Simply Texas Blues

Simply Texas Blues Festival

We spent last Saturday at the Simply Texas Blues Festival in San Angelo and let me tell you, The San

Angelo Blues Society truly is the “Coolest Club in Town.”   The event was held in conjunction with a bike rally and the bikers club guys and gals showed up dressed in the leathers and denim and had some of the biggest and baddest bikes around.

I went from saying….”wish I had a bike again” to “wish I could play blues music” all day long.  There was also a classic car show involved, lots of vendors along the street, and it was a lot of fun.

It was The Blues Music that was the big draw of the day.

Sealy Flats owners Rod and Dennise Bridgman (Bridge-man) also contributed to making the Simply Texas Blues Festival event a big success. Sealy Flats is the local ‘blues’ hangout and features live music in the 200 block of Oakes Street in downtown San Angelo. In fact, the ‘Coolest Club in Town’ arranged to have the street blocked off and a borrowed a stage from the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo to showcase the singers and their blues inspired music right in front of Sealy Flats on one side of the street and the Cactus Hotel down at the corner across the street watching over it all.

Don’t think for one minute that the blues is some sleepy time music wailing about troubles. Most of it just celebrates life….and I have become a convert. It is just enough country, usually played these days with amplified acoustic guitars and harmonicas or ‘juice harps’ to make you enjoy some toe tappin’ music. And a good

blues singer like Blues Boy Willie and side men punk rocker looking guys like The Wild Bills, suited me just fine. I loved it! When Blues Boy Willie started in his singing and added some harmonica, you knew it was blues time in Real Texas. And then the Wild Bills added their electric guitars and rock music, it all seemed to work out to some of the best entertainment I’ve heard in a long time.

We had a booth right next to the San Angelo Blues Society booth that was selling T-shirts. We were promoting the Tex Mex Fandango Cruise for a company we have called Texas Cruise Company. We are the Cruise agents and the Tex Mex Fandango features T. Gozney Thornton and the Old Hat Band, Augie Meyers of the Texas Tornadoes, Kenny Daniel of Kenny and the Kasuals, and Joe Forlini.   From our vantage point curbside at Sealy Flats, we had some of the best seats in the house. Give us a call at 325-835-7561 to get a cabin and go with a fun crowd.

By the way, T. Gozney Thornton took first place in the Blues Solo Competition and will be competing in Memphis, Tennessee later in the year for the national title. Yes, he’s that good.  He hails from all over West Texas including Big Lake, Del Rio, San Angelo, and Knickerbocker, Texas. He got his start a long time ago at Willie’s recording studio out on the Pedernales. Now he’s back at the music business again and you can keep up with his performance schedule at his website.

It was a good weekend with the Car Show, Blessing of the Bikes by biker preacher Russ Fraiser, and the Simply Texas Blues band and solo competition. San Angelo Blues Society president Larry Jolley and his volunteer team of Vice Presidents brought this great venue to San Angelo and it will probably be the gift that keeps on giving considering what a success it was. Larry is the president and all other club members are deemed Vice Presidents.  Larry was often assisted on stage with announcements and presentations by Jim Rose, long time San Angelo Blues aficionado and musician.

The show was headlined by Joe Jonas and the Silvertones who started their performance at 9:30 p.m. that evening. Everyone just brought their own chairs along with the chairs that were provided and enjoyed a great evening right out in the middle of the street.  Sealy Flats did a booming business and their staff was able to keep up with the demand for food and refreshments on the sidewalk and inside The Diner.

Bands and individuals who played during the day’s blues competition included Talley Services (the winners of the groups division), Dan Calhoun Band, Jack’s Cigar Box (who brought a large and vocal contingent of fans from San Antonio), The Flinchers, Barefoot Mark & the Lizzards, Spring Mill Grind, Blues Boy Willie & the Wild Bills, Clever Blue, Dan Calhoun solo, B. Morgan James, T. (Tom) Gozney Thornton (Solo Winner), Jerry Johnson, Westex Rockers, and Buck Rhinestone. The bands were so good I barely noticed the really hot girl following one of the Wild Bills.

The band-group winners were:

1. Talley Services
2. Blues Boy Willie & the Wild Bills
3. Jerry Johnson

The Solo Winner was T. Gozney Thornton  This means Talley Services and T. Gozney Thornton will be competing for the national Blues title in their categories later this year in Memphis.

The San Angelo Blues Society was supported and sponsored by Multi-Chem. Not trying to embarrass anyone, but I have to applaud Multi-Chem and James and Lois Archer for their support of this venue in San Angelo.  Some companies don’t give a second thought about being involved in the community in which they work and live, but Multi-Chem does along with Elaine Bridges, Dr. Rex & Vickie Bushong, Lee Pfluger, San Angelo Community Medical Center, Duncan Disposal, A-B Distributing-Budweiser products distributors, XS Ranch, Holiday Cleaners, Sealy Flats, Inc., Century 21 Professionals, Cortese Flag & Silk Screen, Mike King, Carlene and Ed Piper, 3D’s Plumbing, D’Vine Wine, Clay and Cathy Hubbard, Bill and Melinda Montgomery, Best Buy, Q’s Printing, McDonald’s, Trade Wind Sound, Bill Campbell, Mark Stevenson, Russ Frazier, Don Gabbert, Angelo State University, San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo, David & Carol Dewar, DeCoty Coffee, Angelo RV, Canyon Creek Cloggers, Freeman Insurance, Tarpley Music, and Top Notch Trophy.  Of course there are the volunteers of the San Angelo Blues Society including Lu and Lesley Worsham and so many more we do not know their names.  Slim Jim (Jimmy) Rose was a big part of the Festival along with Society President Larry Jolley.  There are many more individuals and companies who have the means to support their various interests in San Angelo and West Texas and for them we are all grateful.

Here is a part of T. Gozney Thornton’s performance…with a little Blues Boy Willie and the Wild Bills and Dan Calhoun thrown in for good measure.

You can hear some of the blues a la The San Angelo Blues Society and other blues artists for a ‘blues jam’ most Tuesday evenings at Sealy Flats starting at around 6:30.   They also meet the 3rd Sunday of the month at the Oasis Club-1421 West Beauregard Avenue, San Angelo - (325) 655-2032 for beer, blues, and barbecue.

This year’s Simply Texas Blues Festival was a success.  How could it not be?

After all, they are…. “The Coolest Club in town.”

I’m David out in Real Texas

Hanging out with the cool kids…..

Tagged as: david werst, Joe Jonas Blues, Real Texas Blog, San Angelo Blues Society, Simply Texas Blues, Texas Music