Great blues with cool views, but small crowd, as Highmark Stadium music festival begins

PITTSBURGH ? From a musical standpoint, the Highmark Blues & Heritage Festival kicked off Wednesday in stellar fashion.

Grammy Award-winning blues fusion artists Fantastic Negrito and Ranky Tanky delivered lively sets, and Walter "Wolfman" Washington and his band The Roadmasters provided an appetizing taste of New Orleans-style blues and R&B.

Acclaimed artists Shemekia Copeland and Ruthie Foster shared a closing set that had fans snapping photos to boast later.

Though despite that wealth of talent, the opening day turnout was light, with fewer than 300 spectators who at least had ample room to roam in the stadium normally used by the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. At one point, fewer than two dozen spectators sat in the bleachers, with most fans occupying the chairs provided in front of the three stages, or the bring-your-own chair area on the soccer field's spongy soft artificial grass.

The views from that stadium are spectacular, with the Pittsburgh skyline aglow. Not that audience members needed much time to let their eyes wander, as the multiple stages kept the musicians' set breaks to under 15 minutes, with deejays filling that time with current and classic blues, soul, funk and jazz.

The sound quality Wednesday was sharp, though the stage-left speakers cut out for a few minutes during Foster's solo set, until fans gestured to the soundboard workers to fix the problem, which they promptly did.

The setting itself was very pleasant — it's the only major act concert there this year ― produced by the August Wilson African American Cultural Center and presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. Both the volunteer and event staff were friendly and helpful.

One volunteer invited concertgoers to fill out a marketing survey, which hopefully will figure out how to get a larger opening night crowd next year.

Night two of the festival continues Thursday, featuring New Orleans' New Breed Brass Band, Mississippi guitar slayer Christone “Kingfish" Ingram, Pittsburgh’s soul-rockers The Commonheart, and English roots-reggae band Steel Pulse.

Tickets are $40 to $75 at blues.awaacc.org.

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As for Day One festival highlights, it would be hard to beat the utterly energetic Fantastic Negrito, who along with his band brought to mind the legendary Sly & The Family Stone.

The stage name for Xavier Dphrepaulezz, Fantastic Negrito noticed the festival's light turnout, comparing it to his award-winning NPR Tiny Desk concert, and saying it didn't feel like a concert, because there weren't enough people. Instead, he declared his performance would be "a sermon without the religion." A hearty "hallelujah!" to his hour-long set of what he describes as "Black roots music," with soul, funk, blues, rock 'n' roll, disco and hip hop influences. His testifying banter brought a wry sense of humor, like when he called himself a "recovering narcissist." Though his songs packed a punch, including tracks from "White Jesus Black Problems," his widely acclaimed new album with the theme of a 1700s interracial love story inspired by his ancestry.

Leadoff act Ranky Tanky from Charleston, S.C., played songs off its 2020 Grammy-winning Best Regional Roots album, "Stand By Me." With trumpet in their mix, Ranky Tanky was as much jazz as blues, singing songs championing freedom, and influenced by the Gullah culture that originated among slaves in the Carolinas and Georgia.

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"Wolfman" Washington got introduced on stage by Beaver County resident Jonnye Weber, president of the Blues Society of Western Pennsylvania. Washington and his Roadmasters' largely instrumental sound, with organ and horns melded with the band leader's stinging guitar strokes, might have worked better earlier in the evening. Though seeing the 73-year-old Washington play a brief guitar solo with his teeth was pretty entertaining.

Foster's singing and strumming connected with the crowd during a 20-minute solo set. Then came powerhouse vocalist Copeland and her rollicking blues band playing a similar length before Copeland welcomed Foster back out to join them.

The ladies teamed up on Copeland tunes like "Gullah Geechee" and the sassy "The Wrong Idea," putting a nice exclamation mark on a concert that deserved a bigger crowd. Period.

Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Blues with great views as Highmark Stadium blues heritage fest begins