And the blues was everywhere, on the street, in the clubs and on three outdoor stages. What I enjoy about the Shuffle is that the blues runs deep throughout the performances. Many festivals bill themselves as Jazz & Blues but are often lacking on the blues front. The Shuffle calls itself a Blues & Jazz Festival and it lives up to the billing. Now don’t get me wrong, I truly appreciate all types of music. I consider it a privilege to experience live music. Being the father of a professional jazz vibraphonist as well as a head banging rock bassist has allowed me to experience a wide spectrum of music. And to realize the love and dedication that all musicians put into their music makes it impossible not to be in awe of what you see and hear on stage. This was more than evident as Mark “Bird” Stafford hosted the junior jam on the Canadian Blues Pavilion stage. Young, budding blues musicians were showcasing their talents on a festival stage and playing alongside some of the best Canadian blues musicians. It must have been quite exciting for them. I look forward to following their careers.

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The street festival is always a highlight for me. You could wander Lakeshore Road all afternoon and never be out of range of great blues. From the sax of Chris Murphy to the harps of David Rotundo & Shrimp Daddy Reid to the country blues of Mr. Rick and the Biscuits to the bluesy rock and roll of Danny Marks, the music had everybody rockin’. Kids and old folks (like me), first tapping their feet, but not much later that tapping turned to dancing.

Two of the park stages were free and no doubt introduced blues to a whole new group of passers’ by. You could enjoy the zydeco blues of Loco Zydeco, the solo blues guitar/harmonica of Michael Picket, and Canadian icons, Fathead all on a free stage.

And if the free blues didn’t satisfy your urges, the headliners on the main Angus Mackay Stage were enough to make a blues boy like me go into a trance. How does this sound? Jack de Keyzer, Johnny Max’s Bigger Band, Blind Boys of Alabama, Mavis Staples, Matt Anderson, Canadian legends the Downchild Blues Band, Muddy Water’s son, Big Bill Morganfield & on & on. Awesome line up!

As most regular festival goers know, you can’t run an event like this without volunteers, an enormous number of people that give freely of their time for the love of the music. I was watching, you did a great job and I appreciate your efforts more than you will ever know. Thanks!

Another great festival and I look forward to seeing the line up for 2012. For more information about the Southside Shuffle, visit their web site at www.southsideshuffle.com .

Larry "Dawk" McCarthy

More photos of the Southside Shuffle can be seen at www.dawk.ca .

Experiencing live music is a privilege. Get out this week and support your local blues events and remember to buy your CDs from the musicians.

© 2011 - All photos copyright Dawk McCarthy.

All photos are copyright & may only be used with written permission. If you would like him to photograph your gig or recording session, contact Dawk by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit his web site at www.dawk.ca for more information as well as many blues and other photos.