Koko Taylor tops blues event

ROCKLAND — Blues impresario Paul Benjamin, although prone to exaggeration, has pegged his sixth annual North Atlantic Blues Festival on Sunday, July 9, as “easily the best lineup in New England this summer. From what I have seen, it will be the best lineup on the East Coast.”

Last year, the festival drew 1,500 to Rockland Public Landing for a daylong program of top blues acts. This year, Benjamin expects to attract at least 3,000 people.

“If anything, this year’s lineup is even stronger than last year,” said Benjamin, who has been booking top acts into his Blues Plus Lounge for six years.

The lineup, confirmed Wednesday, will feature “Queen of the Blues” Koko Taylor, pianist “Pinetop” Perkins, Alligator recording artist Son Seals, Buckwheat Zydeco and a favorite Rockland group, Eddie Shaw and Wolfgang, a band that has been playing classic Chicago blues in Rockland for a decade. Shaw has even penned a few tunes about his Rockland visits. It was Rockland’s reaction to the Shaw group which sparked the festival, Benjamin said.

“Eddie Shaw started it all,” he said.

Other acts are blues newcomer “Monster Mike” Welch, Rory Block, Johhny Hoy and the Blues Prophets.

Ticket information is not complete. But a limited number of advance tickets will be sold for $12, and tickets will be $18 at the door.

The festival closes the annual Schooner Days in Rockland, which includes visits by most of the area’s “tall ships.”

“Schooners Days has expanded, so we had to get better to keep pace,” Benjamin said. The Saturday night festival program will feature Rockland favorite Dick Curless.

Rockland police reported that the festival, in its first year at the public landing, created no problems.