Bringing Back the Blues: Ossining to Pay Tribute to a King at Saturday’s Blues Fest
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
By Brian Kluepfel
In the throes of the COVID epidemic, Bill Votava dug deep into YouTube for the roots of the blues that his band, The 3Bs, bring alive. The more he discovered about B.B. King’s historic Sing Sing prison concert in 1972, the more he thought, why can’t we do it again?
“B.B. gave those prisoners something to believe in,” said Votava, whose Sept. 14 Up the River Blues Fest on the Ossining waterfront honors the master blues man’s legacy. “Blues is a way of sharing stress, anger and sorrow. And everybody gets that.”
Votava has been rocking a drum kit since the late 1970s, and currently swings with two local combos, Blues, Fire and Soul, as well as The 3Bs. He credits local music store maven Miriam Risko for the name. She said to him once, “you’re really bringing back the blues,” Votava recalled, and the repetitive moniker stuck in his brain. Two years later, The 3Bs were born.
Although he was raised on funk and rock, Votava says when he relocated to Ossining from Elmhurst, Queens he felt like connecting more with blues music. After guesting with local legend Big Frank Mirra and the Healers, he also reached out to the Hudson Valley Blues Society (HVBS), and his immersion into American roots music grew deeper.
The connection paid dividends when it came time to organize the Up the River Fest, which was first scheduled for October 2023. That attempt was canceled when Hurricane Tammy brought reminders of Memphis Minnie’s “When the Levee Breaks.”
“Paul (Toscano) and Hillary (Fontana) of HVBS secured the talent,” said Votava. “We scored some really great names.”
Gayle Marchica, who served with Votava on the Ossining Chamber of Commerce, rallied more than 20 sponsors. The magic is set to unfold this Saturday at noon. Food trucks will be on hand to prevent any Woodstock-like sustenance shortages.
A lineup of international luminaries awaits those who meander down to Louis Engel Waterfront Park that day. Hudson Valley veteran Pete “Hop” Hopkinson and Foothills of the Catskills native Slam Allen bring a boatload of energy and veteran experience. Hop has toured Europe with Mitch Rocket and his Rocket 88s, while Allen has been on the boards since childhood with his family band and later with legendary harp player James Cotton of Muddy Waters fame.
Now Allen is a noted solo artist whose influence is global. The larger-than-life guitarist and vocalist can be heard everywhere from cruise ships to Netflix.
Hopkinson, freshly returned from the Umbria (Italy) Jazz Festival, will hit the stage with his four-piece Jackrabbits ensemble. He appreciates the genre’s wide-ranging palette.
“Blues is the music I spent the most time studying – jump blues, Texas blues, Delta blues – it’s such a wellspring of American music,” said the Putnam County axe man, who hosted a longtime blues jam and counts wide-ranging influences from The Three Kings (B.B., Freddie and Albert) to T-Bone Walker, Pee Wee Crayton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Also taking the stage will be The Cinelli Brothers, just voted the UK Blues Band of the Year for 2024, as well as Votava’s The 3Bs. Lex Grey and the Urban Pioneers bring a unique diva-esque sense of sassiness to the event while owning up to the fact that they “Ain’t from Mississippi,” as one of their songs freely admits.
Votava said B.B. King’s concert more than a half-century ago was the inspiration behind the choice of location for the festival.
“I wanted it right in the shadow of Sing Sing,” he said. “Who knows? Maybe the inmates will hear us.”
Admission is free to the Up the River Blues Fest. For more information, visit https://www.uptheriverbluesfestival.com.
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