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The
Spa City Blues Society will host the 16th Annual Hot
Springs Blues Festival on Labor Day Weekend, 2012, in
Hill Wheatley Plaza, located in historic downtown Hot
Springs. The SCBS is proud to announce this year's
festival headliner will be The Fabulous Thunderbirds
featuring Kim Wilson. This year's festival is sponsored
in part by the Hot Springs Convention and Visitor's
Bureau.
For over 30 years, The Fabulous Thunderbirds have been
the quintessential American band. The group's
distinctive and powerful sound, influenced by a
diversity of musical styles, manifested itself into a
unique musical hybrid via such barnburners as "Tuff
Enuff" and "Wrap It Up". Co-founder Kim Wilson, the sole
original member, still spearheads the as it evolves into
its newest incarnation.
"We started as a straight blues band", vocalist and harp
player Wilson says. "We now incorporate a mixture of a
lot of different styles. We're an American music band
and we're much higher energy than we were before."
In addition to Wilson, the current T-birds line-up
features Jay Moeller on drums, Johnny Moeller and Mike
Keller on guitars and Randy Bermudes on bass.
The thread throughout the T-Birds career had been the
respect the group commanded for its peerless
musicianship and devotion to the sounds of blues, R & B
and rock 'n' roll. In fact, Muddy Waters called Wilson
his favorite harmonica player and vocalist. "Muddy
Waters was very good to me," Wilson says. "He almost
adopted me. I'll never forget him."
For Kim Wilson, the musical journey started in Goleta,
California. At 17 he began playing the harmonica. His
influences included Little Walter, George "Harmonica"
Smith, Lazy Lester and James Cotton. At the same time,
Wilson began singing and was deeply impacted by Bobby
"Blue" Bland, B.B. King, Otis Rush, Jimmy Rodgers and
Muddy Waters. In search of other musicians who shared
his love of the blues, Wilson headed to Minneapolis. He
stayed there for a year and a half, playing locally,
before moving to the burgeoning music scene of Austin,
Texas. It was there that he met Jimmie Vaughan and they
founded the T-Birds in 1974. The band developed a
reputation as a compelling live act and subsequently
signed a record deal with CBS/Epic Records.
In 1979, The Fabulous Thunderbirds released their first
self-titled album. Primarily blues influenced, it became
a cult classic. In subsequent releases, the band started
to incorporate more Cajun, rock 'n roll and soul
influences. The album T-Bird Rhythm marked a creative
turning point for the group as it collaborated with
noted producer Nick Lowe. In 1986, The Fabulous
Thunderbirds reached a commercial peak with the album,
Tuff Enuff. The single of the same title as well as the
singles "Wrap It Up" and "Look At That", all went top
40. The song, "Tuff Enuff" was featured in the film
"Gung Ho" starring Michael Keaton.
For the remainder of the '80s, the band continued to
record and tour, and released the album, Powerful Stuff.
Jimmie Vaughn left in 1989 but Wilson kept the group
going, incorporating keyboards into the guitar-driven
sound. Kim moved back to California in 1996, continuing
to cultivate the T-Birds music.
Also scheduled to play the 2012 Hot Springs Blues
Festival will be Clover Blue and Ben "Swamp Donkey"
Brenner. Clover Blue and Brenner earned their spots on
the festival stage by winning the SCBS' local
International Blues Challenge Competition. Each act will
represent the SCBS at the 2012 IBC event in Memphis,
Tennessee.
 Clover
Blue features Rachel McBride on vocals and harmonica,
Shelly Wier on vocals, Phil Link on
 guitar,
David Settlemoir on bass, Mark Lovell on guitar and John
Roach on drums. This will be the band's second
consecutive trip to the IBC and the first as a
representative of the SCBS. Clover Blue made the
semi-finals of the 2011 IBC.
"Clover Blue is a great band and a testament to the
quality of music in Arkansas," says current SCBS
President David Hughes. "They earned their shot at the
IBC and for that they earned their place on our festival
stage this year. We're looking forward to having them
perform this year."
Ben 'Swamp Donkey' Brenner is an American original from
Little Rock. Brenner writes his own music, bringing up
stories from the low side of the road as his guitar
notes float off into the fading light of a lost day.
This is Brenner's second trip to the IBC representing
the SCBS and will be his second festival performance.
"The Donkey is always a lot of fun," continues Hughes.
"His music is original and he delivers it with a style
that has one foot in the past and an eye on the present.
He's truly a hidden gem."
The festival will begin with a kick-off party on
Thursday, August 30. Included in the festival will be an
artist's alley, workshops, and a few surprises. "Last
year was probably the biggest blues festival we've
pulled off since I've been involved," Hughes stated.
"This year's festival is going to be even bigger, with
more activities for kids and families surrounding the
festival. And you can bet the music is going to be out
of this world."
Stay tuned for more information.
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