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" With more musicians per capita than any other American city and a legacy that includes Stevie Ray Vaughan, Willie Nelson and Joe Ely, Austin has good reason to be proud. "
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By Norm Shaw
Legendary mandolin player Yank Rachell and the premier jug player Fritz Richmond head a strong lineup for the second annual Beale Street Blues Society Jug Band Tribute, which will be April 28 at B.B. King's Blues Club on Beale Street. Joining Rachell, who is best known for his work with Sleepy John Estes and John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, and Richmond will be John Sebastian, David Evans and the Last Chance Jug Band, Jim Dickinson, Sid Selvidge, Lee Baker, Gutbucket, Blind Mississippi Morris, Delmark Goldfarb and many more. Organizer Dennis Brooks said a special appearance will be made by former Commercial Appeal music critic and musician Larry Nager. The first tribute raised funds for a grave marker for jug band legend Gus Cannon. There will be an unveiling of the marker at noon at Cannon's gravesite located in Greenview Memorial Garden on Highway 51, about 10 miles south of Graceland. Sebastian and Richmond will lead the dedication ceremony. The show follows at 2 p.m., with doors opening at 1 p.m. The cost is $10. "Last year's event was very memorable," Brooks said. "We should not let this influential form of blues be forgotten. Blues fans are encouraged to support the Beale Street Blues Society's effort to keep this great music heritage alive." Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers is considered by many the best of all jug bands. Cannon died in 1979. A collection of Cannon's work was recently reissued on the Memphis Archives label. Jug band music reached its peak in popularity in the 1920s and '30s, and was a mix of blues, ragtime, jazz and country. Its trademark is the use of homemade instruments, such as the washboard, washtub bass, kazoo and jug. Richmond is considered the world's best living jug player. He honed his skills in the early 1960s by playing with artists such as Sebastian, Ry Cooder, Tom Rush and Jackson Browne. Sebastian, who had a series of hits in the 1960s and a chart-topper with the theme to "Welcome Back, Kotter," is a jug band aficionado. He is making his second appearance at the tribute. "He's planning to just stick around the whole week for the Handy Awards and the Beale Street Music Festival," Brooks said. "He loves Dave Evans and the Last Chance Jug Band." For more information, contact the Beale Street Blues Society at 274-5059.
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