By Doug Draper
A blues festival in Thorold?
Guitar master Scott Holt one of many to perform at annual Canal Bank Shuffle Blues Festival
I wasn’t the only one living in Thorold – a Niagara, Ontario town possibly best known for the flight locks that make it possible for big bulky ships plying the Welland Canal to climb up and down the Niagara Escarpment – who wondered if the idea of a few music enthusiasts to turn the downtown into a popular venue each October for a large cast of internationally acclaimed blues musicians wasn’t a bit too far out to fly.
Yet almost decade later, Thorold is getting ready, once again, for thousands of music fans from Toronto, Buffalo and other cities and towns on both sides of the Canada/U.S. border to fill its streets, bars and community halls this Thursday, Oct. 21, Friday, Oct. 22 and Saturday, Oct. 23 for the 9th annual Canal Bank Shuffle Blues Festival.
Tim Sennett, a Thorold resident and one of the festival’s organizers, told me a few years ago he once saw a festival of blues music in northern Ontario and became “convinced we could pull it off here.”
Krista Blondin IS Janis Joplin
“We would like to see this get bigger and better. I think it could grow to a point where we attract more visitors each year than the Welland Canal,” added Sennett, who may by now be right about the attractive powers of the festival during the three days it is in flight.
This year’s Blues Festival features a total of 17 lead performers in 19 shows spread over the three days. They include the legendary Texas bluesman Guitar Shorty, Scott Holt, who spent a decade playing with the iconic Buddy Guy, and Canadian star David Gogo, who has performed with such towering figures as Johnny Winter and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Other performers back by popular demand include David Rotundo, Jack de Keyzer, Jerome Godboo and Krista Blondin who brings Janis Joplin back to life in a show that never fails to fill a room with cheers and applause.
Also appearing will be JP Soars from Florida and Karen Lovely from Seattle who placed first and second in their respective appearances at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.
For a complete list of performers for the festival, and for details on the location of the festival, the specific venues for the shows, and how and where to purchase tickets visit www.canalbankshuffle.com .
Tickets are a flat rate of $15 for entry to all performances. Proceeds from the festival, as always, go to local charities.
(Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to residents in our greater binational Niagara area.)
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