For Bluesfest, the show goes on... and on
GRANVILLE – Granville’s Hot Licks Bluesfest has led a charmed existence.
In its 15th year Saturday, the huge downtown event, which attracts an estimated 3,000 to 5,000, appears to be on track for another big day.
With headliner The Royal Southern Brotherhood, a blues-rock band bringing its individual performers’ talents for funk, blues, hard rock and reggae, the show begins on the East Broadway block between Prospect and Main streets at 1 p.m., lasting until 10 p.m.
GFAB must have an outstanding relationship with the National Weather Service. Only once was rain a factor, during the first year.
“It rained for the last 10 minutes of the very first band’s set on the first festival,” said guitarist Tom Carroll, spokesman for the sponsoring Granville Federation for the Appreciation of the Blues.
Bluesfest also dodged a bullet that could have deep-sixed many similar events. In 2009 during the depths of the nation’s economic recession, the decision was made to cancel due to challenges in finding sponsors. But it came roaring back the next year.
Jerry Martin, owners of Brews Cafe and a founder of Bluesfest, said he’s amazed that the event has endured so long.
“It’s a lot of work but it’s a lot of fun,” he said. “It brings us a great amount of joy at the end of the day when we see people having such a good time and are able to donate to a good cause. It’s a great social event.”
“It’s just grown by leaps and bounds,” Carroll said. “The attendance has been steady. If anything we’re drawing more people from outside of Licking County — from the state and the Midwest.”
That’s a plus for Granville, says Steve Matheny, executive director of the Granville Area Chamber of Commerce.
“While the Hot Licks Bluesfest is not a Chamber-sponsored event we are nonetheless highly supportive of its purpose and the benefits it provides to the community,” Matheny said. “First of all it offers great performers and great music. Secondly it serves as a magnet drawing visitors to Granville where they will likely be smitten with our community and eager to return for our unique shopping, dining, and lodging offerings.”
“People stop me every year and ask me, ‘What’s the date?’ ” Carroll said.
During the recession, it was just a matter of waiting out the economy, Martin said, saying that GFAB members weren’t comfortable approaching businesses at the time, and didn’t believe they could raise enough money for a good show.
But GFAB established a relationship with the Granville Community Foundation, which has provided grant funding annually ever since, supplementing sponsors’ funding to make sure the show goes on.
“People were generous the next year,” Martin said. “It was a bump in the road, but it’s all turned out well.”
Patricia Finkelman, president of the Foundation, said, “Bluesfest enriches the entire community. It brings us all together around a great American art form, and it draws thousands of appreciative festival-goers to our local stores and restaurants. It makes sense that a community foundation committed to supporting organizations and programs that define our community, would sponsor this important event.”
This year, Martin said, GFAB is coming the closest yet to having the entire event paid for prior to its start.
The event attracts as many local people as visitors. Granville native Bobby Owen has been hooked for years.
“I enjoy going to it every year,” he said. “I’m a proponent of bringing anything downtown that promotes the ambiance of Granville. It shows a side of Granville I like to see. It’s another one of the things we do to bring a nice flavor to the community.”
A key factor in Bluesfest’s success its organizers’ ability to attract outstanding nationally known blues artists despite a limited budget. The list has included Sam Lay, a drummer Bob Dylan’s classic album “Highway 61 Revisited;” Hubert Sumlin, a guitarist with the late Howlin’ Wolf and a pal of Eric Clapton; Willie “Big Eyes” Smith; and Robert “Jr.” Lockwood, who performed on the original King Biscuit Flower Hour.
“We were lucky to be able to get these legends,” Carroll said.
“Our whole thing is about the music and being able to present it in the best way,” Carroll said. “We’ve really developed an audience with high expectations. If anything they really trust who we present. I never hear complaints about the artists.”
Also on the Bluesfest stage this Saturday:
• Torronzo Cannon, a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter known for “simmering riffs and smoldering licks,” appearing with special guest Omar Coleman, regarded as a top harmonica player and blues vocalist.
• The Jeremiah Johnson Band, featuring a blending of Johnson’s Texas guitar sound with his native St. Louis blues background.
• Columbus guitarist and former Granville resident Sean Carney, with Shaun Booker playing songs from their album “Blue Plate Special.”
• The Mark May Band, with special guests to pay tribute to local blues artist Bobby Samson, a mainstay in the Licking County blues scene who died this past year.
• The Guitar Company, presenting an “all-star jam.
Proceeds from the event again will benefit the locally-based Christopher Carlson Foundation, which grants funds to families who need travel and lodging assistance for their children undergoing cancer treatment; Sean Carney’s Blues for a Cure foundation, which supports cancer research, education and screening organizations across Ohio; and a scholarship for a graduating Granville High School senior who plans to major in music.
2015 Hot Licks Bluesfest
• When — 1 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5
• Where — East Broadway block downtown
• Admission — Free. Tickets for food and beverages available for purchase
• Want to volunteer? — Call volunteers coordinator Lon Herman at 440-227-0682. Text messages are welcome.
• To donate to the cause — Mail contribution to Granville Federation for the Appreciation of the Blues, P.O. Box 194, Granville, OH 43023