Dispatch from the 2009 KCK Street Blues Festival
This past weekend, I headed west to the KCK Street Blues Festival, a completely homegrown gathering on 13th and State Avenue.
Folding chairs and cooler in tow, my friend and I found spots in the grass around 6:00 and relaxed amongst the diverse crowd while the donation buckets came around, the kids chased each other and smells of grilled goodness wafted through the thick evening air.
There were a few honorees of the ninth “almost annual” festival (there was no event in 2007 due to lack of funds), most notably, the recently passed repeat performers Tommy “Soul” Williams and King Alex Littlejohn.
The festival, though, belonged to Diana “Mama” Ray, leader of KC’s longest running jam session and assiduous fundraiser for the past 47 years in these parts.
