Cape Fear Blues Society

01/24/2022

Catch The Wayfarers on Tuesday, Jan. 25 at 8:00 pm at Mad Katz in Wilmington NC. https://www.facebook.com/MadKatzBar

Catch The Wayfarers on Tuesday, Jan. 25 at 8:00 pm at Mad Katz in Wilmington NC. https://www.facebook.com/MadKatzBar

01/23/2022

Warm up with some blues on Sunday @ 3:00 pm at The Rusty Nail in Wilmington NC!

Yes, The Rusty Nail is open and warm and we'll be there at 3pm to play the blues for you (maybe a few other things too). Bring a dish to pass if you can and always bring your good vibrations to pass on.

"Everything comes out in blues music: joy, pain, struggle. Blues is affirmation with absolute elegance." - Wynton Marsalis

01/19/2022

Jose Ramirez
Thursday April 7th 8pm
The Rusty Nail Wilmington NC

Jose Ramirez
Thursday April 7th 8pm
The Rusty Nail - Wilmington NC
Adv Tix $15 DOS Door $20

01/19/2022

Tuesday Cape Fear Blues Jam is packed. Thank you musicians, audience & Sandy Williams for a great night!

Tuesday Cape Fear Blues Jam is packed. Thank you musicians, audience & Sandy Williams for a great night!

01/16/2022

Rhythm Bones coming your way, today at 3pm. Get down to the Rusty Nail for some primo Sunday afternoon blues! Info at 910-251-1888.

Yes, we are playing today at The Rusty Nail. 3pm is the downbeat. We've been hard at work on some new material - today we add a Willie Dixon classic into the mix along with new songs by Delbert McClinton, Muddy Waters, Joe Cocker, Little Feat and new original Rhythm Bones.

We have a couple of Sundays more to play then will be taking a short break while The Rusty Nail is used as a movie set. Not to worry - the Blue Sundays will return soon.

Come get ya mojo workin'

01/14/2022

Jose Ramirez and his U.S. Spring Tour '22 hit The Rusty Nail on April 7 in support of his new Delmark Records release 'Major League Blues'. Jose brings smoking guitar, emotive vocals, formidable songwriting and his soul-blues sensibility to Wilmington NC's favorite juke joint - not to be missed! Future blues. More info at 910-251-1888.

Jose Ramirez and his U.S. Spring Tour '22 hit The Rusty Nail on April 7 in support of his new Delmark Records release 'Major League Blues'. Jose brings smoking guitar, emotive vocals, formidable songwriting and his soul-blues sensibility to Wilmington NC's favorite juke joint - not to be missed! Future blues. More info at 910-251-1888.

01/08/2022

Featured Artist - Randy McQuay - Lee Oskar Harmonicas

Congratulations, Randy II McQuay! 10 years as a Featured Artist with Lee Oskar Harmonicas!

Life in North Carolina and passion for music, culture, and art led Randy to be a roots musician and songwriter. Traveling solo or with his band around the Southeast region if the U.S. since age of sixteen, he has gained chops, experience, and notoriety. He has an aggressive, soulful, and sultry voic...

12/28/2021

Remembering guitar legend Freddie King (September 3, 1934 – December 28, 1976).

For years, King labored at a Chicago steel mill before becoming a full-time working musician. In his own assessment, King's unique approach to the guitar combined the styles of Muddy Waters, T-Bone Walker, and B.B. King: "Between the country blues and the modern blues, right in there" King explained. He also described the way he played as a 'heavy hand attack'. He used a plastic finger pick on his thumb and a metal finger pick on his index finger.

King's virtuosic soloing, slashing style and physical presence made him an attention-getting guitarist on the competitive Chicago scene, where he earned a reputation for 'cutting heads' (i.e., beating other guitarists in informal onstage battles for guitar-playing supremacy, also known as 'gunslinging').

King had a strong influence on blues-rock musicians such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Peter Green, and many others. (Thanks to Don's Tunes for this info)

Freddie King performing on stage, 28th October 1975. (Photo by Michael Putland)

Remembering guitar legend Freddie King (September 3, 1934 – December 28, 1976).

For years, King labored at a Chicago steel mill before becoming a full-time working musician. In his own assessment, King's unique approach to the guitar combined the styles of Muddy Waters, T-Bone Walker, and B.B. King: "Between the country blues and the modern blues, right in there" King explained. He also described the way he played as a 'heavy hand attack'. He used a plastic finger pick on his thumb and a metal finger pick on his index finger.

