…will be the 4th of July, America’s Independence Day.  Independence from the imperialist oppressor nation of England, who tried to make us spell color with a “u”.  Alas, Ben Franklin, historically known for championing spelling reform, helped Americans to be the slackers they are today.  Oh yeah, he also flew a kite, or something like that.  Back to what I was saying…  It’s too bad that this year, the holiday falls right in the middle of the week.  Still, you’ve got to make the most of a day off.  This year, the Waterfront Blues Festival kicks off on the 4th in downtown Portland, with fireworks at 10:05 pm.  I’m not a big fan of the blues, but I’m a big fan of festivals, so I’m hoping to drop by and check it out.  It’ll also be interesting to see what kind of nighttime firework shots I can get.  I’m not good at nighttime photography - too shaky.  Those years of combat in ‘Nam really did a number on me.  Plus, I don’t have a tripod, so we’ll see what happens.

For those that are curious, here are some of the headliners.  The only name I recognize is the first one.

The Neville Brothers * Koko Taylor * Joan Armatrading * The Blind Boys of Alabama * Pinetop Perkins * Marcia Ball* James Cotton Band with special guest Hubert Sumlin * Mavis Staples * The Dirty Dozen Brass Band * Voice of the Wetlands Allstars (Tab Benoit, Cyril Neville, Anders Osborne, Johnny Sansone) * Eric Burdon and the Animals * Savoy Brown * Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums * JJ Grey and Mofro * Watermelon Slim … Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks … and much more!

Since its modest beginnings in 1988, the award-winning festival has grown to be the largest blues festival west of the Mississippi, annually attracting more than 120,000 blues fans from throughout the world.

Click here to open up a player and listen to some of the artists that will be performing.