Shemekia Copeland — Image by kenne
Saturday afternoon and early evening, Joy and I were entertained by some of the best blues musicians in the U.S. at the Bisbee Blues Festival. For the unaqunted, Bisbee is located 90 miles southeast of Tucson, 25 miles east of Sierra Vista, 22 miles south/southeast of Tombstone and approximately 4.0 miles north of the U.S./Mexico border.
This annual blues festival, located the old mining community of Bisbee, AZ, started six years ago as a small, grassroots effort. Its popularity has been driven by blues lovers all over the southwest. Two years ago the festival moved from the cozy confines of the Bisbee City Park in the very picturesque old downtown Bisbee to a ballpark south of the Lavender Open Mind Pit. Although much less picturesque, the ballpark allowed for a larger attendance, last year featuring The Tommy Castro Band and the legendary Pine Top Perkins.Too bad we can’t have the “best of both worlds!”
More photos and video to come later this week.
kenne
How neat! Wasn’t there a Copper Queen Mine is Bisbee or was that just close by? Sounds like you are enjoying the desert Southwest!
. . . yes, the original mine was a shift mine and it was called Copper Queen. They now have tours down in it. If you look carefully at the second photo, beyond the ballpark, you will see the mountain of earth from the Lavender Open Mind Pit. I don’t find it a pretty sight, however as you drive by the Pit there is highway signage that says “scenic” view. It is a real deep hole — a lot of earth has been moved!
People who know of Tab Benoit, the headliner at the Bisbee Blues Fest, know he is a conservationist — he formed an organization promoting awareness of coastal wetlands preservation known as “Voice of the Wetlands.” I couldn’t help but wonder what he may have been thinking as he looked out the window of his big black tour bus.
loved Bisbee when I was last out there. yes the mine is a huge eyesore/hole however the music was the focal point I’m sure. Glad you are finding the Blues out there. We had a bit of our own last Sat with Milton Hopkins. He is wanting to return again to our stage. He had a lot of fun.. Missed you guys.. hope to see you next year on a trip out to visit. It’s Kenneth’s turn to see that area..
. . . we are ready for you to visit us. We will be in Houston after Xmas for a week and maybe then in April, depending on when people are coming our was. I have more photos and some video of the Bisbee Blues Festival that will be posted on the blog. There’s a lot of good blues here — music in general, but it’s hard to compare to Houston — so much more to choose from in H-town.