2008 MAIN STAGE PERFORMERS

San Francisco-based blues singer and guitarist Ron Thompson hit the music map in the early 1970s in the hardscrabble bar scene of the East Bay. Thompson spent seven years as bandleader to the great John Lee Hooker. Along the way he has worked with such pure pros as B.B. King, Carla Thomas, Percy Mayfield and Jimmy Reed. In the early 80s, Mick Fleetwood recruited Ron to form the band Blue Whale. Real Blues magazine gushed about the “absolute go-for-broke blues rave-ups and sweat-soaked pandemonium Thompson and His Resistors dispense on a nightly basis.” Ron is one of the finest slide guitarists in blues. For more information, visit Ron Thompson's website.

Smokin’ Joe Kubek hails from the foundry of hot guitarists, Texas, where as a teenager he handled supporting axe duties for folks like Freddie King. Singer B’nois King, a blues belter from Louisiana, came on board with Joe’s band in the 1980s to add even more punch to the firebrand guitarist’s repertoire. Kubek’s range of blues-rock fretboard skills include a wicked slide style, reminiscent of Johnny Winter. Their CDs (the latest ones on the prestigious Blind Pig Records) showcase the blend of King’s soulful vocals and jazzy guitar style with Kubek’s full frontal blues attack. For more information, visit Smokin' Joe's website.

The founder of the Prophets of Soul and one of the finest singers around, Ronn Easton brings his horn-fueled all stars in for a nine-piece workout on tunes by The O’Jays, Brothers Johnson and other funky soul stirrers. One of the Twin Cities most popular R&B outfits. For more information, visit Ronn Easton's website.

Jones is a Dallas-based guitarist, singer and songwriter who has been bluesing it up since the 1960s. His first pro gig, at age 16, was with Freddie King’s backing band, and other jobs included a lengthy stint as guitarist for Charlie Musslewhite. In a Blues on Stage review of Jones’ release Mr. Domestic, Dave “Doc” Piltz describes Jr. Boy as “every bit the equal” of fellow Texas guitar slingers Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker, Freddie King and the Vaughan Brothers. For more information, visit Andrew "Jr. Boy" Jones' website.

The “King of the Honkers,” Big Jay McNeely has been ripping it up on the tenor saxophone since the 1940s. One of the pioneers of rock ‘n’ roll, McNeely exploded out of the Los Angeles area as an R&B wildman with hits on the legendary Savoy Records label. Early hits like “The Deacon’s Hop” and “Wild Wig” were also great live showcases for his notoriously acrobatic and frenzied live performances. Sixty years into his career, this sax dynamo continues to thrill festival crowds throughout the U.S. and Europe. The Solid Senders, a jumping R&B institution in the Twin Cities, perform with Big Jay. For more information, visit Big Jay's website.

Since the early 1960s, Willie West has been one of the stalwarts of the New Orleans R&B scene. A rousing singer, his warm magnetism on stage projects the deepest soul elements of R&B, Gospel and pop music. The incredible Allen Toussaint recruited Willie to record singles in 1966, and Willie was “part time” singer with the legendary Meters during their heyday. He’s a Crescent City standard bearer now living in Minnesota.

Moses Oakland, who moved to the Twin Cities from San Francisco in 1987, is the southpaw guitar guru who leads the Sunday night Open Blues Jam at Famous Dave’s BBQ & Blues in Calhoun Square. From 1990 to 2000, Moses led the house band at the Blues Saloon in St. Paul, backing greats like Hubert Sumlin. Moses and his burning band welcome guest vocalist Barbara LeShoure to the stage. This charismatic blues belter was a premier Chicago fixture prior to relocating to the Twin Cities. For more information, visit Moses Oakland's website.