Clare Foster / Tahoe Onstage
The Village at Squaw Valley not only is keeping Tahoe blues, it keeps extending it.
A year ago it broadened its scheduled into June, increasing the weekly shows from nine in 2013 to 11 in 2014. This summer, it will have two September concerts and a total of 13.
The quality of the free Tuesday night tradition is as impressive as its quantity. Coco Montoya opens Bluesdays on June 16 and will be followed by John Nemeth, who will perform in the area for first times since he moved from the West Coast to Memphis three years ago. Carolyn Wonderland will appear Sept. 1, her first Bluesdays show since 2011, and a legendary soulful seven-piece of Oakland grease, Lydia Pence & Cold Blood, will appear July 7.
Some nontraditional hues of blues will appear in the form of 23-year-old Australian blues rocker Hamish Anderson (July 28), upstart Bay Area rockers the Stone Foxes (Aug. 28)
“It crosses the line,” said Devil Dog Production’s Brent Harding, who books the music for Bluesdays. “I am trying to make a point to everybody that they need to embrace some of these younger guys because as we see with B.B. King passing, these guys are passing away and there is no one carrying the torch, so I am trying to support these younger guys and get their name out there. I think Hamish Anderson and Stone Foxes are really, really big talents that need to get exposed.”
“We are excited about extending the series,” said Caroline Ross, the executive director of the Squaw Village Neighbourhood Company. “This year we are extending it with three dates in June and two in September. Hopefully, it doesn’t rain as much on Tuesdays. That was weird.”
Rain moved last summer’s Nikki Hill-Matthew Curry show inside. And two years ago Coco Montoya was rained out, which makes his long-awaited appearance even more special.
The Village at Squaw Valley will have events all season.
Guitar Strings vs. Chicken Winds will be Sept. 11 and the Peaks and Paws bluegrass event is Aug. 22. South Lake Tahoe string bands Bison and Worn Out Welcome are the first to be announced for Peaks and Paws.
“We just had Worn Out Welcome play (in March) for the first time and we were blown away,” Ross said. “It’s nice to have South Shore aficionados down there.”
The Aug. 8-9 Brew, Jazz and Funk lineup is impressive with both headlining bands coming from where the sound started, New Orleans. The Revivalists play the Saturday show and Grammy Award recipients Rebirth Brass Band appears Sunday, along with Mingo Fishtrap, which had a great response at it Commons Beach show in 2014.
- Bluesdays
6-8 p.m. Tuesdays; free
June 16: Coco Montoya, the Blues Monsters
June 23: John Nemeth
June 30: Ron Hacker & the Hacksaws
July 7: Lydia Pense & Cold Blood
July 14: Hadden Sayers
July 21: Mark Hummel Band featuring Little Charlie Baty
July 28: Hamish Anderson
Aug 4: Chris Cain
Aug. 11: Terry Hanck
Aug. 18: The Stone Foxes
Aug. 25: The Blues Monsters
Sept. 1: Carolyn Wonderland
Sept. 8: tba
The Stone Foxes debut at Bluesdays this summer. 
John Nemeth, photographed earlier this year during a show at the Rum Boogie in Memphis, returns to Tahoe for a June 23 Bluesdays appearance.
Tim Parsons / Tahoe Onstage
Fiery Carolyn Wonderland from Austin, Texas will be at Bluesdays on Sept. 1. Her last Tahoe appearance was at the Jan. 15, 2014 Benefit for Blake Beeman, Wonderland’s beloved friend.
Tim Parsons / Tahoe Onstage
Terry Hanck returns to Bluesdays for the second straight year.
Tim Parsons / Tahoe Onstage
