All-star jam a slice of blues heaven

Honey Sepeda christened Wednesday’s night unscheduled show at the Boulder Outlook “The Blues Goddess Jam.” She had the right to give it that moniker, delivering a show that dazzled the capacity crowd at the hotel’s “Blues & Greens” bar with national touring acts Tommy Castro, Jason Ricci & New Blood and the Insomniacs plus local blues heroes the Delta Sonics.

All that for no cover charge. Blues heaven.

Sepeda, who books acts for the hotel, dreamed up the last-minute show when it occurred to her that she already had musicians in Boulder for this weekend’s Second Annual Shipless Blues Cruise at the hotel (http://www.bouldershomeoftheblues.com/sbc.html) and a couple of more in town with the night off. All she had to do is ask, and then she recruited the Delta Sonics to kick off the jam.

By the end of the Delta Sonics set, front man Al Chesis was trading harmonic licks with Jason Ricci, walking through the crowd with a wireless mic and wailing away. As the show heated up, various members of Castro’s band and the Insomniacs and some local heroes (including Gretchen Troop, who turned in a fine performance of Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Help Me”) joined the jam.

Castro himself quietly snuck onto the stage during a set by New Blood, playing lead guitar off to the side of the stage, a showman with class who wasn’t about to steal the spotlight from Ricci. Knowing Sepeda, all she wanted to do was make the blues skies rattle, but if the intent at all was to drive up interest for any remaining slots on the 120-person capacity event at the hotel this weekend, she couldn’t have come up with a better ad campaign.

The two-day package features former Muddy Waters guitarist Bob Margolin (a long-time regular at the Outlook), the Delta Sonics, Jason Ricci & New Blood, and up-and-coming Denver blues act the Informants. (The $250 for a couple, $200 for a single, price includes a room at the hotel for both nights.)

Some rooms still remained for the package deal as of Thursday, but the event is expected to sell out. A few remaining music-only tickets were still available at $80 each for both nights, and $40 for Friday only and $50 for Saturday only. Call 303-443-3322 for more info or visit www.bouldershomeoftheblues.com

{pagebreak:Page 1}