Ross lifts the frustrating, dismaying contemporary discourse about political ineptitude with such economically precise force that one immediately can appreciate why Shakespeare remains our best referential source for making sense from the images we visualize in the news and the scarily real characters behind the events.

And, Plan-B’s production sparkles under the direction Jerry Rapier, again with the right instincts to let the eight actors – the company’s largest cast in several years – revel in the humor without temptation to lecture or sermonize. Audience members will latch easily onto the wisely selected number of contemporary political malapropisms and references and see why they fit with the various characters.

Ross seamlessly converts the most dramatic elements of a half-dozen Shakespearean plays into consistently successful farce set in the Scottish court. The Fool (played with full-hearted gusto by Jason Tatom) stages a play (much as Prospero the magician did in The Tempest). However, unlike Prospero’s pageant which marks the announced marriage of his daughter to the Naples prince, the Fool’s play – smartly titled ‘Wicked Leaks’ – zeroes in on the murders and cover-ups involving the complete buffoon Lady Macbeth (essayed by Michelle Peterson with excellent instincts for understatement).

The play-within-a-play sparks some of the production’s funniest moments as Iago (in the character of Maggot and played by Jay Perry with the right buoyant touches of energy) acts out the story in perfect clunkiness. This exchange highlights not only Ross’ rich familiarity with the great playwright but also the piercing polemics of what she thinks about our state of affairs:

IAGO-MAGGOT
Soft: someone comes. [as he pulls the dagger partially out of his robe.]

Now the hand that snuffed out the life
of Duncan the true king and false Macbeth
will attack the latest imposter with the same knife,
since one regime change leads to another
and with practice, murder grows . . .

[Meanwhile Iago fumbles to remember his lines]

easier and easier.

LADY MACBETH
This sounds awfully familiar.

GERTRUDE
In this case, familiarity should breed more than contempt.

No question, Ross leaves the dialogue open to the audience’s interpretation and willingness. The farce disrupts our predictable discourse – the lamentations and disappointments about political promises of knowing hope that end up unmet and ignored for convenient expediency. However, the farce opens up our eyes and Ross demonstrates just why the Shakespearean genius remains as brilliant as ever.

Through 90 minutes of immensely entertaining sharp humor, ‘Lady Macbeth’ gently invites audiences to reconnect with Shakespearean characters and to explore figuratively our minds as well for what we’re willing to tolerate and accept in this infamous era of political ineptitude.

And, after one last malapropism by Lady Macbeth – ‘Scotland will conquest the world. With me at the helm. I will be at the fore . . . skin’ – the Fool, just as Prospero says in ‘The Tempest,’ invokes the line: ‘Our revels now are ended.’

But, Ross’ coda – a concise, poetic distillation of lines from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ ‘As You Like It,’ ‘The Merchant of Venice,’ and ‘King Lear’ with the entire company on stage – is a tribute to the theater’s capacity for helping us listen to Othello, Iago, Portia, Malvolio, Gertrude, and many other Shakespearean characters and then to recognize in ourselves the voice of our own contemplations.

Rounding out the strong cast is Joe Debevc (Othello), Tracie Merrill (Portia), Lauren Noll (Ophelia), April Fossen (Gertrude), and Malvolio (Kirt Bateman).

Randy Rasmussen’s set design, once again, is an exemplary combination of economy and pitch-perfect aesthetics. As virtually all of the action occurs either in the royal court or in the woods, elements do double-duty such as architectural columns that serve nicely as trees. The other most prominent prop is a cart that works convincingly in all of its transformative needs.

Tracks from the Vitamin String Quartet, known for its arrangements of rock and pop songs that strip away the over-produced and over-engineered electronic effects and feature the surprisingly catchy simplicities of melody and rhythmic passages, work quite well in the scene changes. Again, Cheryl Ann Cluff carried out the sound design for the production. Phillip Lowe, Curtis Kidd, and Jesse Portillo carry through costumes, lighting, and props with similarly convincing effect. Jennifer Freed handles stage-managing duties.

Tickets were sold out for the first half of the run and are going fast. Remaining performances will take place in the Studio Theatre of the Rose Wagner Center for Performing Arts Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (Nov. 3-5) at 8 p.m., 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 6.

The production also is funded by a grant from the Cultural Vision Fund.

For more information, see here.

FOOL
Substance abuse.

–Aden Ross, 2011

At about the same time, ‘Amerika,’ was given its world premiere by Plan-B Theatre in 2006, Aden Ross had already begun work on a farcical mashup drawing from a dozen or so Shakespearean characters that was inspired, in part, by her deep anger with the Bush administration and frustration at the president’s chronic penchant for malapropisms.

