Fans looking at Jonny Lang Heart & Soul, 5/17/98. Photo © 1998 by Tom Asp. All rights reserved

Jaqi Q Heart & Soul, 5/17/98 Photo © 1998 by Ray Stiles All rights reserved

Jaqi Q, barefoot and clad in blue jeans, opened the Sunday performances under the tent. Jaqi has a nice vocal range and sings some pleasing pop/alternative rock flavored songs. There was a fresh energy in her performance that served as a great way to start off the second day of Heart & Soul. Formerly with a group called Stone Foundation, Jaqi wanted to head in a new direction writing and playing her own songs and has been doing just that for this past year around the Twin Cities. She said the Q stands for quintet or quartet and refers to the make up of the band. They are also working on a CD of original material that should be out this summer.

Renee' Austin Heart & Soul, 5/17/98 Photo © 1998 by Tom Asp All rights reserved

Renee' Austin, who has been in Minneapolis for 11 years now, is still a Texan at heart who really knows how to belt out those Texas blues. She said she MUST be a Minnesotan now because she has been snowmobiling, but added that she still hasn't gone ice fishing yet. Now that's the true test! Renee' always has so much spunk and energy on stage and just sparkles with enthusiasm. They did a very nice Albert King song, plus many of the new songs from her CD "Dancin' With Mr. Blue" and also had a great interpretation of the Otis Rush song "All My Love." That song started out dead on Otis before they transformed it into Texas blues done SRV style. Kurt Nistler on lead guitar always provides solid support for Renee's powerful vocals (he is another barefoot guitar player too). Click here for a live review.

The Blenders, Heart & Soul, 5/17/98 Photo © 1998 by Tom Asp All rights reserved

The Blenders
The only lineup change during the weekend came when The Blenders switched spots with Indigenous. The Blenders were also from (you guessed it) Fargo, ND. There must be something blue in the water up there. By this time the young fans who had come on Sunday to see Jonny Lang were already staking out their spots in front of the Best Buy Stage were Jonny would be playing later that night. One of the premiere a capella groups in the upper Midwest, The Blenders have some great, energized 4-part harmony and really know how to work an audience. They cover many musical styles from gospel, pop, rock, R&B, funk and disco and always leave their audiences amazed at the quality of their tight vocal harmony. The group is made up of Tim Kasper, Ryan Lance and brothers Darren and Allan Rust. If you haven't heard them yet you are in for a pleasent experience.

Mato Heart & Soul, 5/17/98 Photo © 1998 by Tom Asp All rights reserved

Indigenous (by Stacy Stockhausen)
Indigenous is a 4-piece band from South Dakota. Their average age is 21 years old, but they play like old souls. The band members are Mato Nanji on guitar and vocals, Ptehcaka "Pte" Wicash on bass, Tasunka Horse on congas and Wanbdi on drums and vocals, (filling in for her on this date is local musican Kurt Olson). They are a blues/rock band with just a touch of heavy metal. The show began with this chest thumping, heart pounding bass drum. The congas, the drums and the bass connect creating the foundation for Mato Nanji's guitar playing and vocals. His guitar style echoes Stevie Ray Vaughan. His vocals are husky and from the gut. It was surprising to see a band so young, play with the attitude of veteran musicians. Mato made those guitar licks look easy. Tasunka Horse on congas beat out this incredible solo full of grace and attitude. The interplay between the bass player and the drums were fun to watch. However, it was the audience appreciation of the band that stands out in my mind. From the very first song, the seated audience would get up on their feet and applaud each song, then sit back down. It was some where in the middle of the set, that the crowd got up on their feet and stayed there until the end. For an encore, Indigenous played Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child. Mato worked the crowd and waited until the end of the song to pluck the strings of his guitar with his teeth. The crowd loved it. Click here for another recent review.

