Christmas Blues Extravaganza at Canyons this Weekend King Bees Friday, Jony James Band & Melissa Reaves Saturday By Jeff Eason The holiday spirit and the American style of music known as the blues have a long association. Some of the best modern Christmas songs such as “Merry Christmas Baby” and “Baby It’s Cold Outside” are blues-based. To get everyone in the right frame of mind for this holiday season, Canyons of the Blue Ridge in Blowing Rock is hosting two nights of rocking live blues music. The High Country’s longest running blues revue, the King Bees, will get the party started on Friday, December 16th, with a no-cover show featuring the band’s newest member, drummer and singer Joe Orr. On Saturday, December 17th, the fun continues with a live double-bill blues show featuring the Melissa Reaves Band and the Jony James Band. The music starts both nights around 10 p.m. The King Bees The King Bees are back! Rob and Penny will perform with their new drummer, Joe Orr, this Friday at Canyons. Admission is free. Photo by Jeff Eason After spending most of the summer and the fall on various blues tours, the High Country’s King Bees are buzzing back home for a special show at Canyons this Friday. “We just finished a month-long tour as the band for Carey Bell,” said King Bees guitarist Rob “Hound Dog” Baskerville. “Bell is a legendary harp player and three-time W.C. Handy Award winner. He’s played with everybody. He played on the classic Muddy Water in London sessions and performed with the Staple Singers and John Lee Hooker. It was a real honor to be picked as his band.” The King Bees toured as the Carey Bell Band and performed in such renowned blues clubs as Buddy Guy’s Legends Club in Chicago and B.B. King’s Blues Club in St. Louis. Local fans of the King Bees will want to hear their new sound courtesy of new drummer and singer Joe Orr. “Joe brings elements of R&B, blues and jazz to our sound,” said Baskerville. “He’s a veteran of the South Florida music scene and was the longtime drummer for Lifetime Grammy Award winner Pinetop Perkins. He’s the guy I’ve always wanted to have in the band. Many blues fans might know him from his performances with the Allman Brothers when they were recording their second album, Idlewild South, in 1970. Orr joins the veteran crew of Baskerville on guitar and Penny “Queen Bee” Zamagni on bass and vocals. For this special free show at Canyons, the trio will play a wealth of Chicago Blues classics and maybe even a holiday tune. The Jony James Band features James on guitar and vocals along with bassist Rod Horning and drummer Kent “Boom Boom” Leech. They will perform at Canyons as part of this weekend’s Holiday Blues Extravaganza. Melissa Reaves & Jony James Dubbed as the First Annual Holiday Blues Extravaganza, Canyons hosts two great bands this Saturday, December 17th. The Melissa Reaves Band will open the show around 10 p.m. Reaves has been one of the High Country’s most dynamic singers and guitarists for over a decade. Her soulful voice has been in demand in the recording studio and her recent trips to Memphis and Nashville demonstrate that she is a star on the rise. Jony James is one of the tastiest blues guitarists you will ever hear. Always melodic, with an occasional slide flourish, James’ picking alternates between funky chording and searing lead work. The Jony James Band, from Buffalo, New York, recently released the album In This World, on Blue Wave Records. On tracks like “Time is All I Got” and “Voices” one can clearly hear the influence of electric guitarist Albert King while the songwriting and singing is all James’ own. The opening track, “Hit the Street” asks the musical question, “are you a lonely lonely soul?” The plaintive bluesy voice of James makes the question echo down the street. If you didn’t question your loneliness in this world before you heard the song, you will afterward. In This World shows the world how the blues can be retooled in an original way. For the listener, it makes the genre seem fresh…like it has something to say after being fairly silent for the past few years. JJB’s In This World was recently named the #5 album of the year in The Detroit Metro Times and the band is currently working up material for a new studio release to hit stores in 2006. The Jony James Band features bassist Rod Horning and drummer Kent “Boom Boom” Leech. Over the past eight years, the band has played over a thousand gigs together. One listen to In This World, and you’ll believe it. They have a tightness that only comes from playing blues on the road. The Jony James Band is recommended for fans of Albert King and early Allman Brothers. Admission on Saturday is only $2 per person. For more information, call Canyons of the Blue Ridge in Blowing Rock at (828) 295-7661.