King's virtuosic soloing, slashing style and physical presence made him an attention-getting guitarist on the competitive Chicago scene, where he earned a reputation for 'cutting heads' (i.e., beating other guitarists in informal onstage battles for guitar-playing supremacy, also known as 'gunslinging').

King had a strong influence on blues-rock musicians such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Peter Green, and many others. (Thanks to Don's Tunes for this info)

Freddie King performing on stage, 28th October 1975. (Photo by Michael Putland)

12/17/2021

Sylvia Johns Ritchie - Christmas On the Bayou (Music Video)

Sylvia Ritchie brings you a bayou Christmas! Laissez les bons temps rouler and joyeux Noël!

Music video for Sylvia Johns Ritchie's original Christmas track "Christmas on the Bayou" which is inspired by Papa Noel and the Bayou Christmas story. #Chris...

12/16/2021

I Can't Stand The Rain

From The Rhythm Bones...

Snippet of live from The Rusty Nail. Dec 12, 2021

12/14/2021

Sandy Williams & staff welcome you to Blues on the main stage of the Rusty Nail every Tuesday night. Music at 8pm.

Sandy Williams & staff welcome you to Blues on the main stage of the Rusty Nail every Tuesday night. Music at 8pm.

12/07/2021

Tuesday night Cape Fear Blues Jam at The Rusty Nail. 8pm. 910-251-1888 for more info.

Tuesday night Cape Fear Blues Jam at The Rusty Nail. 8pm. 910-251-1888 for more info.

12/04/2021

That's right. Real NOLA funk & blues you can bite into! Sundays / 3:00 pm at The Rusty Nail. Info at 910-251-1888.

No bones about it. The next 3 Sundays this month the Rhythm Bones will be at The Rusty Nail - 3-6. Got some new songs for ya and as always, the free potluck buffet break happens around 4:30ish. Slip your chain and come on down.

11/30/2021

Tuesday nights at 8:00 pm.

Tuesday nights at 8:00 pm.

11/10/2021

Detroit is sending their best blues to the Rusty Nail this Friday, Nov. 12 @ 8 pm. Motor City Josh & The Big 3 bring their tight, original and soulful blues rockin' show to Wilmington's favorite juke joint - and you can catch it LIVE! Call the Nail at 910-251-1888 for more info. Sandy and her staff thank you for your support!

11/07/2021

Get some blues: Nov. 7th Blue Sunday at The Rusty Nail with the Rhythm Bones on the INSIDE stage! 3-6pm.

Get some blues: Nov. 7th Blue Sunday at The Rusty Nail with the Rhythm Bones on the INSIDE stage! 3-6pm.

11/06/2021

Jon Shain & FJ Ventre / Fri. Nov. 5, 2021 Wilmington NC

Jon Shain & FJ Ventre / Fri. Nov. 5, 2021 Wilmington NC

11/04/2021

Catch Jon Shain and FJ Ventre on Friday, Nov. 5 @ 8pm at Ted's in Wilmington NC. Come and support Jon & FJ in one of the Port City's favorite listening rooms! You're gonna love this show. Find info at LiveAtTeds.com

Catch Jon Shain and FJ Ventre on Friday, Nov. 5 @ 8pm at Ted's in Wilmington NC. Come and support Jon & FJ in one of the Port City's favorite listening rooms! You're gonna love this show. Find info at LiveAtTeds.com

10/28/2021

Many big screen appearances over the years and many more to come!

We are so very happy to have had more movie scenes shot at The Rusty Nail . Be sure to check us out in the 2021 movie Halloween Kills .
Currently streaming in theaters and on Peacock.

https://www.peacocktv.com/halloween-kills?cid=2110filmhlwklspkpdsearch5776&utm_campaign=2110filmhlwkls&utm_source=pk_ggl_gglsa&utm_medium=pd_search_nonbr_srcpy&utm_term=71700000087681303&utm_content=58700007438375238_44700038404258577&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsoGz3vbt8wIVVwmICR3yAw7tEAAYASAAEgJAkfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

10/18/2021

Happy birthday, Chuck Berry!

