Rick Estrin & The Nightcats
Waterfront Blues Festival
Portland, OR.
July 5, 2015

I'm not going to be able to record as much this year. I'll try to get all the major acts and some favorites I've had over the years. Again, KBOO FM is broadcasting the show live. KBOO is an all volunteer station. All proceeds from the festival go to the Oregon Food Bank so please donate if you can. They also have a live stream on the internet. It's an MP3 stream. My set up is an old Technics Quartz Tuner> H2 Zoom> SD card> computer> TLH.

Every night that award-winning harmonica player, singer and songwriter RICK ESTRIN and his cohorts, THE NIGHTCATS, perform live�wherever in the world that may be�a crowd of dancing, shouting, laughing and cheering people will be enjoying some of the best live music they�ve ever heard.

This group comprised of four world-class musicians form one of the tightest and most original bands in any genre. RICK ESTRIN & THE NIGHTCATS�jaw-dropping guitarist Chris �Kid� Andersen, singing drummer (who plays standing up) J. Hansen, and dynamic multi-instrumentalist Lorenzo Farrell (electric and acoustic bass, organ and Moog synthesizer)�serve up fresh and modern original blues injected with a solid dose of gritty roadhouse rock �n� roll, and Estrin�s trademark wiseguy humor and brilliant harmonica work. Since the 2009 release of their celebrated Alligator Records debut TWISTED and the 2012 follow up ONE WRONG TURN, the band has toured non-stop, sharpening their musical telepathy to a razor�s edge.

ESTRIN, who holds the 2013 Blues Music Award for Best Instrumentalist, ranks among the very best harp players, singers and songwriters in the blues world. His work on the reeds is deep in the tradition of harmonica masters Sonny Boy Williamson II and Little Walter Jacobs, while at the same time pushing that tradition forward with his unforgettable original songs. BLUES REVUE says, �Estrin has created some of the finest blues songs of any artist on the planet. His carefully wrought lyrics penetrate human weakness with the precision of a boxer, though more often than not, he chooses to leave you laughing after the blow�s been struck.�

Estrin won the 1994 Blues Music Award for Song Of The Year for his composition �My Next Ex-Wife� and has written songs for a growing legion of other musicians, including Grammy-nominated albums by Koko Taylor, Robert Cray and John Hammond.


Estrin was born in San Francisco, California in 1949, and grew up following his own path. He discovered an entirely new world when, as a 10-year-old boy, he made his way to the tough Market Street area and befriended many of the neighborhood characters. He had another revelation when his older sister gave him a copy of Ray Charles� The Genius Sings The Blues when he was 12. He got his first harmonica at age 15, and by age 18 was proficient enough to begin sitting in at black clubs around the city. He first jammed with blues master Lowell Fulson and almost immediately was hired to open five shows for R&B giant Z.Z. Hill. He worked five nights a week for almost a year with guitar legend Travis Phillips in a band fronted by famed pimp/bluesman Fillmore Slim (who was the centerpiece of the acclaimed Hughes Brothers documentary American Pimp). Estrin moved to Chicago when he was 19 and worked with South Side bluesmen Johnny Young, Eddie Taylor, Sam Lay and Johnny Littlejohn before meeting and jamming with Muddy Waters, who told Rick, �You outta sight, boy! You got that sound, boy! You play like a man, boy!� In fact, Muddy wanted Estrin to go on the road with him, but due to nothing more than a missed phone call, it never happened. Rick eventually moved back to the Bay Area, met Charlie Baty and formed Little Charlie & The Nightcats.

For more than 30 years and nine albums, Rick fronted the band, featuring Baty�s one-of-a-kind guitar acrobatics. The band won international acclaim and toured the world repeatedly. They were nominated four times for the prestigious Blues Music Award for Band Of The Year. With Charlie�s retirement from touring in 2008, Rick rededicated himself to his craft. Hansen and Farrell wanted to keep the band going. Estrin knew the only way to replace Baty�s crazed and unique guitar style was to find someone with an equally insane and individual approach, and he knew that would be a tall order to fill.

As luck would have it, KID ANDERSEN, who had been working with another harp legend, CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE, became available. �Kid�s a fearless nut on the guitar,� says Estrin. �He�s really the only guy who could fit in with us.� With an unpredictable, no-holds-barred style that perfectly meshed with Estrin�s wildly imaginative original songs. BLUES REVUE raved, �Rick Estrin & The Nightcats are one of modern blues� most versatile and original bands.�

Set List
01 Hand To Mouth
02 Unknown
03 Talk
04 New Old Lady
05 P.A. Slim is Back
06 The Legand of Taco Cobbler (announcer cuts in)
07 Callin' All Fools
08 You Can't Come Back