Page 72 - Blues Festival Guide Magazine 2015

Rumors about mandatory evacuations fueled no-shows at the festival
Photo by Jill Sonsteby
So impressed was Soul of John Black keyboardist Jim Pugh,
that that he wrote a letter nominating the Winthrop Rhythm &
Blues Festival for a prestigious Keeping the Blues Alive (KBA)
award for the festival’s humanitarian efforts. He’s seen a lot of
festivals, he wrote, but had never seen anything like that one.
“They really stand alone in being kind and thorough, but
in the case of this year’s festival, they went way beyond that
into an area of kindness that was almost mystical to witness,”
wrote Pugh. “It was a profound experience and has left me a
little less jaded.”
"The festival has always been about more than having a
good time," said Smith. "It’s also about a relationship between
the music community and the Methow Valley."
“The blues festival is a tradition,” he said. “It’s been
happening almost three decades. For generations of fans
and people who live there, the festival means a lot – not only
economically, but spiritually. It’s a healing thing. It brings
spirit to the valley for that time. We all survived an incredible
disaster, but we’ll be back.”

Polly O’Keary is a Seattle bass player, singer and songwriter
who has toured nationally with Too Slim and the Taildraggers,
The Soul of John Black, The Randy Oxford Band and her
own trio, Polly O’Keary and the Rhythm Method. She is
also a former newspaper reporter and editor, and currently
splits her time between touring and working on her Ph.D. in
communication at the University of Washington.

Too Slim and the Taildraggers, who have played 26 of these 27 annual festivals,
took a perilous journey though fire zones to appear onstage Photo by Andy Cotton

70 Blues Festival Guide 2015