Chuck Berry (October 18, 1926 - March 18, 2017) had great fame as a rock ‘n’ roll pioneer, but his blues roots go deep. He combined blues, country, and boogie-woogie with a lyrical flair keenly attuned to the heartbeat and habits of teenage America in the 1950s. Berry acknowledged T-Bone Walker as a major influence on his guitar style, as well as Louis Jordan’s guitarist Carl Hogan, whose 1946 riff on Jordan’s “Ain’t That Just Like a Woman” was made famous by Berry in the intro to “Johnny B. Goode”.�

Berry played in the blues clubs of East St. Louis in the early ’50s, trying out not only the blues of Muddy Waters on his Black audiences but also some country. On a trip to Chicago in 1955, he looked up Muddy, who suggested he approach Chess Records about recording, and the result was “Maybellene” (a rocked-up version of an old country song, “Ida Red”).

The B-side of "Maybelline", that made some noise on the R&B charts, was straight blues, “Wee Wee Hours” – one of many Berry would record over the years, including “Confessin’ the Blues”, “Merry Christmas Baby”, “Dust My Broom”, and “St. Louis Blues”.

Sidemen on the Chess sessions included such blues notables as Willie Dixon, Lafayette Leake, Fred Below, Hubert Sumlin, Odie Payne, and Matt Murphy – and even Paul Butterfield and Mike Bloomfield on one session – in addition to the St. Louis pianist who helped shape the Berry sound, Johnnie Johnson.

(Biography written by Jim O'Neal for Chuck Berry's 1985 induction into the Blues Hall of Fame)

Happy birthday, Chuck Berry!

Chuck Berry (October 18, 1926 - March 18, 2017) had great fame as a rock ‘n’ roll pioneer, but his blues roots go deep. He combined blues, country, and boogie-woogie with a lyrical flair keenly attuned to the heartbeat and habits of teenage America in the 1950s. Berry acknowledged T-Bone Walker as a major influence on his guitar style, as well as Louis Jordan’s guitarist Carl Hogan, whose 1946 riff on Jordan’s “Ain’t That Just Like a Woman” was made famous by Berry in the intro to “Johnny B. Goode”.�

Berry played in the blues clubs of East St. Louis in the early ’50s, trying out not only the blues of Muddy Waters on his Black audiences but also some country. On a trip to Chicago in 1955, he looked up Muddy, who suggested he approach Chess Records about recording, and the result was “Maybellene” (a rocked-up version of an old country song, “Ida Red”).

The B-side of "Maybelline", that made some noise on the R&B charts, was straight blues, “Wee Wee Hours” – one of many Berry would record over the years, including “Confessin’ the Blues”, “Merry Christmas Baby”, “Dust My Broom”, and “St. Louis Blues”.

Sidemen on the Chess sessions included such blues notables as Willie Dixon, Lafayette Leake, Fred Below, Hubert Sumlin, Odie Payne, and Matt Murphy – and even Paul Butterfield and Mike Bloomfield on one session – in addition to the St. Louis pianist who helped shape the Berry sound, Johnnie Johnson.

(Biography written by Jim O'Neal for Chuck Berry's 1985 induction into the Blues Hall of Fame)

10/17/2021

Day #4 of Sandy's Birthday Bash and the Rhythm Bones are on deck at the Rusty Nail. 3:00 pm showtime under the tent on a perfect Sunday afternoon. Come on out!

The Rhythm Bones and Guests
Day 4 - Boogie & Blues Birthday Bash
Sunday Oct.17th 3pm
Courtyard Covered Stage
Lawn Chairs Welcome
No Cover - No Coolers - No Dogs

Please Join Us !!

10/16/2021

A new museum in Nashville centers the artistry of Black musicians

A new museum in Nashville centers the artistry of Black musicians

Nashville has long been associated with country music. But a museum devoted to African-American music, which opened earlier this year, sets the record straight about the city's diversity

10/15/2021

'Happy Birthday, Sandy' with
The Other Guys
Billy Walton Band
Jeff Fetterman Band
The Rhythm Bones
Info at 910-251-1888

'Happy Birthday, Sandy' with
The Other Guys
Billy Walton Band
Jeff Fetterman Band
The Rhythm Bones
Info at 910-251-1888

10/14/2021

Solo blues this Sat. Oct. 16 with Randy McQuay at Outer Dunes Brewing. 6:00 pm

Solo blues this Sat. Oct. 16 with Randy McQuay at Outer Dunes Brewing. 6:00 pm

10/14/2021

On Sat. Oct. 16 you can hear blues from The Rhythm Bones and rock & blues from Joe Hunt & Wheelhouse at The Satellite Bar & Lounge (many more bands). Live music begins at 2pm at Players For Puppies.

