It’s been said over the years that music can feed one’s soul. But in this case, the aim is to satiate some stomachs as well.
That’s the goal of the annual Blues for Food concert event, slated to take place on November 8 at the Big Easy. Now in its 36th year, the non-profit organization has raised more than $200,000 and collected more than 75,000 pounds of food for the Houston Food Bank to combat hunger relief across greater Houston.
This year’s all-day musical lineup includes a lot of Houston and regional heavy hitters including Allison Fisher and Her Swell Band, Trudy Lynn, Ezra Charles, Steve Krase, Rock Romano, Holland K. Smith, Jonn Del Toro Richardson, Eric Demmer, Cris Crochemore, Tanya Richardson, and the Hip Waders Flying Circus. Headlining will be zydeco royalty C.J. Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band. Anni Eason will MC the event, which also features a silent auction and 50/50 raffle.
Admission will be a non-perishable food item or cash donation. And all attendees will get a BBQ plate.
“I like anything that’s a great community service and also helps resource the Food Bank,” says Brian Greene, Houston Food Bank President and CEO. “And it’s really cool to get to see all these great artists in one spot.”
Also performing will be local mainstay Sonny Boy Terry, who doubles as the Artistic Director of Blues for Food and whose extensive Rolodex (or the equivalent) helped fill the performing slots.
“They do it for free because they believe in what we’re doing. Getting C.J. was a big coup. And Trudy does it every year. I’ve known her since 1984. She’s got that old school soul,” Terry says via Zoom.
In a separate phone conversation, C.J. Chenier relays his enthusiasm. “The one thing that you don’t want to have to do is struggle with eating. That should be available to everybody. So, if there’s something I can do that puts food in somebody’s mouth, I’m gonna do it, bro!”
Sonny Boy Terry will actually open the show in a new guise. While he’s mostly known as a harmonica man (even taking on the “Sonny Boy” name of previous harp masters), this time he’ll be performing solo with just his harmonica, guitar, and voice.
Decades into his career, he’s still finding ways to challenge himself. A well-received gig playing in the lobby of the Wortham Center at the recent Morgan Freeman Symphonic Blues Experience show buoyed his confidence.
“I’m purposefully putting myself out there playing guitar. It helps my nerves!” he laughs. “I took it up about 15 years ago and kind of go on and off with it. I would never do it in front of people, because it would make me vulnerable. This year, I decided to practice at least an hour a day. But I have three kids, so it’s hard!”
The Blues for Food event was founded by the late Houston bluesman Big Roger Collins in 1990. In addition to Collins and Trudy Lynn, those early shows included slots from a Who’s Who of the city’s blues royalty including Joe “Guitar” Hughes, Texas Johnny Brown, Pete Mayes, and Little Joe Washington. When Collins passed in 2001, Terry (who frequently played with him) took over the reins fully.
“I like things that are meaningful, rewarding, and creative. And if I can do all that, it makes everything worthwhile. That’s how I feel about Blues for Food,” Terry notes.
Greene adds that, while he saw food insecurity actually lessen in the latter stages of the pandemic, it has inched up to higher levels again. National news stories are rife with food bank workers across the country noting they are serving people now who had never needed help before.
“It’s an odd phenomenon. Since then, inflation has stayed stubbornly high. And unlike before where wages toward the bottom were rising, that’s stopped. So, we’ve seen food insecurity go up quite a bit. And we do the best we can with what we have,” he says. “We’ve had to, quite frankly, spread the peanut butter a little thinner.”
The Houston Food Bank is the largest one in the country in terms of distribution and volume. And they’re able to make smart purchases of produce (the number one sought after type of food) from farmer overstocks. Greene says they’re able to do so much because of the “incredible” volunteer base they have.
Back to the blues, Terry says that he feels Houston doesn’t get its due for not just its history with the genre, but what people can see and hear today. Even among its own residents.
“I want Houston blues to be recognized not only nationally, but in the city. I don’t think it gets its due. It should get the same respect and profile of any cultural art.” He points to the careers of Jerry Lightfoot and Big Walter the Thunderbird as early indicators of the city’s post-WW II blues culture.
As with any concert with multiple acts, Terry is cognizant that he needs to keep a schedule so as not to run over. To that end, each act gets a “dirty thirty” minute performance time Save C.J. Chenier, who will be onstage for an hour.
He says that because in 2023, after a half hour set, Chenier told Terry that he “felt like he was just getting warmed up.” And since Chenier is the son of “The King of Zydeco” Clifton Chenier (who himself had deep ties to Houston), that makes C.J. the Crown Prince—in this case, royalty should absolutely be accommodated.
Chenier laughs when this information is relayed to him. “Man, I’m all about having a good time! I’m open for the party, bro!”
Chenier says this is his second time playing Blues for Food with his Red Hot Louisiana Band, though he recalls also performing “many years ago” with the Zydeco Dots when Blues for Food was at the Shakespeare Pub.
Growing up, he also remembers that when he knew his father was in Houston and he wanted to get in touch with him, he could call or visit Club 98 in the Fifth Ward.
“That was where I could catch up with him in Texas,” he says. “Later, when I was in his band, we played a lot of church halls in Houston. And my first gig after he died was in Houston.”
And though his involvement this year means the event should technically be dubbed “Blues and Zydeco for Food,” he’s not worried about such genre divisiveness.
“You know man, zydeco and blues have always keen kissin’ cousins. My dad always carried a harmonica in his pocket and would play blues, and he sang blues all the time. And we’d play all these blues festivals in Europe. They go together!”
Terry hopes that audience members will be generous with food and/or cash donations. He estimates that last year garnered a total of $13,000 in cash and a couple thousand pounds of food donation, though he notes that the former goes further in meeting the goals of Blues for Food.
“It’s settled into this Zen thing that’s really nice. All the artists are great, the volunteers are great. I just get out of the way and things work. That seems like an effective form of leadership!” Terry laughs. “I couldn’t begin to tell you how great everybody is. And that makes it all the more rewarding. And I try to create an infectious spirit.”
Blues for Food takes place on Sunday, November 8, from 1-8:30 p.m. at the Big Easy, 5731 Kirby. For more information, visit TheBigEasyBlues.com. Admission is a can of non-perishable food or cash donation. Complimentary BBQ plate included.
For more on the Houston Food Bank, visit HoustonFoodBank.org
For more on Sonny Boy Terry, visit SonnyBoyTerry.com
For more on C.J. Chenier, visit OfficialCJChenier.com