While ‘Amerika’ was a highly successful theatrical manifesto that zeroes in on the dangers of a nation’s ruling class whose abuses of power manage to escape the public’s constant vigilance, ‘Lady Macbeth’ would capitalize upon the subversive potential of blatant absurdity.
‘And as with any human condition Shakespeare tackled in his work, he was absolute genius for showing the timelessness of political ineptitude,’ explains Ross.

‘However, admittedly, my original versions of the play also were more diatribe than true comedy,’ she admits, adding that there probably were too many Bush-like malapropisms which made the play seem more dated than what she intended. The play had been workshopped as part of the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s New American Playwrights Project and last spring as part of Plan-B’s Script-in-Hand series.

Plan-B’s world premiere of ‘Lady Macbeth,’ which begins Thursday, Oct. 27, now promises to be a riotously funny mashup of Shakespeare and the contemporary inanity of American politics that delivers the appropriately subversive polemical punch.

Audience members will immediately get gems such as ‘budget defecations’ and ‘evolution vs. cretinism,’ reminding them of Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin who have taken malapropisms to yet even lower levels than what was imaginable during the Bush years.

They’ll think instantaneously about the current crop of candidates for the Republican presidential nomination when they hear Lady Macbeth say, ‘Remember what you wrote for my campaign speech: “Trust is founded on ignorance.”’ And, the Fool corrects her: ‘Trust. Will founder. On ignorance.’

And, as Andrew Sullivan of The Daily Beast reminds us how Rick Perry is Bush without the conscience or sophistication, Ross’ script has evolved from its formative days during the Bush years into a satirical romp that forces an eye-opening perspective about upon the audience member wondering just how to make sense of the American political enterprise. Never bilious or cruel, the satire easily invites the audience to feel becoming comfortable and confident not only with Shakespeare but also with recognizing and challenging the inauthentic and sly reinventions politicians try to pass off consistently on to the public.

Set in the Scottish court and the nearby forest, the play incorporates an impressive roster of Shakespeare characters and references: Lady Macbeth, the court fool, Iago, Portia, Gertrude, Malvolio, Ophelia, and Othello. In Ross’ hand, some characters such as Iago, Ophelia, and Malvolio get customized treatment.

The storyline goes: Lady Macbeth and her sister, Queen Gertrude of Denmark, have both been widowed recently under suspicious circumstances. Meanwhile, Iago is wandering Birnam Wood in disguise, where he meets Portia, also in disguise; together they spy on Othello, a sexy soldier of fortune whose ship has just been wrecked on the shores of Scotland. Malvolio and Ophelia, members of Gertrude’s court, add to the confusion of mistaken identities, cross-dressing, and separated twins.

One of Ross’ most marvelous elements is ‘Wicked Leaks,’ a play within a play written by the rational Fool. This sets the stage for some of the play’s wittiest moments such as the following:

OTHELLO
[Disgust re: the upcoming play.]
We should be mobilizing for war, not watching a bunch of eunuchs playing dress-up.

OPHELIA
You can learn a lot from the theater.

GERTRUDE [To OPHELIA.]
Soldiers don’t deal in nuance and latent meanings.

OTHELLO
You can’t be latent and be a soldier.

The script demonstrates that Ross, who spent 25 years teaching Shakespeare before deciding to devote her work full time as a playwright and author, sees the value of practicality in creating a fresh perspective of relevance and contemporaneity in appreciating Shakespeare. As easy it is to target the bungling, awkward articulations of Bush, it is more significant to remember that his handlers and political advisers manipulated him because he could not think independently about the most pressing matters of national interest. Indeed, we should know more about Shakespeare, history, culture, and philosophical ethics, but we also need to avoid cultural elitism if we want to challenge the by-products of false consciousness that taint our societies and communities.

Directed by Jerry Rapier, the production features a larger-than-normal cast common for Plan-B plays. The cast includes Kirt Bateman (Malvolio), Joe Debevc (Othello), April Fossen (Gertrude), Tracie Merrill (Portia), Lauren Noll (Ophelia), Jay Perry (Iago), Michelle Peterson (Lady Macbeth) and Jason Tatom (Fool).

Rounding out production duties are Cheryl Ann Cluff (Sound), Curtis Kidd (props), Phillip R. Lowe (costumes), Jesse Portillo (lighting) and Randy Rasmussen (set). Jennifer Freed will serve as stage manager.

The run goes through Nov. 6. Performances will be Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 4 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 and $10 for students. For more information, call 801-355-ARTS or visit here.

The production also received a grant from the Cultural Vision Fund.

As in many other years, the onstage female voice will again be prominent in the forthcoming 21st season of Plan-B Theatre. However, the significance that all three world premiere productions – ‘Lady Macbeth,’ ‘The Third Crossing,’ and ‘The Scarlet Letter’ – are penned by Utah women is one that should not be lost upon the audience.

