Blues News: Roger Naber celebrates 30 years of keeping the blues blue in KC.

30 years ago this weekend, Roger Naber began boosting the blues in Kansas City.

The Hot Rocks Lounge at 3605 Broadway, was the spot where Naber booked the Lamont Cranston Band, his first show. He continued to promote other shows around town for the next six years until 1985, when he dug his heels into midtown and founded the Grand Emporium. Behold, the venue’s first calendar.

Stevie Ray Vaughn, Buddy Guy and Harry Connick Jr., were some of the names Naber lured to midtown.

This Saturday, join Naber, co-founder and ex-president (1980-1993) of the Kansas City Blues Society and all his people as he celebrates the scene he helped create. The festivities begin at 8 p.m. at Knuckleheads Saloon (2715 Rochester, 816-483-1456) with Trampled Under Foot, the Milan-based, Chicago-backed Sugar Blue and Naber’s friend Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds.

Expect slide shows of Naber’s 17 years of blues cruises, complete with the greatest hits and tributes to the man himself. Cost is $15.