NW Blues Gallery

Welcome to the Northwest Blues Gallery, where we celebrate some of the most accomplished practitioners of the blues to be found here in Portland and the surrounding areas. Nationally-recognized blues luminaries such as Robert Cray, Curtis Salgado, Paul deLay and Lloyd Jones got their start right here in the Northwest, and their home turf continues to be fertile ground — the soulful, authentic, whip-your-head-around blues artists just keep coming, as you can see by the ever-growing list of notables pictured on these pages. Click on any thumbnail image to read a profile of that artist, usually including additional photos. Don't forget to visit the CBA Muddy Awards Page to see who Portland Blues Fans voted as the BEST in NW Blues!

Johnnie Ward

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Friday, 26 June 2009 18:44

 Muddy Awards

  • 1991 - Best Horns

A Living Study of Northwest Roots & Blues

Article Reprint from the April 2001 BluesNotes 
By:    LynnAnn Hyde    

    For many of us, the CBA is our initial exposure to Blues music, the community which supports it and the artists and entertainers that create and perform it. We sometimes take for granted the truly outstanding musicianship of the veteran players (maybe because they are consistently excellent), in favor of the spark and flurry of the up-and-coming, Some of us tend to equate promotional press with critical review. Some of us subscribe to the "Name Theorem" i.e., if you see someone's name A LOT, they must be good. I hope to dispel the belief that name recognition is tantamount to talent and that critical review is synonymous with bad review.

Read more: Johnnie Ward

 

Josh Fulero

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Friday, 26 June 2009 18:26

by John Rumler

Josh Fulero


"The musical structure of blues is so simple that there's nowhere to hide if you have nothing to say."

 

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Junkyard Jane

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Friday, 26 June 2009 18:30

Junkyard Jane

Junkyard Jane at the WFB
Junkyard Jane at the 2000 Waterfront Blues Festival

 

Article Reprint from the November 2000 BluesNotes   
Article by Jackson Lee    

One of the Northwest's Most Entertaining Bands!!!

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Kelly Joe Phelps

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Friday, 26 June 2009 18:35

Kelly Joe Phelps
(photo courtesy of Burnside Records)

Kelly Joe Phelps Web Site

Muddy Awards:

  • 1994 Best Traditional Blues Act

  • 1998 Best Regional Blues Act

Related Links:

 A Man Living A Dream

Article Reprint from the September 1996 BluesNotes   
Article by Rick Hall    

 

Read more: Kelly Joe Phelps

 

LaRhonda Steele: A Vocal Champion of Portland Blues

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Friday, 26 June 2009 18:41

by Ken Condit

LaRhonda Steele

    When singer LaRhonda Steele rode the Greyhound bus from her native Oklahoma to Portland 10 years ago, she was looking for a new beginning. Back home she had a loving and supportive family and strong church ties, but in many ways the plains of Oklahoma had been a harsh place for her to grow up. Being a Blonde-haired, light-skinned African-American with poor vision because of her albinism had resulted in too many bad experiences with narrow-minded and sometimes cruel people. So, when it was time to strike out on her own, she packed some of her belongings and headed to the Pacific Northwest. She had a place to stay at her aunt's home and the support of her family; but beyond that, she was pretty well starting from scratch.

Read more: LaRhonda Steele: A Vocal Champion of Portland Blues

   

More Articles...

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The Cascade Blues Association is an Affiliate Organization of The Blues Foundation.