‘There’s been a quite a debate about the lack of the female playwright’s voice on the American stage,’ says Jerry Rapier, Plan-B’s producing director. ‘Certainly that voice is less plentiful in many areas outside of Salt Lake. I would say that here in Utah, given our size relative to much larger theater markets, we probably would rank in the top when it comes to produced works by female playwrights – or by original playwrights overall.’

All three playwrights – Aden Ross, Debora Threedy, and Jenifer Nii – have had work produced by Plan-B with excellent results. Rapier adds it is a coincidence that the entire season’s offerings this year are by women. ‘Each of these plays happened to be ready for staging at this point,’ he adds.

There may be 5,000 or more women playwrights in the United States. While women make up approximately 40 percent of the Dramatists Guild of America’s membership (and there are roughly a little more than 2,200 women members), barely 10 percent of works of all types produced by regional, resident theaters, and off-Broadway houses were written by women.

And, women playwrights have barely gained ground in the last century. A 2009 article in The Dramatist indicated that in the 1908-09 New York stage season, a larger percentage of works (13 percent) by women playwrights was staged than in 2008-2009 (12.8 percent).

Unfortunately, while no one either in or out of the artistic field has been able to offer a solid testable hypothesis about why this is so, some of Plan-B’s most successful works – with all but 22 of its productions in its 20-year history as world premieres – have been penned by women. These include Carol Lynn Pearson’s ‘Facing East,’ which transferred off-Broadway, toured in San Francisco, and is now being adapted for a film. Ross’ 2006 play ‘Amerika’ also was produced in Toronto’s Fringe Festival. Mary Dickson’s ‘Exposed’ toured Utah and Lesléa Newman’s ‘A Letter to Harvey Milk’ toured to Der Lesbisch-schwules Kulturhaus in Frankfurt, Germany.

Already, more than 75 percent of the tickets for Ross’ new play ‘Lady Macbeth,’ which opens next week (see tomorrow’s Selective Echo for a preview), have been sold. This is a consistent phenomenon with Plan-B’s strong original brand of theatrical works that deftly challenges cultural and historical biases and stereotypes and effectively trumps the defects of mainstream elitist approaches to cultural awareness and knowledge.

The formula obviously works. Its string of consecutive sold-out productions has spanned the last five seasons.

Plan-B’s new season builds upon a much broader, deeper theme that has been percolating and evolving over the last few years in its work. This, of course, is the era of telegenic politicians, the Glenn Becks, Sarah Palins, Tea Party activists, and other self-anointed conservative keepers of the long-standing humanities canon who believe they have rightly distilled the meaning and intent of classic literature and the nation’s historical narrative as it has been told for the last two centuries.

However, each of these three plays – whether it’s Shakespeare, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic book, or the widely recognized yet hugely incomplete story of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings – leads audiences to reconnect with the larger importance of the literature and history. And, to help us realize that each of us has a more extended cultural obligation going well beyond the mere capacity to ‘name drop’ Shakespeare, Sally Hemings, or Hester Prynne as a way of impressing others with our knowledge of trivia.

In their original works, Ross, Threedy, and Nii transform the disparate or remote elements of these historical and literary artifacts into passionate, contemporarily exciting opportunities that suddenly awaken the audience to the practicality of knowing these stories. And, at a time where obsequious loyalty – whether in the community, political arena, and the workplace – seems to be more valued than an independently confident command of even general knowledge, these works awaken our keenest urges to beef up our cultural and historical literacy.

Plan-B’s socially conscious theater, indeed, enriches our lives especially in the practical realm. These plays open up channels for us to have the ideal conversations emboldening us to stand up for our beliefs and principles and to enrich our capacities for loving our families, raising the members of our younger generations, and improving our communities.

Lady Macbeth, which will run from Oct. 27 to Nov. 6, incorporates an impressive roster of Shakespeare characters and references: Lady Macbeth, the court fool, Iago, Portia, Gertrude, Malvolio, Ophelia, and Othello. In Ross’ hand, some characters such as Iago, Ophelia, and Malvolio get customized treatment. Ross is concerned not only about the absurdity of our political discourse but also about how corporatism has rendered government ineffectual.

Aiming for the full weight of contemporary urgency, ‘Lady Macbeth’ becomes an entertaining polemical mashup of Shakespeare and an always full supply of malapropisms, pop culture references, and appropriately timed absurdities. It reminds us that having a broad baseline knowledge about the world – without necessarily being imprisoned or paralyzed by wonky details or Machiavellian machinations – is probably the best attribute to have in making the most judicious choices about how we should progress.

