I spent Friday evening with the blues, and it was wonderful. Though the concert was barely advertised, I discovered that Willie King and the Liberators were about to play a free show in Phelan Park, across the street from Dreamland's Birmingham location. I managed to make it down there just in time to join the gathering crowd as they perched upon a low stone wall in front of the band or sat at the park’s round tables to feast on BBQ. The smell of smoked meat wafted over from the restaurant and made me almost, stress the almost, want to eat there. I made that mistake once, and one empty wallet and undercooked sandwich later I vowed never to do so again. Though I refuse to eat their food, I now forgive them completely for the aforementioned dining fiasco. They brought me Willie King, and Willie is the man.
At 64, Willie King gained national prominence later in his career than you might expect from such an accomplished blues-man. He released his first album in 1999, debuted on the Rooster Blues label in 2000 and has since gone on to release three more discs including two with his new label Freedom Creek Music. In 1997 he founded the Freedom Creek Festival, a blues gathering held in Old Memphis, AL, near Aliceville. The festival benefits the Rural Members Association, a non-profit that promotes and preserves the traditional local culture of Pickens County, and has featured blues legends T-Model Ford, Paul Oscher, and Sweet Claudette, to name but a few. His guitar is as raw as his voice is rough, but Willie’s got a twinkle in his eye, and the kindliest demeanor one could hope for. During the set break he went around to every member of the audience and shook their hand, or chatted with them for a few moments before signing an autograph. Another member of the band, Debbie Bond, has opened for Buddy Guy and Dr. John, among others. Debbie also runs The Alabama Blues Project, whose mission is to increase awareness of how the blues, and Alabama blues in particular, have influenced the evolution of popular music. ABP and Willie King recently partnered to teach a six week workshop at Aliceville Middle School, so I shouldn’t have been surprised that by end of the show all the children in the audience were dancing in front of the stage (accompanied by a few goofy adults, myself included). There is something innately amusing about watching children dance who haven’t learned to be self-conscious yet. They gyrate with the best of them, striking poses that in only a few years would make them playground pariahs.
I am so glad that this concert didn’t slip under my radar, as I fear it did with almost everyone. I got the feeling from talking to the other audience members that most of them had either been in Dreamland when the show started, or lived in the surrounding residential neighborhood and had heard it from their houses. It certainly made for a more relaxed and enjoyable experience than if word had gotten out. I didn’t have to fight a crowd, and there was no interminable hunt for parking. I sat in the front row, even though I was one of the last ones there. It makes me wonder how many other little gems are passing by unannounced, secreted away in the nooks and crannies of our city. From now on I shall be even more vigilant in my search for great music, and I promise I will pass on the good word to you.
At 64, Willie King gained national prominence later in his career than you might expect from such an accomplished blues-man. He released his first album in 1999, debuted on the Rooster Blues label in 2000 and has since gone on to release three more discs including two with his new label Freedom Creek Music. In 1997 he founded the Freedom Creek Festival, a blues gathering held in Old Memphis, AL, near Aliceville. The festival benefits the Rural Members Association, a non-profit that promotes and preserves the traditional local culture of Pickens County, and has featured blues legends T-Model Ford, Paul Oscher, and Sweet Claudette, to name but a few. His guitar is as raw as his voice is rough, but Willie’s got a twinkle in his eye, and the kindliest demeanor one could hope for. During the set break he went around to every member of the audience and shook their hand, or chatted with them for a few moments before signing an autograph. Another member of the band, Debbie Bond, has opened for Buddy Guy and Dr. John, among others. Debbie also runs The Alabama Blues Project, whose mission is to increase awareness of how the blues, and Alabama blues in particular, have influenced the evolution of popular music. ABP and Willie King recently partnered to teach a six week workshop at Aliceville Middle School, so I shouldn’t have been surprised that by end of the show all the children in the audience were dancing in front of the stage (accompanied by a few goofy adults, myself included). There is something innately amusing about watching children dance who haven’t learned to be self-conscious yet. They gyrate with the best of them, striking poses that in only a few years would make them playground pariahs.
I am so glad that this concert didn’t slip under my radar, as I fear it did with almost everyone. I got the feeling from talking to the other audience members that most of them had either been in Dreamland when the show started, or lived in the surrounding residential neighborhood and had heard it from their houses. It certainly made for a more relaxed and enjoyable experience than if word had gotten out. I didn’t have to fight a crowd, and there was no interminable hunt for parking. I sat in the front row, even though I was one of the last ones there. It makes me wonder how many other little gems are passing by unannounced, secreted away in the nooks and crannies of our city. From now on I shall be even more vigilant in my search for great music, and I promise I will pass on the good word to you.
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