Raison D'Etre

Blue Rock Boogie and Blues Festival a great time! Contributed by Ben Kahn Tuesday, September 23, 2008 On Saturday September 20th we stopped in for the Blue Rock Boogie and Blues Festival held at a private farm on Blue Rock Road. Much to our delight, it was a wonderful time for the whole family. The music started out with Raison D'Etre, a group of 3 women singing harmony, better than I have heard in a long time. I found myself tapping my toes and snappin' my fingers. After they played we wandered over to the food area for an early dinner. Had a great BBQ plate, ice cold soda and topped it off with a piece of pecan pie. All for $5. Not bad in these hard times. Then we sat down while the kids played in the leaves with Maggie, the resident wonder dog. Ricky Nye kicked off the next set with a smokin' piano. I love boogie piano. It was even better sitting in the autumn breeze watching a couple of horses grazing in a near by field as Ricky beat up those ivories. Everyone was enjoying the day, saying Hell-o and being sociable. The crowd ranged from famlies, to a young lady riding her motor scooter, local radio host Debra Randall from Every Woman show was hanging out and several local music lovers including our hometown local favorite, Tracy Walker. You know you are at a good time event when other musicians show up. The headliner was MC Recording Artist, EG Kight. Whoa, what a find! EG is a handful of fun too. She can work a quitar making it sing right along with that soulful southern blues voice of hers. She had a personality that charms you from the get go. We were laughing our heads off as she would take a song, then sing it as Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash and others. I think she was having as much fun as the rest of us, she commented a few times that she felt like she was in our living room. She was also promoting her newly released CD, Its Hot In Here. Someone had printed out a nationwide music Blues report that showed EG was currently spinning at number 3 in the country. Just noticed after checking her website, www.egkight.com she will be singing in Germany by the time you read my report. This gal gets around! This was a benefit for Womens Way. A local nonprofit that assists women in the arts by helping them expand their venues, connect with artists in other cities, help promote their careers and provide the community with fun affordable events. After a few raffles and a hot dog we reluctantly headed up the path to the parking area for home. The next time I see a Womens Way event, I will be the first one on the lawn.

Thursday, I started at Arnold's to see Raison D'Etre.  The  most gorgeous three-part harmonies I have ever heard.  If you've never heard these ladies, you're doing yourselves a disservice.  You need only to hear them sing "Broken Radio" to know that you're in the presence of musical genius. (Kathy shares her entire Midpoint Music Festival experience in her Blog! Great reading, great lady!)

Raison D'Etre (Wilder, Ky.) Folk/Americana The three hyper-talented women of Folk trio Raison D'Etre have been astounding audiences with their gorgeous three-part harmonies for more than a decade and a half; regular visitors to the Cincinnati Museum Center will know them from their frequent appearances as a musical adjunct to various historical exhibits. With five albums and a shelf full of awards to their credit, Raison D'Etre will Folk your world. You'll Dig It If You Dig: The Roches tribute the Andrews Sisters at an Emmylou Harris/Linda Ronstadt all-night backyard Folk slam. (Brian Baker)