In Threedy’s ‘Third Crossing,’ (March 8-18, 2012) while she examines the relationship between Jefferson and Hemings, Threedy sets the tone for developing a more informed understanding about race in this country. As Ta-Nehisi Coates, a senior editor for The Atlantic, has written:

‘Put bluntly, this is a country too ignorant of itself to grapple with race in any serious way. The very nomenclature — “conversation on race” — betrays the unseriousness of the thing by communicating the sense that race can be boxed from the broader American narrative. It proceeds from the sense that one can intelligently speak of Thomas Jefferson without mentioning Sally Hemings; that one can discuss Andrew Jackson without discussing the black artillerymen who fought with him (and were ultimately betrayed by him) at the Battle of New Orleans; that one can discuss suffrage without Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells or Frederick Douglass.’

Threedy, a member of the University of Utah law school faculty, is particularly well suited as a playwright to shift the perspective away from verdicts and conclusive answers to enlightened questions and searches for evidence.

Nii’s adaptation of ‘The Scarlet Letter’ (April 12-22, 2012) shows that Hawthorne’s story, published more than 160 years ago, remains fresh and timeless in the 21st century, all while preserving the period integrity of the author’s original manuscript. Nii pulls to the surface all of the most uncomfortable elements that reveal the more accurate accounts of a deeply embarrassing, violent, and religious stream of national consciousness that rips apart the fairytale version of our school days and reminds us just how religious discord always has been a part of our national psyche.

The season will close May 12 with its ninth annual ‘Slam,’ Plan-B’s annual benefit and playwriting slam competition. Performances for all productions will be held at the Rose Wagner Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Salt Lake City.

Other events include Plan-B’s involvement on Nov. 7 in the global theatrical event, “Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays.’ The performance in the Creer Auditorium of The Salt Lake Art Center is part of the company’s Script-in-Hand series and will feature local radio personality Bill Allred, Equality Utah Executive Director Brandie Balken, Kirt Bateman, Kim Blackett, RadioWest’s Doug Fabrizio, Stephanie Howell, Jay Perry, Teresa Sanderson and Betsy West. Proceeds from the local event will benefit Equality Utah.

Free readings of new plays in progress – the Script-in-Hand Series – will be held once again this season in conjunction with the Meat and Potato Theatre and the Theatre Arts Conservatory. The dates include March 14 and April 18. In the late summer.

Mindful of making its artistic efforts as widely accessible and affordable as possible, Plan-B has kept ticket prices stable and its budget as austere as possible. However, as with any fully engaged community artistic organization, it will need further financial support to continue its mission of presenting original work by Utah playwrights. And, consistently sold-out productions testify strongly to the deep base of original writing talent being cultivated in Utah.

As a cultural enterprise as wisely predicated on prudent business management as it is in busting conventional aesthetic boundaries of theater, Plan-B has provided the creative outlet for nearly 800 artists in its history. With more than 60 awards under its belt, Plan-B also has been instrumental in raising funds for nearly 40 local nonprofit organizations.

Season subscriptions are $75, which represent significant savings off the single ticket price of $20 and $40 for the playwriting slam benefit. Student tickets are available for individual performances at $10 each.

For more information, see here.

Plan-B Theatre Company humbly declares that paths open up for us. But Plan-B’s good fortune actually arises from a commitment to community exemplified in rich partnerships, the cultivation of Utah playwrights and a twenty-plus-year history of dedication to unique and socially conscious theatre. In short, Plan-B is good.

On August 28, Plan-B in partnership with the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah and the Planned Parenthood Action Council of Utah, presented a staged reading of ‘A Doll House’ by Henrik Ibsen, translated from the Norwegian by Eric Samuelsen. The presentation built on the Script in Hand series, which Plan-B started in 2004.

Jerry Rapier, the director of ‘A Doll House’ and Plan-B’s producing director, spoke before the presentation and quickly dispatched the notion that theater was a dying art: 450 people were in attendance at the Jeanne Wagner Theatre in the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center.

In notes about the play, translator Eric Samuelsen wrote, ‘”A Doll House” examines gender roles, social constraints and the power of secrets through the seemingly happy marriage of Nora and Torvald Helmer.’ Samuelsen, who has written several exceptionally original plays for Plan-B, nicely highlighted Ibsen’s humor.

The play begins on Christmas Eve 1879 with Nora, read by Lauren Noll, giving instructions to a maid so that the children do not see Christmas preparations early. Nora generously tips a porter and quickly eats a macaroon.

Soon Torvald, read by Jay Perry, begins calling Nora pet names like skylark and squirrel. Before Torvald enters the room, Nora hides the macaroons.

Nora shows Torvald what she has bought, and Torvald playfully labels her a spendthrift. Nora notes the promotion Torvald has received and how much money he will be making. But Torvald cautions that the raise will take some time, and he gives his wife some lessons about money. He makes a joke about Nora’s sweet tooth and suggests she has had a macaroon or two, which Nora denies.

