The Class of 2008 that will be honored during this great event consists
of: Catfish Keith, Bob DeForest, James Kinds, and Dennis
“Daddy-O” McMurrin.
The doors will open at 5 p.m. and a meal will be served beginning at
5:30. The IBHOF All-Star Revue will warm things up with music from 6 – 7
p.m. The band will feature current IBHOF members George Davis on guitar
and vocals, Del “Saxman” Jones on sax, Sam Salomone on organ, and
Gilbert Davis on bass. Mark Monroe will back them on drums.
At 7 p.m., the inductions honoring each new member of the Class of 2008
will begin with Bob DeForest in the non-musician category. DeForest is a
Blues DJ who’s first on-air gig was 30 years ago. For 17 years now,
DeForest has been a DJ for KCCK FM, a public radio station on the campus
of Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids. His show, Da’ Blues,
is on the air every Saturday from 6 – 10 p.m.
Then Catfish Keith will be honored next and will perform a mini-set. A
two-time W. C. Handy Blues Award nominee for Best Acoustic Blues Album,
Catfish has ten independent radio chart-topping albums to his credit,
and packs houses from coast-to-coast with his dynamic stage show. The
30-year veteran has toured the USA, UK and Europe dozens of times to
wide acclaim, headlining major music festivals, and appearing with
legends John Lee Hooker, Ray Charles, Robert Cray, Koko Taylor, Taj
Mahal, Leo Kottke, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Johnny Shines and many, many
others.
Next up will be James Kinds, who will also perform. Members of his band,
The All-Night Riders, are expected to back James during his set. They
have been tearing it up in the clubs in Dubuque and the surrounding
area. James Kinds has always possessed a powerful voice, cutting his
teeth on southern Gospel and developing his own distinctive style as a
young man. Inspired by juke-joint Blues and early Rock ‘n’ Roll, he left
Mississippi for Chicago where he became a fixture on the local music
scene mixing Blues with Soul and awing audiences with his explosive
delivery and intense stage routine. In Chicago, he had the opportunity
to work with Blues legends Howlin’ Wolf, Junior Wells, Ike Turner and
Bobby Rush. He also did a European tour with Willie Dixon.
The excitement will continue with Dennis “Daddy-O” McMurrin, who picked
up the guitar at the age of 9 and has been playing for 45 years now and
is considered one of the top guitarists in Iowa. He has been the leader
of The Demolition Band for 22 years - a mainstay of the Yacht Club in
Iowa City, and also performs with McMurrin & Johnson and Dog & B Bits.
McMurrin also writes and produces radio and TV commercials for
businesses.
An all-star jam will finish off the night’s festivities, as things will
wrap up at 10 p.m.
Admission to this event, which includes the meal, is only $10 for
card-carrying Blues society members and $12 for non-members. Part of the
proceeds will go to the four new inductees.
Sponsors for the 2008 IBHOF include the Central Iowa Blues Society, the
Linn County Blues Society, Blues On Grand, Cityview, VividPix &
Design, KFMG 99.1 FM, Blues Revue / BluesWax, Philip Stoffregen –
Attorney with Brown Winick, Music Circuit Productions, Highland Park
Hardware, Chris Miner, Southside Music Studio, American Awards, Classic
Hats For Men, and Tia Juana’s, Inc.
If you would like to help sponsor the IBHOF, or need more info, please
contact: Don “T-Bone” Erickson – IBHOF Committee Co-Chair
515-255-4762 - bluesbone44@yahoo.com
