Page 74 - Blues Festival Guide Magazine 2019

from the Crow Nation. Cary Morin, a soulful blues musician,
caught my ear with his beautiful, simple presentation and
powerful voice. He has toured parts of Europe and the U.S.,
and his scope of music makes the statement that Natives sure
can sing the Delta blues.
In California, you’ll encounter a great talent from the La Jolla
Indian Reservation in San Diego, CA: Tracy Lee Nelson. With
his hard-hitting perspective of the blues on an Indian reservation,
Tracey’s unique voice, original lyrics and blues guitar work come
straight from his heart – writing, singing and performing songs
that should have been spoken of long ago. In 2018, he won
a NAMA for Best Blues Recording for Blues Loving Man. A bit
north in Los Angeles clubs, you will find the Hopi Blues Band,
a collection of eclectic musicians from around the country who
have joined forces with LA HOPI, singing the blues on heartache,
the destruction of the earth, the sorrows of colonization and
bringing light to sustaining Hopiland.
Over in Arizona, the Cody Blackbird Band (Cherokee/
Dakota) fuses traditional Native American flute music with blues,
rock and a jam-band sensibility. In 2017, they won a NAMA for
Group of the Year.
Martha Redbone. Photo by Craig Bailey, Perspective Photo
I’ve also come across Oklahoma bands including Blues
kept beat on drums, my 12-year-old son Levi amazed the Nation; Cecil Gray Native Blues – who was inducted into the
audience on lead guitar as he slid across the stage, shredding Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame in 2015, nominated six times
the blues. for a NAMA and won a NAMA in 2004 for Best Blues/Jazz
The band evolved into Levi and the Plateros, consisting of Recording; and The Redmen Blues Band, a three-man band of
Levi on guitar, cousins Douglas Platero on drums and Bronson Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame artists, consisting of Terry Tsotigh
Begay on bass guitar. In 2012, they joined with Indigenous for
The Kinship Tour, and have continued forward screaming notes
that shatter across every stage they hit, joining Indigenous on
their national tours off and on, to date. Recently, Levi Platero has
launched his career as a solo artist.
It’s been amazing to have the privilege of playing music
across the country. I’ve shared stages with gifted musicians,
such as Grammy and Native American Music Award (NAMA)
winners Bill Miller (Mohican) and Micki Free (Comanche/
Cherokee), among so many others. From coast to coast, Native
artists and bands are emerging onto the blues scene in a big
way, telling their unique stories, changing preconceptions and
making their mark in blues history.
The first national tour The Plateros were asked to be a part
of was The Native Music Rock Tour, sponsored by the Seminole
tribe of Florida and International Hard Rock Cafe, where I first met
Martha Redbone. I was so taken by her voice that flowed with a
strong conviction, yet so smoothly. Born in Kentucky of Cherokee,
Choctaw and African-American descent, she rose to the calling
with her style of R&B, Appalachian folk and a solid flare of blues
under the surface. This award-winning songstress gave us a closer
look into ourselves with her powerful lyrics of love and conviction
with her husband, pianist Aaron Whitby.
One year, we were invited to a Native American music
festival in downtown Fort Collins, CO, where we had the
privilege of meeting an amazing blues solo acoustic guitarist Pura Fé. Photo by Ÿ Clement Puig

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