Noll established Nora as animated and childlike in the presence of Torvald, yet the actress nimbly adapts Nora to other situations and challenges. Through ‘A Doll House,’ she is largely a child to her husband, a playmate with her children, a businesswoman in secret and a negotiator.

Perry plays Torvald as doting on and patronizing toward Nora, but he does it in such a good-humored manner as to suggest an ignorance of innocence, not ill intention.

Torvald and Nora perhaps were raised for and then trapped in the roles of a traditional and structured society. Life was relatively easy on them, and experience never truly shook them from those roles.

Nils Krogstad, read by Joe Debevc, and Kristine Linde, read by Deena Marie Manzanares, are two characters raised in the same society, yet they have had experiences that did shake them from their roles. Nils, like Torvald, is an attorney, but he has gone through rough times and learned not to trust’pretty phrases.’ Nils works for Torvald at a bank.

For the sake of her mother and two brothers, Kristine once ‘sold herself’ into a marriage with a man who later left her a childless widow. She learned enough not to sell herself again.

Crucial to ‘A Doll House’ is a forgery Nora once committed to borrow money for a trip necessary to restore Torvald’s health. Torvald is unaware of what Nora did for him.

Nils is the moneylender, and he threatens Nora with blackmail if she does not persuade Torvald to treat him favorably. Nora speaks on behalf of Nils to Torvald, but Torvald, unaware of the blackmail threat and the forgery, immediately sends word to fire Nils at the bank. He worries that his reputation could suffer if he allows his wife to influence a business decision.

Nils responds to his firing with a letter to Torvald that speaks of the forgery and how Nils will use the information. Nora sees the letter in Torvald’s box, and she does what she can to delay Torvald’s opening it. Nora talks with Kristine about how to deal with the situation.

Nils was once in love with Kristine, and Kristine tells Nora that she will request that Nils ask Torvald to return the letter unopened. She believes he will do this.

When Kristine and Nils talk, they believe that despite their flawed pasts, they can still make a life together. Nils is willing to retrieve the letter, but Kristine makes the crucial decision in ‘A Doll House’: Torvald should see the letter so that Nora and Torvald can face reality.

Nora has always believed that Torvald would make any sacrifice for her, but when she sees Torvald react to the letter, she has the experience that shakes her from her role. Torvald becomes furious with how the forgery could affect his reputation and standing. He tells Nora, ‘you’ve wrecked my future.’ Torvald gives no thought to how Nora might be affected.

Nora, who had contemplated suicide to save her husband, is shocked that Torvald has not done anything to defend her, that Torvald has not made any sacrifice to protect her. Torvald’s only concern is to handle the incident so that he is not hurt.

A note arrives for Torvald. Nils has sent Torvald the evidence of the forgery.

Torvald expresses that he has been saved. Then he says that they both have been saved. Torvald reverts to his playful self and tells Nora that he forgives her, that the sordid mess should be forgotten.

Nora has been shaken from her role in Torvald’s house, and she leaves him and it resolved to find out what is right for her.

Torvald may be shaken by the experience of watching his doll leave him. The door slams.

The Plan-B reading was beautifully timed. Following a summer respite coming on the heels of an outstanding 20th anniversary season, Plan-B’s presentation of Samuelsen’s translation of this resilient classic serves notice that another memorable season is on its way. In fact, the forthcoming season features works by three Utah women playwrights, all focusing on strong women whose own resilience is a testament to their potential for everlasting empowerment.

Banging pots and pans might be among the most irritating sounds in the kitchen but they are perfectly engineered to make as much amplified sound as possible. I remember banging on pots to ring in the New Year in 2002, and I thought to myself, ‘Never again. That was the single most obnoxious thing I have ever done.’

It would’ve been more fun to shoot fireworks at each other, because at least there is some light associated with the deafening sound. And, the excitement and fear of possibly catching a field on fire with a stray Roman Candle burst.

Mundane sounds of clacking and gong bursts are one thing, but when pitches, echoes and sounds combine to be orchestrated into satisfying rhythms and beat patterns, it gets your toes tapping. Enter SLAPercussion, a quartet of twenty-somethings who use pots, buckets, and glassware to titillate your cochlea. (SLAP stands for Salt Lake Alternative Percussion, but also simply defines the sound with a little onomatopoeia.)

SLAPercussion still has two performances left today at the 35th Utah Arts Festival: 4:30 p.m. at the City-County Steps and 7:45 p.m. in the Round on Library Square.

Rooted in marching and drum-kit disciplines, the group met informally for the past two years to bang on an array of discarded containers.

‘Wachira [Waigwa-Stone] was kind of the impetus to form the group,’ says Andy Nelson. ‘We would get together once a month, but it didn’t turn into anything.’

While practicing in a downtown SLC park, a member of Ether, a local band, approached the group and offered to incorporate the members into the show.

