BETHLEHEM, Pa. — ArtsQuest's Blast Furnace Blues festival returned to SteelStacks on Friday for its first run as a two-day event with a subdued but ultimately satisfying start.
The opening night (the fest continues 2-11 p.m. today) offered New York gospel-blues trio The Harlem Gospel Travelers as headliners, and they offered an enthusiastic set.
But it was some of the supporting acts that elevated the experience.
Overall, the experience was more like a typical night on the Levitt lawn than the Blast Furnace Blues of the past — at least until nightfall (more about that later).
On the Levitt stage, The Harlem Gospel Travelers gave a 14-song, 65-minute set of gospel-influenced pop-blues — with the emphasis on pop.
It was telling that the group opened with a cover of Michael Jackson's 1979 hit "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)," with its long-haired, androgynous frontman strutting the stage — hardly the thing usually found in blues or gospel.
The group also added a long interlude from Edwin Starr's 1969 Motown hit "War" on its song "Shame," and a long rap segment on "Got Involved."
The set had a few vocal miscues and underwhelming vocals, and sometimes were saved by a smoking four-man band.
But the group's efforts eventually connected with the crowd, which probably peaked at 500 over the six-hour festival night.
Twenty minutes into the set, on the sixth song, the audience applauded a long and high falsetto, and by the seventh song, "Hold Your Head Up," the festival had its first dancers.
The Gospel Travelers wound down its set by marching offstage into the crowd for "He's Alive," with the frontman falling to his knees and swinging his hair before the group marched back on stage for a finale of "He's On Time" and "Truly Truly Grateful" that, with band introductions, stretched to 15 minutes.
And by the end of that, there were a dozen people in the crowd dancing.
Supporting acts; the night's best
The night's opening act, Mississippi boogie-woogie piano player Eden Brent, was far more a traditional blues festival act.
Seated at her keyboard with just a bass player, she told the crowd, "I'm gonna take you down to New Orleans," and did just that in an hourlong set.
She sometimes stood to attack her keyboard with emphasis, or would end a song with a loud, long note, as she did on "Getaway Blues."
Or get the audience to believe her pain on "Mississippi River Got Me Crying."
Or the delightfully bawdy blues of her closing song, "Gas Pumping Man," which she introduces as being "for all you ladies who prefer full service."
Between sets, Bedlam Blues Band gave a nice set of electric blues such as Muddy Waters' "Hootchie Cootchie Man" and "I'm Ready" and blue-eyed soul singer Roy Head.
But the performer who seemed to best connect was the night-ending set of Memphis blues harmonicist Tony Holiday.
Holiday, leading a three-man band that included locals as his rhythm section, was the far more traditional and modern blues usually found at Blast Furnace Blues.
That was especially true when Holiday took the stage at sundown on SteelStacks' Community Stage on the Air Products Plaza.
As dusk and darkness set in, it gave the vibe of a late-night blues club (none of the Blast Furnace Blues acts will play indoors this year).
And Holiday's performance had the right feel.
He blasted his blues harp on the opening song, "Shoulda Known Better," and by the second song, "Good Times," was getting down and dirty, with his dark shades (even at night) and slicked-back black hair.
And so Blast Furnace Blues settled in for another year. As Holiday sang "She's a Burglar," people sat and watched, occasionally chatting, as Holiday worked it.
A word about the weather: It was a perfect night for outdoor concerts. At the start, it was 82 degrees, but by the end had cooled to a perfect 75 and a clear night.
Festival continues today
Blast Furnace blues continues Saturday at 2 p.m. with Nate Myers and the Aces, and will offer five more acts: Sierra Green and The Giants at 3 p.m. on the Levitt stage; The Sidewinder Blues at 4:30 p.m. on the Town Square; The Skyla Burell Band at 5:30 p.m. on the Levitt stage; Eddie Davis & Blues Anatomy, featuring Sister Blue, at 6:30 p.m. on Town Square; Annika Chambers and Paul DesLauriers at 7:30 p.m. on the Levitt stage; and Jump Jive and Wail at 9 p.m. on Town Square.
Also, Saturday will pair the blues festival with Steel City Smokeout barbecue festival at noon on PNC Plaza.
A new event, it will be held in conjunction with Bethlehem restaurant Nick’s BBQ, ArtsQuest and include a brand-new barbeque competition sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society and the mid-Atlantic BBQ Association.
Barbecue will also be available for purchase for people who want smokin' food to go with their smokin' blues.