Mick Heart & Soul, 5/17/98 Photo © 1998 by Tom Asp All rights reserved

Mick Sterling
The most poignant and moving moment of the weekend came during Mick's performance of the band's song "I'm Afraid," a tribute in song form to the courageous kids who attend Camp Heartland. A very emotional Mick Sterling had to take a few moments after the song before he could continue his set. He later said that it was a very moving and also a very special moment for him. The Blenders joined Mick on "When We Become Lovers" which is one of those great multi-part harmony songs that is just made for street corner singing. At the conclusion of Mick's highly charged and emotional set, one of the best of the weekend, he made a motion like he was going to climb on top of the speaker stacks, but just grinned and kept on singing instead. At last year's Bayfront Blues Festival he climbed at least 30 feet in the air on top of the speaker stack over looking Lake Superior. At one point Mick's young son was sitting on the edge of the stage looking up with admiration at his dad. Earlier his son and daughter had commented on how nice it will be to get Mick back after the conclusion of this weekend. Click here for a recent live review.

Malford Milligan, Heart & Soul, 5/17/98 Photo © 1998 by Tom Asp. All rights reserved

Storyville
The entire crowd was on its feet at this point for one of the best blues bands to come out of Texas in a long time. Storyville, made up of an all-star cast of Texas musicians wooed and moved the swelling crowd with some great guitar work by David Grissom and David Holt and some of the most distinctive and soulful vocals by anyone on stage today from Malford Milligan. The rhythm section is made up of Tommy Shannon and Chis Layton (from SRV's Double Trouble). This was Texas blues-rock guitar, gospel and soul played with high energy and deep emotion. Malford's slower songs are classic Memphis soul, like "Don't Make Me Cry" from the Atlantic CD "A Piece of Your Soul" and new song "Don't Make Me Suffer." A highlight of the set came with one of the best blues songs to come out of Texas in the past few years "A Good Day For The Blues." Milligan's vocals soared as some stellar blues-rock guitar by David Grissom backed him up. Click here for a live review from last year.

Robert Bradley Heart & Soul, 5/17/98 Photo © 1998 by Tom Asp All rights reserved

Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise
(by Heather Stiles)
Being guided on the stage and assisted to his microphone, Robert Bradley set a tone of respect throughout the audience. He started off the show with some small talk with the crowd and a sly little grin. Right away the music gets in your heart and you feel it inside of you. "If you ain't got no soul, you can't play with me," said Robert. Each of the band members had their own way with the music but you knew by their expressions and playing they all had a love for what they were doing. The guitar and bass solos by Michael and Andrew Nehra were incredible, they really got the crowd movin'. The show was amazing and a great success. Robert's voice can carry its way through any crowded room, it seems, and get right to your soul. Review from January.

Jonny Lang Heart & Soul, 5/17/98 Photo © 1998 by Tom Asp All rights reserved

Jonny Lang (by Ame Colla)
Jonny Lang gave another incredible performance at the Heart and Soul Benefit concert. The music kept building throughout the night and just when you thought the excitement was over, he picked it back up and started another jam. The show kept getting better all night. His performance attracted a lot of youth that enthusiastically displayed their Jonny Lang T-shirts and temporary tattoos. The crowd had a lot of enthusiasm and was drawn in even more with every riff he played. Only a slight smile from the elusive Jonny Lang would leave the entire crowd of all ages screaming for more. Jonny Lang's performance was exceptional and definitely one of the highlights of the evening. Recent Lang review.
Lang review from last summer.

Jonny Lang Heart & Soul, 5/17/98 Photo © 1998 by Ray Stiles All rights reserved

I asked Mick Sterling if the music festival was a success and would he repeat this format next year. He said, "the final numbers aren't in yet but as far as an event goes it couldn't have gone any better. It went so smooth, everybody was on time, the vibe was terrific." He said the concept was right and would love to repeat it next year. Saturday's turnout was not as large as they would have liked but with all the other activities going on that same weekend Mick was still pleased with the results. Obviously there are lessons to be learned from any event of this size and they are already talking about ways to improve this music festival next year. Mick was very busy the entire weekend but did get a chance to enjoy many of the fine performances commenting that Storyville's and Jonny Lang's shows really moved him.

Click here for more pictures!

Return to day one of Heart & Soul

Blues On Stage Web Site: www.mnblues.com
E-mail Ray Stiles at: mnblues@aol.com

A special thanks to the people who contributed to this Heart & Soul review: Peter Meyer, Heather Stiles, Katie La Salle, Ame Colla, Stacy Stockhausen, Kristie Stiles, Bret Stiles, Tom Asp and Steve Felling.

E-mail Ray Stiles at: mnblues@aol.com

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