‘Our first gig was at the Urban Lounge, and we got paid $100 – so $20 for each of us,’ says Josh Sohn, who met Waigwa-Stone while playing with The University of Utah marching band. ‘We thought, ‘we could do this,’ so we recorded a demo for YouTube. We try to focus on the musicianship side of things, whereas stomp is more theatrical.’

The group does an excellent job of sharing solos and rotating parts playing on 20-gallon buckets, glass lids and containers, pipes, pots, and stools – stuff commonly found in virtually any garage that might end up in the dump or at a thrift store. The glass lids still had price stickers from a Deseret Industries store.

‘Wachira wanted something to do after drum corps ended, so we started with buckets just for fun,’ Sohn says. ‘I want to do music for the rest of my life, but I never thought this group could get so serious, where I have a lot of commitment to it. We try to mix it up and have lots of fun. Every year we get more ideas and try to perform more frequently.’

SLAPercussion from Utah Arts Festival on Vimeo.

Closing day headliners at the Utah Arts Festival will keep the rousing celebration going until the last possible minute before the gates close on what has become a phenomenally successful event – thanks to huge crowds, perfect weather, and packed schedules in every venue. Closing out the Festival Stage at 9:45 p.m. will be the Del McCoury Band – a perfect treat for bluegrass fans. Local jazz and funk group Turbophonic, which also features David Featherstone, the festival’s winning jazz commission composer, will be the evening opener on the Amphitheater Stage at 8:30 p.m.

The Selective Echo is pleased to feature in depth two of the headliners: Blame Sally and Big Sam’s Funky Nation.

Blame Sally, 8 p.m., Festival Stage

Blame Sally, a female quartet based in the San Francisco Bay area, has been getting nationwide and global airtime thanks to organizations like NPR and Starbucks.

‘We had a song chosen as the NPR Song of the Day last week and a lot of people heard that,’ says Monica Pasqua, who grew up in Salt Lake and even attended East High. ‘Starbucks has been playing three of our songs in stores all over the world, so we’ve gotten messages from people in Spain, Switzerland and all over the U.S. that they’ve heard us in Starbucks. On top of that, we’ve been getting AAA and Americana radio play in the U.S., charting in the Top 20 on Americana Radio. It feels good to get the recognition for this album that we’re really proud of.’

Blame Sally is heavily influenced by other artistic media that can directly inspire songs, Pasqua explains. Her mother is painter Pilar Pobil, who was commissioned in 2008 by the University of Utah for a work to be displayed at the College of Humanities. Also, Pasqua cites travelogue photos from partner Tom Erikson triggering memories that can be turned into music.

‘As a songwriter I feel like I’m a bit of a sponge; the inspiration can be visual, or it can be something I’ve read or even other music I’ve heard,’ she says. ‘The possibilities for inspiration are endless. My house is full of paintings, sculpture and photography; I love color and light.’

The women are beginning to hit their stride with ‘Speeding Ticket and A Valentine,’ after a pair of studio albums and a pair of live recordings.

‘We had known each other, and even played together at times before we started doing Blame Sally,’ Pasqua says. ‘I was releasing a new CD and invited Pam, Jeri and Renee to sing and play at the release performance. The four of us had such a great time that we decided to keep getting together to play, eat meals, learn each other’s tunes and play out if the opportunity presented itself.’

Blame Sally is a band my mother would like, because the members are slightly more … mature than the Ke$ha and Hanna Montana scene. ‘As songwriters, I think we tend to write about our lives, and our lives are probably a lot more complicated than somebody who just graduated from college and is in his or her first relationship. We are probably a lot smarter about decisions we make than we would have been 20 years ago,’ Pasqua explains. ‘But in the end, we’re musicians. When I’m listening to music I don’t really care how old the person performing it or writing it is – I just care if I’m moved by it or not.’

The group is having more success – and fun – than ever before and wants to continue recording and touring the country.

‘Hopefully we’ll still be musically creative and adventurous five years down the road,’ Pasqua says. ‘It would be great if our music could reach more people and that we could afford to travel in an actual tour bus instead of a van. I’d be happy with just that last part. It’s probably easier physically to be in a van for hours on end if you’re in your twenties than it is at our age. I dream of it daily as we transverse the country in our 18-passenger van filled to the brim with humanity, instruments, clothing and hair product.’

Sam’s Big Funky Nation, 9:45 p.m., Amphitheater Stage

Sam Williams is the embodiment of what luck and determination can get an individual. It is highly likely that parents at the festival will want to walk their kids to the music petting zoo in the Art Yard and get them equipped for their future after this story. It also gives hope that the little things parents do for their children might actually pay off some day. Williams has been able to realize all of his dreams, save a city, and get the world dancing in the process. Williams graciously agreed to do this Selective Echo Q&A.

