The 2003 San Francisco Blues Festival, September 26-27-28, drew blues fans from all over California, the Nation, and elsewhere. And they weren't disappointed.Taj Mahal gave a mesmerizing performance, working within a trio format, as he portrayed a history of the blues that covered acoustic Delta stylings to African influences. All quite appropriate, as the Festival took place the same weekend of the premier of the PBS Blues Film Series. Fans came in droves to see the ever-popular Mahal, who now resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. --A Tribute to Mike Bloomfield was also a Festival highlight and proved to be very popular with the Sunday crowd. Guitarist Bloomfield played a key role in the San Francisco music scene of the late 1960s and '70s and deserved a survey, especially in light of the attention that bandmate Paul Butterfield has received in recent years. Significantly it was important to reach out to a new generation of blues fans who may have been totally unfamiliar with Bloomfield's legacy. In the weeks leading up to the Festival it became especially apparent that the Bloomfield Tribute was not connecting with the media nor the blues fan base, but the performers on stage were moving and rather stellar. Guitarist Robben Ford performed exquisitely, rendering interpretation after interpretation in a way that Bloomfield himself would have found to be profoundly overwhelming and right on the mark in tone and feeling. Chris Cain also rose to the occasion and was obviously imbued with the spirit to the extent that his performance may have been his best ever. Nick Gravenites brought an actual Bloomfield presence to the proceedings, as his Electric Flag material was fresh and most enjoyable. Gravenites at one point danced across the stage in unison with the driving beat and became a mini-highlight. Al Kooper's presence was majestic and his contribution on the B-3 was heady stuff indeed. The man was in the house! Joe Louis Walker, replete in full leather ensemble, ripped it up in his pure devotion to the memory of his teen years' mentor. If anything, the Tribute illustrated how varied Bloomfield's musical contributions were and anyone paying attention may have ultimately been compelled to dig deeper into the late guitarist's legacy. In blues there are always connections and wonderment.

The Festival went to Memphis and brought back the great spirit of Stax/Volt Records in a tribute to the influential label that for a time dominated all the radio airwaves for more then a decade. Just think about the great ones that recorded at Stax and some of them were here on stage: Eddie Floyd, Carla Thomas, and William Bell. And all three were gentle souls who conveyed a spirit of the positive side of the industry. They presented their best and the crowd soaked it up for the duration of their long set -- a taste of history and a wonderment that vintage soul continues to excel. --Eddie Floyd met Bettye LaVette at the concert. ­ LaVette also performed the same day, wowing the crowd like she has at every concert date she has performed. She and Floyd had not seen each other in over 30 years and both hugged, tears in their eyes ­ a moment that only an event like this can best express. Incidentally, Marvell Thomas's Memphis orchestra was top notch and strictly professional and made the performance piece excel!

--Roomful of Blues, a long-time SFBF favorite, hit the stage in their traditional fashion of little-big band jump and the crowd caught onto the groove and never let go. People, Roomful is a treasure and they deserve to be recognized as such. It doesn't get any better than what they do. --Magic Slim and the Teardrops brought the Chicago blues to the show and you know they had a party and so did the audience. --Matthew Skoller guest appeared with Slim and he added a deep touch to the tradition of Chicago harmonica on the stage. His feel for Sonny Boy Williamson II was real and he won devotees. --Melvin Taylor drove the place wild. Who plays guitar that good? Where has he been? He is a concert stage highlight anytime. His searing guitar leads soared across the Meadow, drawing the crowd to their feet. Memorable stuff. --Tracy Nelson, Angela Strehli and Linda Tillery did shout the blues and their set was a highlight and a lot of fun. Nelson is a S.F. favorite hands down and she has a huge fan base here that goes all the way back to the late '60s when she was Mother Earth. She will always be remembered for that great explosive time when the music scene was San Francisco!

--Roy Rogers and Norton Buffalo perform so well together and their uncanny rhythms and musicianship are an institution not too dissimilar to other great historical acoustic duos. They were a huge hit. And to top it off, they were joined by Steve Miller, who did three numbers with them. The audience loved it! -- Acoustic guitarist Ike Cosse won over the crowd in a huge way. His short set was one of the most talked about all weekend because of his infectious personality and his caustic humor, filled with original songs. Pay attention. Cosse is going to be getting a lot of future attention. --Craig Horton gave one of the memorable sets that had people talking. It was impressive and it was deep ­ mountain high! The real thing! --Newcomer Jackie Greene at 22 years of age is a singer-songwriter of serious conviction. His similarity to a very young Bob Dylan is striking and his presence lent an early Newport Folk Festival ambiance to the Festival. Actually, there was a lot of that spirit throughout the weekend, with so many young newcomers. --The Blue Eyed Devils, all in their early 20s, gave a wonderful set of Hokum and early Carolina blues. They are quite talented and very devoted to these traditions and won a lot of respect. --Guitarist Nick Curran, at 22, is mind boggling. What was so appealing about his set was his musicianship and his utter sophistication and depth. The place went nuts over this Texas prodigy. --Harp master Mark Hummel led a tribute to Rice Miller with Louisiana Swamp legend Lazy Lester and three southern California performers: Mitch Kashmar, Ben Hernandez and Nathan James. They also performed at the midday Free Friday Kickoff show on the Waterfront, which drew a record crowd. --Sunday morning at the Festival's Great Meadow at Fort Mason brought its traditional gospel start, which this year featured Dorothy Morrison of "Oh Happy Day" fame, a monster hit record she cut with the Edwin Hawkins singers in 1968. As a matter of fact, the song broke on local free-form radio in San Francisco and the rest was history. Morrison presented a gospel ensemble that was in every way the true spirit of the evolution of Black music in America. You know ­ out the church door to the dance floor. It was simple but profound. The drummer was a child of 15!

We have included photographs to accompany this story of the 2003 SFBF. Please take the time out to look at them because they help tell the story of this one weekend in the blues.

We hope you will come to San Francisco September 24-25-26, 2004 for the 32^nd Annual. It will be a time.