Screamin' the Blues

10/19/2016

My Screamin' the Blues collection, currently exhibited at the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Arkansas, is featured in the latest issue of Big City Rhythm'n'Blues magazine. A "The Year of the Woman in Photos" special issue celebrating dozens of talented female musicians thanks to the beautiful pictures taken over the years by fellow photographers.

I feel so honored to have been included. The Screamin' the Blues story spreads on four pages and presents screams... by women –Irma Thomas, Anne Harris, Jj Thames, Shemekia Copeland, Nora Jean, Shakura S'Aida, Tia Gouttebel, Mz Peachez, Ruthie Foster, Eden Brent, Davina & The Vagabonds, Claudette Miller, and Barbara Carr.

This issue is very special to me for another reason: The cover features Koko Taylor at the Chicago Blues Festival in 1988.

I was then studying at Goshen College, in Indiana, about two hours away from Chicago. That same year, one of my housemates, Lori, took me to my first blues show ever. It was Koko Taylor –the Queen in person! Needless to say I was hooked right away.

A couple of months later, after we all graduated, we attended the 5th Chicago Blues Festival. The best farewell party ever, featuring ''One Queen and Two Kings'' – Koko Taylor, Albert King, and B.B. King. Also in the (crazy!) lineup were Etta James, Pinetop Perkins, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Son Seals, Bobby 'Blue' Bland, Fontella Bass, Snooky Pryor, Little Willie Littlefield, Magic Slim... Back then I had no idea, but just reading those names today makes me sigh in disbelief.

The second King I missed that year. The last day of the festival, as B.B. King was performing, I was in the plane flying back to France after having lived in the U.S. for two years. I was crying and crying and crying. Because I already missed my friends. And because B.B. King was on stage, right then, right underneath me, in Grant Park. I could even see the lights from up there. Of course I cried again when I finally saw B.B. King at the Cognac Blues Passions festival in France in 2009. So many memories and feelings in those tears...

Thank you, Robert Whitall, for including me in this wonderful issue of Big City Rhythm'n'Blues and for your wonderful work. Thank you to your amazing team.

www.bigcitybluesmag.com
www.screamintheblues.com

10/05/2016

October 5, 2016 - March 4, 2017

09/22/2016

COMING UP... Screamin' the Blues can be seen at the Blues Foundation / Blues Hall of Fame in Memphis, Tennessee, until October 2, 2016.
The exhibit will then move to the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Arkansas --right on time for the 31st King Biscuit Blues Festival. Hope to see you there!

07/10/2016

French ABS Magazine chose 'Screamin' the Blues' for its Focus in the magazine's 50th issue, published in May, 2016. Thank you, Marcel Bénédit, for the great story! Find out more in the ABS and on screamintheblues.com.

06/08/2016

The Memphis Blog Gurl wrote a detailed story and interview about Screamin' the Blues. It was so nice meeting Rachel Warren and sharing the exhibit and the whole blues experience with her. Thank you for the story!

04/21/2016

Thank you, Barry Kerzner and American Blues Scene, for writing about my 'Screamin' the Blues' exhibit! See you all in Memphis, on Friday, May 6...

One such event is the