Seen at the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival, No. 6, July 3, 2014 - Candid shots of dancin' to the music

While I sat in the shade listening to Tevis Hodge, Jr., I noticed a couple dancing just outside the entrance to the FedEx Crossroads Stage. Tickled pink when I realized it was bluesman Steve Cheseborough, wearing another cool hat-of-the-day, dancing with his lady.



The two of them made good use of the small space. I'll bet Hodge would also be tickled pink at this turn of events. I miss having a man who is my dance partner.

Seen at the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival, No. 2, July 3, 2014 - Stan Street, the negotiator

Steve Cheseborough from yesterday's photo had been introduced by Stan Street of Clarksdale, Mississippi--there here is in the Mississippi hat. I met Stan at last year's festival when he managed the FedEx Crossroads stage which he was also doing in 2014. It was swell to visit with him again off and on during that day's downtime between performers. Immediately obvious to all of us in the audience for Steve Chesborough--we were in the midst of a scheduling snafu because as Steve played his traditional blues, he was drowned out by another band on a larger stage with I don't know how many musicians and instruments, blaring at top volume from behind and to his left. Stan, Steve, all of us felt discombobulated, at the very least. For sure, it was way too loud and, while not necessarily on purpose and probably a scheduling mistake or the lack of paying attention to details by someone in charge of that other stage, I felt it to be disrespectful of the FedEx Crossroads Stage and its musicians. When I saw Stan at the far side of the stage with these two people, discussing something and using his hands for emphasis, I bet to myself, "He's trying to get something done about that loud music. He knows how many great acts he's got for the day and wants them to be treated right. You go, Stan!"

Once I saw the woman motion with her thumb in the direction of the loud band, I figured I had guessed right. Stan, as manager of this particular stage, had tried to make the point that something needed to be done to make certain that this band needed to cool it part of the next 20 minutes or so and that any upcoming loud band wait to play at an interval which would not interfere with the musicians on his stage. That's what had been done in 2013, and it worked really well. I know that Steve continued to play very well, and it seems to me that part of that time the other band wasn't playing. I came back later in the day several times and discovered that it was all straightened out. Thanks, Stan, for your efforts from the get-go!

Seen at the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival, No. 1, July 3, 2014 - Steve Cheseborough

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From the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival Web site: Steve Cheseborough re-creates the blues and hokum of the 1920s-30s, interspersing the songs with stories, history and humor. The author of Blues Traveling: the Holy Sites of Delta Blues and one of the stars of Last of the Mississippi Jukes, Cheseborough has the uncanny ability to turn any setting into a 1925 Mississippi jook joint.

Twice I've witnessed the memorable magic that Steve creates on the FedEx Crossroads Stage, nestled beneath the trees just north of the Hawthorne Bridge. See the leaves mirrored in his nickel-plated National? He's perfectly suited to the festival's smallest, most intimate stage, but I'll bet he holds onto an audience from a larger stage with the same skill and ease. Thanks, Steve!