By Regan Carstensen
ST PETER — Everywhere you look there’s a new “economic stimulus package” in one form or another, so blues lovers unite, because now there’s one just for you.
Seven blues musicians and groups will be taking over St. Peter for nine performances in two days, all free of charge. The St. Peter Ambassadors will be putting on the event, appropriately named the Ambassadors’ Blues Fest. The Ambassadors is a service club made up of local business owners who put on community events to help people see what the town has to offer.
For nearly 20 years, St. Peter has welcomed the Rock Bend Folk Festival to celebrate local artists and musicians, which inspired Ambassadors member John Mayer to hone in on just one genre and create the town’s first Blues Fest.
“The blues seems to have a wide appeal to people,” Mayer said. “Everybody loves the blues.”
Everybody interested will have plenty of chances to take a listen, starting tonight when the Everett Smithson Band performs at the Red Men Club. The rest of the festival will continue Saturday and liven up Minnesota Square Park from noon to 9 p.m., featuring artists Johnie B. Sanders, Lisa Wegner and Brandon Scott Sellner.
Wisconsin band Blue Max is headlining the event and promises a “driving rock blues set” with originality.
“We take old classic blues songs and just kind of do them our way,” guitarist and lead vocalist Howard “Guitar” Luedtke said.
Even those who have heard Blue Max concerts in the past can still look forward to a new sound. Every few years, Luedtke said, the band will rearrange things in the music and change the way they play a song. Deb Klossner, bassist and Luedtke’s wife, agreed the audience at Blues Fest can expect a unique performance, whether the band is playing covers or originals.
“It’s all our own sound,” Klossner said. “We don’t really try to sound like anybody.”
The husband-wife duo have been playing shows as Blue Max for the past 22 years, joined by various drummers, harpists and additional bassists and vocalists along the way. Luedtke, who played with several bands before forming Blue Max, thinks working with his wife has helped contribute to their long-running success.
“The band nature is that things last a year and somebody leaves and you’re kind of left out to dry,” he said, mentioning that he and his wife don’t have many personality hassles, which helps in keeping any band together.
A solid fan base can also give a band continuous success, and having visited the area for years now, Blue Max was an easy pick to headline Blues Fest, Mayer said.
While the Ambassadors are only in charge of the afternoon concerts in the park, Mayer contacted other venues to create a bigger, more exciting event for the town.
“It’s kind of a festival that’s in the park, but yet, it’s all over downtown,” he said, referring to four Saturday night concerts that will get started just as the last show in the park is wrapping up.
Sellner will play his second performance at Patrick’s on Third, Ross William Perry will be at Richard’s Restaurant & Pub, Billy and the Bangers will play at the Flame, and Johnie B. Sanders will appear at Blaschko’s Embassy Bar.
Grants, along with music and stage sponsors, are helping the Ambassadors cover the costs of the event. They’re also counting on bringing in money through wine and beer sales in the park.
Mayer said he hopes he can see Blues Fest continue over the years, but its future might depend on how much it costs the first time around.
If You Go
What
Ambassadors’ Blues Fest
When
Today and Saturday in St. Peter
• Today — 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., Everett Smithson Band, Red Men Club
• Saturday — noon to 9 p.m., various bands in Minnesota Square Park, including Blue Max, Brandon Scott Sellner, Lisa Wegner and Johnie B. Sanders
• Saturday night — 9:30 p.m., Ross William Perry at Richard’s, Brandon Scott Sellner at Patrick’s, Billy and the Bangers at the Flame, Johnie B. Sanders at Blaschko’s Embassy Bar
Admission
Free to all performances
