Following a Two-Year Covid Hiatus, Blues In Bisbee Returns For 2022 With a New, Larger Location
- Larry Nader, Larry Nader Photography & Art
- Oct 4, 2022
- 4 min read
By Larry Nader, Larry Nader Photography & Art
Published October 4, 2022, for State 48 A2Z
When most people think of blues music festivals, the town of Bisbee, Arizona may not come into your thought process. Still, the one-time copper mining community had hosted an annual blues event since 2005 but was on a two-year hiatus in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid pandemic. For this week’s State 48 A2Z blog, we pack up our cares and troubles, head south a few miles north of the border, and check out the 2022 Blues in Bisbee music festival.
Initially started in 2005 by Arizona Blues Hall of Famer member, Buzz Pearson, Blues in Bisbee had been held previously at City Park, drawing 1,200 blues aficionados and fans in its first year. Since its inception, the music festival has been taken over by KBRP Community Media which also created the Bisbee Blues Foundation
Over the previous years, the crowd and vendor numbers have continued to grow and City Park was no longer a viable option for the event. So, for 2022, the Blues in Bisbee festival was moved to its new home at Warren Ballpark with a great lineup of performers. The event is also about giving back to the community as proceeds from the festival benefit the Easterseals Blake Foundation, which provides support to more than 1,000 Cochise County children, families, and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
This year’s lineup of performers included Pat Panther, Melissa Reaves, Heather Hardy, and Dusty City Blues, Bad News Blues, Blackcat Zydeco, Anna Warr and Giant Blue, Johnny Rawls, Black Cat Bones, and Jimmy “Primetime” Smith and the Bob Corritore Blues Band.
Bisbee's own, The Pat Panther Blues Band, opened the show and got the crowd on their feet and dancing from the first song. ArizonaCentral.com says, "This family band describes themselves as “female-fronted folk, blues, and rock with a dead-on rhythm section and a blazing lead player.”
PPBB was followed on stage by Tucson's Heather Hardy & Dusty City Blues. The band had previously been scheduled for the 2021 event that was canceled due to high covid numbers in the area. If you have never heard of Heather Hardy before you need to check her out. Her mastery of the electric fiddle was stellar and their performance took the show to a new level. Check out her video below.
While the show was just getting going, the crowd was fired up and ready for the high-energy blues brought to Southern Arizona by Melissa Reeves. Reeves has performed her fireball style Blues across the United States as well as internationally throughout Europe. Reeves has opened for Robert Plant, Sarah MacLachlan, Leon Russell, Cyndi Lauper, Sister Sledge, Kenny Wayne Sheppard, Doc Watson, and Little Feat.
Next up was the Jimi "Primetime" Smith and Bob Corritore Blues Band. Smith and Corritore teamed up a number of years back and have collaborated on several albums in recent years. The Chicago-born Smith has previously performed with Sam Lay, Jimmy Reed, Big Walter Horton, Big Walter Smith, and more. Corritore, who broadcasts a blues radio show in addition to performing and owning Phoenix's top blues joint, The Rhythm Room, is considered one of the top traditional blues harp players today. Corritore has performed and jammed with the likes of Bo Diddley, Little Milton, John Brim, Jimmy Rogers, Henry Gray, Pinetop Perkins, Ike Turner, Jimmie Vaughan, Henry Townsend, Honeyboy Edwards, Big Jack Johnson, Ike Turner, Smokey Wilson, Lil’ Ed, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Nappy Brown, R.L. Burnside, Louisiana Red, Robert Lockwood, Jr., Sam Lay, Barbara Lynn, John Primer, Eddy Clearwater, and many others.
Next up was Tucson's own Black Cat Bones, a band that first came together in 2004 when core members Charles Pitts and Jeff Daniels set out to form a band that would stand the test of time. The band's musical style was heavily influenced by blues greats such as B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, and Muddy Waters, in addition to Blues/Rock greats such as Johnny Winter, Savoy Brown, and ZZ Top.
The 2022 festival was rounded out by Tucson's Bad News Blues, Houston's Ruben Moreno and the Zydeco Re-Evolution, the high-quality jazz-rock and blues of Tucson's Giant Blue featuring Anna Warr, and, closing out the night, soul blues legend, Johnny Rawls. Rawls took home the 2019 Blues Music Award for "Best Soul Blues Album".
It was an amazing all-day event and, as a concertgoer for more blues festivals than I care to mention (yep, I'm old. Fell in love with the blues in the mid-1970s), this one was a well-operated event with a high level of quality bands and performers. It was a perfect southern Arizona day with the monsoon season taking a break and providing us with 90-degree weather and cloudless turquoise skies.
The Easterseals Blake Foundation staff and volunteers should be very proud of what their hard work brought to fruition. I am already looking forward to going back for the 2023 festival. To learn more about EBF check out their web page here.
It may be too late to make the 2022 Blues in Bisbee event but check out their web page at bluesinbisbee.com for more information for the 2023 festival. You can also follow them on Facebook here to stay abreast of all the 2023 updates. Head here for the music; stay a few extra days for all the amazing history the town and surrounding areas provide. Spend some time touring nearby Tombstone, or drive the Ghost Town Trail to Gleeson, Courtland, and Pearce ghost towns. Or maybe check out Sierra Vista and Fort Huachuca or Bisbee's Copper Queen Mine Tour. There's a lot to enjoy in this somewhat remote area of southern Arizona.
That’ll wrap things up for this week. As always, thanks for reading, stay safe, and happy travels. Be sure to like and follow us on social media (links below), share our blog posts, and feel free to give us your feedback. We’d love to hear from you. Peace!
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