A King and Two Queens of Chicago Blues
Deitra Farr, Demetria Taylor and Tail Dragger
Waterfront Blues Festival
Portland, OR.
July 2, 2011

Again the WBF went off with some big names in the music world. The non-profit radio station, KBOO, here in Portland did the broadcasting again and there were lots of problems this year, as in other years. Many drops in reception which I attemted to "fix". Not all were broadcast, which was a bummer, and some were just to rife with problems to save. So there are some bumps in the road, if you will, but over all some nice tunes are here. Of note, the Preston Shannon set, James Harmon, Bobby Radcliff, Chris Cain Band, Ty Curtis Band and of course Lucinda Williams. So enjoy & spread the shows around, twofthrs.

FM>H2 Zoom> HDD>FLAC>Dime All files were sector aligned.
Since I'm not familiar with a lot of these bands there will be some "unknowns" in the set list's.
http://www.waterfrontbluesfest.com/

This powerhouse group features some of the upcoming stars of the Chicago Blues Scene: vocalists Deitra Farr, Demetria Taylor and Tail Dragger, backed by Windy City harmonica ace Martin Lane and Oakland’s Ronnie Stewart and Caravan of Allstars.

James Yancy Jones, a/k/a "Tail Dragger," has been a fixture on the Chicago blues scene for decades. After moving to to the city in the '60s, he began playing with blues legends on the West Side and South Side. Known in those days as Crawlin' James, it was Howlin’ Wolf who gave Jones the title “Tail Dragger” because of his habit of showing up late to gigs. Tail Dragger's 'My Head Is Bald: Live At Vern's Friendly Lounge' remains Delmark Records' best-selling DVD.

Demetria Taylor—The “Bad Girl” of Chicago Blues—is the youngest daughter of Eddie Taylor, one of the most influential Chicago blues guitarists of all time, and father to a large family of Chicago’s West Side blues talent. Demetria is the youngest Taylor offspring and latest to break out as a blues star on her own, following her father, (long time guitarist with the great Jimmy Reed); mother, vocalist Vera Taylor; great uncle, Chicago soul/blues icon Jimmy Burns; and brother, the guitarist Eddie Taylor, Jr. Demetria turns heads with her own distinctive and passionate vocal style—she can growl like Koko Taylor, but also has sensual purr, great taste, timing and deep blues roots. Demetria's debut release Bad Girl, is due out on Delmark records this spring. Even though she just turned 38, Demetria won the B.L.U.E.S. on Halsted Blues Diva Contest 2010, has performed three times at the Chicago Blues Festival and guested on two recordings by her brother, guitarist Eddie Taylor, Jr.

Deitra Farr, one of Chicago's top blues vocalists, delivers fiery, soul-stirring performances that have earned her nominations for Female Blues Artist of the Year from the (W.C. Handy) Blues Awards, Living Blues Critics Awards, the British Blues Connection Awards, and the Les Trophées France Blues Awards. The Italian newspaper, The Pistoia La Nationale, proclaimed Farr "Regina del Blues."

This Chicago native began her career in 1975, singing with local soul bands, and at 18 cut the lead vocal on Mill Street Depot's "You Won't Support Me," a Cashbox Top 100 R&B hit. In 1983, Deitra began working at the major Chicago blues clubs, and toured the US and Canada with the Sam Lay Blues Band. From 1993 to 1996, Farr was lead singer with Mississippi Heat, recording two acclaimed CD's with this all-star group. Farr later toured Europe as guest vocalist with Lil Ed and the Imperials, Otis Grand and Bobby Parker. For the past six years Deitra has toured with The Women of Chicago Blues project with Zora Young and Grana Louise.

Farr has contributed vocals to numerous recording projects by other blues artists, and has released two CDs of her own, The Search is Over, and Let it Go, for UK-based JSP records. The multi-talented Farr is also a published writer, poet, songwriter, and painter. Currently she has a column "Artist to Artist" in Living Blues Magazine.

"Multi-talented Deitra Farr was the treasure find of the entire [2006 Chicago Blues] festivalŠHer saucy Friday night performance demonstrated why she is considered one Chicago's top vocalists."
- SW Blues Magazine

Joining these Chicago veterans on keyboards will be Portland's D.K. Stewart, a veteran himself of tours with Roomful of Blues, Robert Cray, Paul deLay and Curtis Salgado Bands, as well as his own band, the D.K. Stewart Sextet.

Set List
01 Intro
02 Wang Dang Doodle
03 Just A Bad Girl ("fixed" recp problems)
04 Voodoo Woman
05 Unknown
06 I'm A Woman
07 I',m Feelin' Good
08 Unknown
09 Honey I Do
10 Key To The Highway
11 Taildragger intro
12 Unknown
13 Unknown