SE: How and when did you start playing trombone?

I picked it up in middle school when I was a kid, because I was always a big kid: 6 feet, over 200 pounds. That’s why everybody called me ‘Big Sam.’ I was playing basketball and I got so big that the coach approached me to tell me I was too big, so I tried to play in the older league and I was told I was not old enough. So I figured, ‘I gotta find something else to do, so I decided to join the marching band. I went to the audition and asked:

‘What do you need me on?’ And he said, ‘The trombone’ and I said, ‘What’s that?’

‘It’s this right here.’

‘Okay I guess I’ll play this then for a while.’

From that moment on, I had to learn the instrument because I was the only one in my class. By the time I got to high school I wanted to get better at it. I thought ‘how can I get better?’ and my mom bought me a Dirty Dozen Brass Band album called ‘Ears to the Wall’ and that album changed my life. I told myself I want to play with THAT band or have a band exactly like that of my own. Luckily I did both.

I still wanted to get better, so I went to Loius Armstrong Festival jazz camps and played with Kidd Jordan, enrolled in NOCCA (New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts). That’s where I really started getting into jazz. Looking into music, I thought, ‘Let me see what else I can do with it’. In 10th grade, I found some friends and I started playing with them for a while at concerts and in clubs around the city, and playing at church; as much as I could, however much I could play. We kept playing and I kept thinking, ‘I gotta get a niche, gotta get a niche.’

I had a friend celebrating her sweet 16, and she had a lot of jazz albums in her room: Miles Davis, Charley Parker, Johnny Coltrane, and I’m like ‘are you into jazz?’ and she said, ‘no, my daddy is into jazz; he plays the trumpet.’

‘Oh, cool. Who does he play for?’ and she said, ‘The Dirty Dozen.’

I was like, ‘What! Where is he?’

Even though then they traveled 300 days out of the year, it just so happened that he was home. I ditched the party altogether and started talking with him. I told him, ‘Man I love ya’ll band, if you ever need a trombone player, call me.’

We sat down, talked about what inspired me. Sure enough, two years later, I get a call from Efrem Townes (E.T.) while I was playing at a festival, on shift playing, and he said, ‘You ready?’

I was like, ‘Yeah! How long we going for?’

‘We going for three months,’ he said.

I told him, ‘Let me call my mom and talk to her,’ because you don’t leave for that long without talking to your parents. I was in my first year of college, and she wanted me to stay in school, but I told her that this opportunity is here right now. She agreed and I left.

I never knew that E.T. had never heard me play before. He was going off what his wife and daughter had told them.

‘Can he play?’

‘Yeah he can play! People at church are always shouting, “Play that horn boy, play that horn.” So he called me up taking the recommendation of his wife and his daughter that I could play.

SE: What was the reaction you had while you were with the band?

SAM: One of the first shows I did with the dirty dozen was with Widespread Panic, and I had never heard of the band before. It was this big open field in the mountains, and it was empty when we were doing the sound check. Showtime come about, I go out and 20,000 people out there, like, ‘Oh my God!’ Because up to that point I was only starting to play clubs and festivals, but I could see Widespread Panic pack their own event. It really changed my level of vision for what music could do. I have been blessed to play with some really great artists like James Brown, Dave Mathews, Modest Mouse, Jo McNeil. Everybody – list goes on and on and on. Nora Jones when she first came out. I’ve really been blessed to play with a lot of great artist.

SE: Can you describe Noladelic Powerfunk, the style you play?

SAM: What that is, it’s like funkadelic, you know like George Clinton and stuff. They are some of my inspiration. So it’s funkadelic, but New Orleans is doing that extra thing you can’t describe that moves your body. We rock the house, bring the party – crazy off the wall – so much fun that you do not know what to do. It’s just a vibe, just so good that you can’t help but have a good time. And it’s part powerhouse because I put it up right up in your face. I still don’t know how strong I play. I guess I’ll never know because I can’t stand in front of my horn when I’m playing, but I play it loud and strong.

SE: What have you learned from being able to tour worldwide playing trombone? Both from the Dirty Dozen and your own project?

SAM: Music has applications in so many ways. I like to think that it’s like music therapy. If you had a bad day – feeling sick, whatever – you can come to a show, or pop in a CD and feel better. Music has a power to heal people. That’s what I’ve learned. People might start crying in the audience, not because they sad or anything, but because they feel it so much, or it can make them jump for joy. Music is more powerful than people realize, like when we are touring, we might not be able to speak the same language, but music speaks a universal language. You may have never seen us, but if you look up on stage, it’s like we’ve known you for a lifetime. It’s a beautiful and powerful thing. It can make you feel whatever you need it to – can make you feel angry or peaceful. It can do a lot of things to you.

SE: So what is next?

