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SPOTLIGHT
ON THE ARTS - August 2004 by Deanna Mascle Singin' the Blues
According to Doug Ramsey of Blues To The Point, the setting for the annual event is one of the key elements to making the festival great. “Our festival holds forth on the banks of the Ohio and Kentucky Rivers at what we call the Point Park. The view across the mighty Ohio is wonderful. I can recall a couple of years ago I thought our event was going to be up-staged by the river when one of her many travelers came steaming up-stream, The Delta Queen. It seemed that those that noticed her plying her way up the river ran to the banks for the photo-op.” More than 11 years ago, a community group met at the urging of the local librarian to discuss the possibility of bringing the blues to Carrollton and so Blues to the Point – Two Rivers Blues Festival was born. “Fortunately for us, one of the committee members was a prior tavern owner and knew a guy named Lonnie Mack. Lonnie headlined the first show. Since then such artists as Debbie Davies, Lonnie Brooks, Jimmy Thackery, Bernard Allison and KoKo Taylor joined our alumni association…to name a few.” Ramsey is proud of the festival and all its organizers have accomplished in the last decade. “We have had fans and performers from all around the world and the list just keeps growing.” He says the festival fans have been wonderfully supportive over the years and make each year better than the last. “We have people that took a chance on the first year of a fledgling and somewhat out-of-the-way place and have since not missed a year, always bringing more of the devoted with them.” One example is The Black Swamp Blues Society from Toledo, Ohio. “Their president and his wife (Rolly and Sue Hough) took a chance on us and made the four-hour journey to Carrollton and not only fell in love with our festival but the town as well. And since that time, the Toledo contingency is probably the most represented.” However, it is not just the setting and the fans that make the event special. It is also the music. “The blues is an entirely American music genre, transcending almost all disciplines of music, whether it’s the music our young kids are listening to or the music of our grandparents. The blues has had an influence for many a year. For some unexplained reason you will see a person well into their golden years comparing notes with an up and coming young adult that just moments ago met and at first glance you would think that they have known one another for years. And the performers are the greatest group of individuals that you will ever meet.” This year’s lineup includes The Blues Cruisers, Blue Sun, Big Al and the Heavyweights, Rick Hall and the Blues Healers, and Hot Rod and the Blues Devilles. “We start planning the next year’s show before the last act finishes from the show we’re working on. I have probably one of the best volunteer production teams in the country. They work diligently almost to a fault and still have time to manage me, especially during the show. “Since year one, we have grown in numbers that still amaze the local officials. This year, given the Internet hits, somewhere between three to four thousand people will experience the blues as no other venue can come close.” Deanna Mascle is a
staff writer for The Lane Report. |
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Copyright 1996-2004, by Kentucky Business Online. All rights reserved. Editorial content is copyright 2004,
Lane Communications Group The Lane Report is a trademark of Lane Communications Group. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. |
On Sept. 10 and 11 in Carrollton, Kentucky, Blues to the Point – Two Rivers Blues Festival will celebrate a decade of blues music in Carroll County. 
“Our greatest selling point and what brings the folks back year after year is twofold. The first is the venue, Carrollton’s Point Park. The Point, as we call it, is where the Kentucky River empties into the Ohio River and the sunsets in September are spectacular. The other is simply the townsfolk of this sleepy little town. A year has never gone by that several of our guests haven’t made a point to find me and tell stories of how friendly and helpful the locals are.”