Chi-Town Blues Festival: Bobby Rush + Mel Waiters + Bobby "Blue" Bland & Floyd Taylor

The elder statesman tonight is Bobby "Blue" Bland, one of the greatest soul/blues singers of all time. After a half-century of musical magic it’s fair to ask why he never crossed over to become a mainstream superstar like James Brown, Aretha Franklin or his buddy B.B. King. Septuagenarian Bobby Rush (not the U.S. rep) makes consistent appearances at Buddy Guy's club and plays in support of his new disc Down in Louisiana, an ode to his home state. Silky Southern R&B/soul crooner Mel Waiters is a spring chicken by comparison and cites the great Teddy Pendergrass as an influence.