on Sunday morning and happy fans at every show. Equally important was the presence of a younger generation of musicians, in addition to the dwindling supply of classic blues artists.

The great thing about Chicago is that the fest brings in strong acts from around the country that you might otherwise never see, and also pairs up players you might not otherwise see together.

Here are some highlights:

• B.B. King, of course. He played to an extremely appreciative packed house in the Sunday night festival finale, running through many of his standards but doing so with considerable energy and enthusiasm for his 82 years. He’s still an impressive blues icon.

• A rousing Friday night set of down-home Chicago blues from Eddy Clearwater, Billy Branch, Jimmy Johnson, Otis Clay, Lonnie Brooks and his son, Ronnie Baker Brooks. This is one of those unique events that will most likely never be duplicated again.

• Soulful Texas singer Barbara Lynn, a left-handed guitarist whose R&B chops reach back into the ’60s, was a delightful surprise, performing with power and polish.

• Johnny Winter and James Cotton, closing out Thursday night with a withering blues slide attack by a resurgent Winter and fierce harp from an aging but still potent Cotton.

There was more, of course — artists whose time has almost gone, and may not be around this way again, but also plenty of artists still in their prime.

There are many arguments about the future of the blues, and who will play them, but in Chicago, for a weekend, there was no argument that the music is living large.

See Related: STAGE

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