10/13/2021

This Saturday, Oct. 16 catch Polar Bear Blues Band (with Mac and Juice) between 3 & 8pm at Wrightsville Beach Brewery on Oleander Drive. They'll be rockin' the blues at Burrito Bob's Big Reunion!

This Saturday, Oct. 16 catch Polar Bear Blues Band (with Mac and Juice) between 3 & 8pm at Wrightsville Beach Brewery on Oleander Drive. They'll be rockin' the blues at Burrito Bob's Big Reunion!

09/24/2021

Chris Duarte and his tight-as-hell band on the patio at The Rusty Nail. If you missed tonight's show, he's back on Friday at 8pm!

Chris Duarte and his tight-as-hell band on the patio at The Rusty Nail. If you missed tonight's show, he's back on Friday at 8pm!

09/16/2021

Happy birthday to one of the great musicians of our time... B.B. King! Born September 16, 1925.

Happy birthday to one of the great musicians of our time... B.B. King! Born September 16, 1925.

09/12/2021

Sundays, 3pm at the Rusty Nail in Wilmington NC!

Today at 3pm the Bones will be at The Rusty Nail. The southern pot luck society is in full swing - bring a dish to pass if you'd like. We will be outside in the courtyard - it's gonna be a gorgeous day and we have some new music for you. David Bolton, Dean Brennan, Al Payson, David Toma and Jim Nelson will all be there hope you will be too.

09/05/2021

Sunday Sept 5th 3-6pm

Today! It's going to be a beautiful day - we will be playing outside in the courtyard at The Rusty Nail. Full band and we hit at 3 - come on out for your Sunday chill.

08/29/2021

Catch the Rhythm Bones on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 29, at The Rusty Nail. Music from 3-6pm in the Nail's cool backyard. Wear a mask.

Catch the Rhythm Bones on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 29, at The Rusty Nail. Music from 3-6pm in the Nail's cool backyard. Wear a mask.

08/24/2021

Rolling Stones Drummer Charlie Watts Dies At 80

Charlie Watts. Always the best dressed and the heartbeat of the Stones. Down to earth. In a 1991 Rolling Stone interview he said “I’m big on letting people do what they want... If I had led the Rolling Stones, they wouldn’t have gotten anywhere. We’d still be running around trying to find an amp, 30 years later.”

Watts, famous for his potent beat and unflappable style, featured on all 26 Rolling Stones studio albums and numerous live albums.

08/07/2021

Magic Slim (August 7, 1937 – February 21, 2013)

Magic Slim (August 7, 1937 – February 21, 2013)

07/28/2021

This man could lay down some wicked Blues grooves, and a whole lot more. Condolences to Dusty Hill's family and the band.

"We are saddened by the news today that our Compadre, Dusty Hill, has passed away in his sleep at home in Houston, TX. We, along with legions of ZZ Top fans around the world, will miss your steadfast presence, your good nature and enduring commitment to providing that monumental bottom to the ‘Top'. We will forever be connected to that "Blues Shuffle in C.”

You will be missed greatly, amigo.

Frank & Billy

📷 by: Blain Clausen

07/23/2021

Remembering musician and all-around good guy Steve Kavcak, who left us on this date, six years ago.

The Cape Fear Blues Society would like to take this moment and recognize the passing of our good and generous friend, Steve Kavcak. He battled colon cancer for many years, keeping a good attitude and astounding his doctors at every turn. He was a wise, thoughtful soul who embodied volunteerism and a zest for life. He donated various items, services, and countless days of his precious time left on this earth to many causes, and the CFBS is the better for it. We cannot sufficiently express our grief and sense of loss - but Steve would not have us mourn him.

Knowing his condition, we had reserved a seat for him on our July 24th Cape Fear Blues Cruise. He had expressed that he would attend if his stamina would allow it. His chair will be empty, but we know that he will be on board with us, and we will celebrate Steve and the great passion he held for the Blues.

Take a moment and give some thought to Steve and his good deeds. he left quite an impression on all of us.