7th Annual Acoustic Blues Festival at Caffe Lena - 03/30/2012

7th Annual Acoustic Blues Festival Blues-in-the-Round

Featuring Shari Kane & Dave Steele, Robin O'Herin, and Low 'N Lonesome As an acoustic blues duo, Shari Kane (of Madcat and Kane) and Dave Steele throw a four-handed guitar party of original and time-honored blues, gospel, swing and ragtime. Steeped in Dave's smoky vocals, percussive rhythm and innovative lead lines, Shari's crisp picking style, rootsy leads, and stinging slidework, their music has been described as "street swing and stomp blues," —like a testament to sounds once heard on the streets of Harlem, the juke joints of Mississippi, and from the jug bands of Memphis. Robin O'Herin is an acoustic blues and gospel musician from the Berkshires. She plays bottleneck and fingerstyle guitar, and her mountain dulcimer adds the welcome sounds of Appalachian folk. She specializes in historically rich, interactive concerts that take listeners on a journey through the Delta and Piedmont regions of the South. Song selections may include Robert Johnson, Blind Willie Johnson and Robin's own original blues and ballads. She has been a finalist in the prestigious Memphis International Blues Challenge and Telluride Blues contest and has contributed songs for PBS productions. Low 'N Lonesome features Louisiana-born guitarist Rob Adkins, who launched his career right here at the Caffè Lena back in early '80s, and Saratoga's own Phil Drum, founder of the Saratoga Acoustic Blues Society. Both are fine fingerstyle guitarists and songwriters, with deep roots in blues and ragtime music of the '20s and '30s. They specialize in unique arrangements of tunes by such greats as Blind Boy Fuller, Jimmie Rodgers, and Louis Armstrong's Hot 5.