Blues is Chuck Dunn’s business and business is booming.
Dunn and his band, The Blues Monsters, opened the 10th and greatest season of Bluesdays on Tuesday in The Village at Squaw Valley.
“When I saw the lineup I said, ‘Wow, are you kidding me!’ ” Dunn said. “Joe Louis Walker, Debbie Davies, Chris Cain, Curtis Salgado. These are the top dogs right now.”
The North-Shore based Blues Monsters, who formed 27 years ago, opened Bluesdays for the fifth year in a row. The remaining 12 Tuesdays will be filled by national touring blues bands.
Dunn has been wearing out guitar strings since retiring four months ago from his day job as a dry waller. On Sunday, he was resting after playing four shows in three days. In addition to being a member of The Blues Monsters, Dunn plays in duos with Johnny Bias and Cowboy Steve.
The Secret Weapon, who is South Shore keyboardist Terry Ogg, and the Groove Foundry horn section joined The Blues Monsters for Bluesdays and will play at Friday’s Carson Valley Music, Food & Brew Fest in Minden, Nevada.
“Groove Foundry are some of the hardest working musicians I know,” Dunn said. “We can throw songs at them and a week later Todd Mather, the sax player, will text back, “OK, we’re ready. Let’s rehearse them.”
Kandy Xander and Matt Reardon also jumped onstage at Bluesdays to sing along with the Blues Monsters.
Each week, Dunn features the music of the Bluesdays’ artists on his radio show, “Choose Blues Hour with Chuckie Dunn,” which airs Mondays at 7 p.m. on 101.5 KTKE Truckee Tahoe Radio. The show is repeated Saturdays at midnight.
The Blues Monsters are guitarists Dunn and Barry Slayton and the rhythm section of Tom Barnes and Michael Overhauser. The Groove Foundry horns are Mather, Jen Campbell and Brian “Nak” Nakagawa.
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- Bluesdays
The Village at Squaw Valley
6 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays
June 12: The Blues Monsters
June 19: Nick Schnebelen Band
June 26: Mark Hummel’s Golden State / Lone Star Revue
July 3: Curtis Salgado
July 10: Debbie Davies
July 17: Ron Artis II & The Truth
July 24: Albert Castiglia
July 31: Joe Louis Walker
Aug. 7: Kenny Neal
Aug. 14: Chris Cain
Aug. 21: Terry Hanck
Aug. 28: Coco Montoya
Sept. 4: Cedric Burnside Project
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Chuck Dunn and Matt Reardon are onstage at the first Bluesdays show of the year.
Clare Foster / Tahoe Onstage
The Secret Weapon Terry Ogg does a peace.
Conrad Buedel / Tahoe Onstage
Conrad Buedel / Tahoe Onstage 
