Buddy Guy will headline fest

By Dan Hilborn
Published Apr. 29, 2006


One of the greatest blues legends in the world, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Buddy Guy, has been confirmed as the headline act for the seventh annual Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival, taking place in Deer Lake Park on Sunday, Aug. 13.

The 70-year-old bluesman, whose most recent CD Bring 'Em In features guest performances by Keith Richards and Carlos Santana, is best known for his virtuoso guitar playing and love of wading into the audience.

"It's awesome," said Burnaby city councillor and longtime blues fan Nick Volkow. "To see him playing in our beautiful outdoor venue is dynamite. He is one of the remaining icons of the living blues."

Born to a sharecropper family and raised on a plantation near New Orleans, George 'Buddy' Guy first fashioned his own makeshift guitar when he was just seven years old, and soon discovered he had a natural talent for music.

And Buddy Guy still credits his parents for inspiring him to rise above the world of Southern segregation to become a world-class musician by pointing to the examples of pioneering heavyweight boxer Joe Louis and famed major league baseballer Jackie Robinson.

When he moved to Chicago to pursue his dream in 1957, he landed his first gigs at the fabled 708 Club, where he met such luminaries at Muddy Waters, Otis Rush and others.

Like many blues fans, Volkow admits to buying his first Buddy Guy record almost 35 years ago.

"I've never had the opportunity to see him play live before, but I'm a huge fan," said the truck-driving city council member. "He's got this affinity for walking though the crowd, so it should be just great."

Volkow also said the Burnaby Blues Festival had been trying to confirm Etta James, another Chicago blues legend, as its second headline act, but that deal fell through about two weeks ago. Another top calibre act is now being sought, he said.

"It just broke my heart," Volkow said of the news that James is unable to play in Burnaby this year. "That would have been such a super lineup. Hopefully, we'll still be able to find someone else of that calibre."

Volkow also said that he has formally asked the House of Blues to consider expanding the festival into a two-day event in the natural outdoor amphitheatre of Deer Lake Park.

Ian Forsyth, art services manager at the Shadbolt Centre, said this year's festival will see a few changes from previous events. The 2006 event will kick off two hours later than usual, at 3 p.m., and discussions are still ongoing to determine if there will be one or two stages of music.

Tickets to the seventh annual Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival will be on sale in a few weeks through www.ticketmaster.com or at the official website www.burnabybluesfestival.com.