THROUGH THE LENS: A Double Dose of the Blues

This week’s column features a double dose of the blues: the Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, Oregon (July 4-7) and the Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival in Winthrop, Washington (July 19-21). 

These two fests have become staples for the column, and our intrepid correspondent Peter Dervin simply cannot get enough of either one: He’s attended each, on and off, for the past 15 years. Peter has reported on Waterfront several times before for this column, last year being the most recent. He’s reported on Winthrop twice before, including last year. He has also been an official Winthrop photographer, and his photos have won the Washington Festivals and Events Association’s photo awards in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Here are his reports for this year.

Waterfront Blues Festival 2024 

This year’s edition of the annual Waterfront Blues Festival was as eclectic as ever, a mix of blues, world-beat, bluegrass, singer-songwriters, and guitar slingers playing throughout the blistering hot weekend. With the temperatures going over 90° F every day, folks sheltered in the shaded areas of Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland to stay cool. In the evenings, shade from the surrounding buildings gave some relief for larger crowds catching the evening shows. As the fest was held over a the long July 4th weekend, there were fireworks over the Willamette River.

Leyla McCalla was hands-down the artist I was most excited to see. She combines Americana and soulful blues, infused with her Haitian roots, to create a unique sound that has her latest album, Sun Without the Heat, as one of my favorites of the year. Her performance did not disappoint.

One of the hallmarks of Waterfront is the number of musicians guesting on the sets of others. Prime examples included Charlie Hunter performing many sets with a variety of artists, including Jubu Smith, Nic Clark, Candice Ivory, and Los Lobos saxophonist Steve Berlin. Berlin, in turn, sat in with numerous acts, including Lost Bayou Ramblers with their swampy sound and Greensky Bluegrass, who brought their rockin’ bluegrass vibes to town.

Margo Price presented her country-rock-Americana music to an adoring audience, me included. Lucinda Williams inspired her devoted fans with many of her classic songs. Price joined Williams on her final encore, belting out Neil Young’s anthem “Rockin’ in the Free World” to the unmitigated delight of everyone.

I always enjoy the new artists that are presented at Waterfront. Cristina Vane was unbelievable, guitar-slinger Taj Farrant was spectacular, and Jackie Venson shined. Local legends were also on hand who brought their musical heritages to the fore: Duffy Bishop performed a wonderful showcase while on the Blues Cruise on the Willamette River, as did Curtis Salgado, with an outstanding set of harmonica blues that featured Alan Hager on guitar.

Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival 2024 

The 37th Annual Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival held at the Winthrop Blues Ranch along the Methow River was on fire — nearly actually as the temperatures were in the high 90s to low 100s with hazy conditions due to forest and grass fires in the surrounding mountains and valleys. 

If that were not enough, that CrowdStrike computer update crash wreaked havoc on the travel plans of several highly anticipated artists, including Eric Gales and Leon Timbo, causing them to cancel. But as this was not the fest’s first rodeo, schedules were efficiently rearranged and what remained was still Grade A.  

Colin James, whose career began in 1988, made his fest debut with a rousing performance that drew one of the largest crowds I’ve seen on an opening night. Nikki Hill’s band featured 2023 Blues Music Award-winning guitarist Laura Chavez, which resulted in a unparalleled dose of rockin’ blues. The amazing Galactic featuring Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph on vocals, with a guest performance of Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin, took the funky blues to a galactic level. And Northern California’s Diggin Dirt’s funky soul blues performance got down and dirty in the best of ways. As he did at Waterfront, Berlin jammed with many other acts during the weekend.

Finally, every evening ended with the Methow Juke Joint Allstars featuring Lady A (Anita White), who was the subject of a 2020 Lens column. She was joined by Colin James’ bandmate Steve Marriner and, again, Steve Berlin. It was juke-joint heaven.

Click on any photo below to view the gallery as a full-size slide show.