Bluesfest 2000, as it always has in the past, had its token representation of women of the blues. It seemed that the organizers still hadn't after eight years quite discovered the wealth of good blues-women acts out there that Ottawa blues fans would like to see at our fest.

In 2001, there was a noticeable improvement with acts like Shemekia Copeland, Susan Tedeschi, Angelique Kidjo, Theresa Anderson, Maria Muldar, Susie Vinnick, Mary Flower, Marcia Ball and some of our great local blues women such as Sue Foley, Maria Hawkins and Andrea Karam, mostly relegated to the Acoustic rather than the main stage, but at least they were there. I'd like to congratulate the organizers on this accomplishment of a better balance of the male and female blues artist population.

Don't think you've hit the full mark yet, Mark Monaghan and whoever else is involved in the act selection. Where was there a blues woman headliner? Memory fails, but have we ever had one on the main stage? I think in one of the first Bluesfests, we did have Koko Taylor as a headliner, but isn't it about time for another if we did have that one?

Where is Rita Chiarelli, Canada's rockin' blues lady? She still makes most of the other festivals, she's recognized internationally, but all she can get in Ottawa is Countryfest. Surely in eight, going on nine years, we can schedule her in somewhere! When is Sue Foley going to get her headliner spot? She has paid her dues
and has international recognition. When is Ottawa Bluesfest going to recognize
her headliner status?

If you don't know the great singer to the right of this article, she's Maria Hawkins,
Ottawa's first lady of the blues. Catch one of her shows and see if you don't agree with me.

Date: Fri, 14 Sept 2001 15:10:06
From: jim.roy1@sympatico.ca

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