The Sean Carney Band pulled into Memphis just after 5 am on May 10, knowing there would only be a few hours to get rested up before the day would kick into high gear with preparations for The Blues Music Awards. As part of our IBC prize package, we were the featured entertainment for the BMA’s pre- arty, held at The Memphis Cook Convention enter.
W arrived at the venue just after noon to see that film and sound crews were working hard and ots of familiar faces were on hand – I said hi to Mark Hummel and asked my friend Doug James to sit in our set. I’ve never seen so many movers and shakers of the blues industry in one place at one time – thumbing through the program, for instance, I noted that Dion was on hand, as was David “Honeyboy” Edwards!
he Blues Foundation certainly knows how to “pitch a wang dang doodle” when it comes to throwing a party and we got a charge out of
playing for BMA attendees at the VIP party in the time before the doors to the grand ballroom were opened.
Just before we started, I had a few minutes to catch up with XM Radio’s Bill Wax, who was excited about broadcasting the event on “Bluesville,” for the first time.
Don Ritter of Category 5 amplification provided me with a brand new banner that was displayed across the stage and I had a few minutes to get caught up with 2005 Albert King award winner, John Richardson, who was performing with Diunna Greenleaf and Bob Margolin.
Our performance flew by and I was soon seated with my band mates enjoying delicious catfish and ribs and Steve Edmonson’s fine band, backing the likes of Sugar Pie DeSanto and Johnny Rawls. At one point, as I was socializing in the “smoker’s section” out front, I noticed that I was standing just a few feet away from
Dr. John! A moving video montage paid tribute to those we've lost in the
past year, including my friends Big Joe Duskin and Joe Weaver.
After sitting in with Fionna Boyes the next afternoon, in a jam that included Bob Margolin, Bill Stuve, Jimi Bott and Richard Carr, we were o the road to Fort Madison, Iowa where we had a date at Simply The Blues.
Many of the performers, such as Eric Lindell and Michael Powers, who performed at The MA’s, were heading the same direction, “It’s funny that we booked most of these acts before the nominations were announced, Simply The Blues organizer Matt Eimer commented.
Matt told me that bad weather has out a damper on the blues festivities in ast years, but this weekend was the turning point in that trend with crystal clear skies and an early Midwestern summer. The festival was well attended and the music went well into the night at a jam that culminated in festival headliner, Hamilton Loomis and I jamming one last shuffle into the night.
