Bluesman Lockwood Remembered at 105th Birthday Concert

Photo by Anastasia Pantsios

Sun 3/15 @ 7PM

Blues guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Robert Lockwood Jr. was the north star of the Cleveland blues scene for more than four decades, until his death in 2006 at the age of 91.

Part of the Great Migration, the Arkansas-born Lockwood moved to Memphis, St. Louis and finally to Chicago in the 1940s where he became an active session player on the blues scene in the 1950s backing up such Chess artists as Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson and the Moonglows on recording sessions. He moved to Cleveland from Chicago in 1961, where he performed regularly almost until his death, and by the late 60s started to hit the radar of the international blues community with a distinctive style made him an international legend.

But it was his regular Cleveland gigs that provided a workshop and an inspiration for many local musicians, with many passing through his bands and many more through his audiences. Each year his blues progeny celebrate his birthday at the Beachland Ballroom.

This year, for the 105th anniversary of his birth, the evening will feature his Robert Lockwood Jr. All-Stars, including Robert “Red Top” Young, D. C. Carnes, Jimmy “Gator” Hoare, Richard Smith, Benny Mostello and Gus Hawkins, the Gene Schwartz trio (Schwartz was his bass player for three decades and will join the All-Stars for their set), Crazy Marvin Braxton, Robert Frank and friends, Chip Fitzgerald (Case of E.T. Hooley) and Charlie Christopherson. It’ll also include the U.S. premiere screening of the 1994 one-hour Japanese film Real Blues Spirit.

Admission is free.

robert-lockwood-jr-th-birthday-memorial

Cleveland, OH 44110

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