SAM: Keep striving. Keep going to the next level for us. Keep stepping it up; keep playing larger venues.. We are hitting the road hard: 250 days a year. Festivals and concert all over North America. And we are going to keep doing what we’re doing, keep making the music better and bringing it to more people. I’m striving to get where Dave Matthews is, but that is a level a lot of artists want to be on – not necessarily like pop, because we don’t play pop, but we definitely rock; we’ll rock your soul. Kinda like how Dave Matthews can enjoy themselves and have fun and perform to make you feel like a child. Have fun. Let people to come out to feel that energy.

SE: Where do you gather inspiration for your newest music? What influences drive you?

SAM: It’s a lot of different things. I play a lot of traditional New Orleans music – inspiration from that. Main artists these days – George Clinton, Black Eyed Peas, Dave Matthews, Bruno Mars – all these different styles and church and gospel music. I definitely get influences from different places, which makes one musical combo that makes music that much better. I want people to come out and say, ‘This is just good music.’ That’s all we want people to say.

SE: Tell me about the HBO recurring role?

SAM: It’s a pretty cool show called ‘Treme,’ and did a little stage run recently where we played in the Symphony Hall, and the Kennedy Center. All of the artists they brought out were amazing – to pay homage to the show, while the show pays homage to us. My role is pretty much a cameo; it’s a role of myself. Treme captures events post-Katrina – based in fictional events for the show – but it touches base on the facts and good things that have come from its production. Since it has been airing on HBO, more fans coming to the show. You get recognized places you would not got recognized before. It’s really cool.

SE: To what extent are you still involved in the rebuilding process of New Orleans? Mental rehabilitation? Keeping spirits up?

SAM: As far as myself, x-Katrina, my band played a welcome back home show. Since that day I’ve been striving to keep my music there because if the music is there, people will come back. Sure enough, once the musicians came back, people came back. Because you might hear a show played by a college or some festival playing funky music, but there’s nothing like New Orleans. I moved to San Antonio for two years, but you’d never know it because every week I was in New Orleans, playing shows, putting on benefits and raising money to rebuild our city.

We are still trying to build the city and have a long way to go. A lot of people don’t know it needs a lot of rebuilding and not just poor people. Some nice areas have been abandoned and nobody has come to fix them so we still have a long way to go even though we already have come a long way.

SE: How did you earn the title ‘hardest working man at Bonnaroo’? Were you lifting boxes and amps for other bands?

SAM: I got this thing, like I said, even when I was younger, I just loved playing. I love playing. If I could just play music and not worry about bills and this and that I’d just play all day. When I get to a festival and I get to meet new bands I’ve never seen before, I want to play with them. That’s pretty much what it is. I’m not trying to overwhelm people, but when I’m at a festival, I wanna play with as many people as possible. I get this adrenaline rush that I can’t even explain. It’s like a kid at a candy store, and I cannot sleep. I don’t sleep because I’m trying to have as much fun as possible. Want to play with everybody. If nobody knows who the band is, I sit in because I just want to play. That’s how I got that title. Hop from stage to stage to stage playing with everybody – doing a few shows myself, doing an extra gospel set. It was just one of those things where I had to play with everybody.

SE: What warning do you have for the people of Salt Lake City at the Utah Arts Festival?

SAM: Come have a good time. Don’t let nothing stop you: rain, snow, whatever. We are playing. We came out to have a good time, so you won’t be disappointed, but get ready to sweat, because we don’t sit down when we play. Come on out and dance. Look for us on Facebook, Twitter, our Web site.

SE: But what if people aren’t the dancing type?

SAM: I gotta call ‘em out. I will stop the music and ask, ‘What’s your problem? Are you not enjoying yourself?’ If you don’t want to have a good time, don’t come. You are going to be off the ground dancing. Otherwise just stay at home, because I won’t let you sit there. I will call you out. I might jump off stage and pick you up off the ground and get you dancing. Sometimes people need motivation to get that extra push. They just want to sit there and drink their bottle of wine. But I will get in their face and roll with ‘em until they are grooving. Don’t worry about people not dancing because that ain’t going to happen.

Today’s music headliners – featuring Latin, World Fusion, Salsa, and Merengue – on the Utah Arts Festival’s Amphitheater and Festival Stages are the perfect heat for a summer evening.

Incendio, 9:45, Festival Stage

Incendio has overcome the perils and petty struggles that plague many bands, including egos, touring stresses, and broadscale changes in the musical landscape. Long gone are the days when artists could record an album and expect a check to be mailed while they lounged in Cabo. Rather, they find themselves, ‘in an age of increasingly bleak pop-driven market—where one-shot youngsters are heralded as geniuses, then sadly discarded in six months,’ as a statement on Incendio’s Web site suggests. In this volatile environment, the quintet continues to find success worldwide by remaining centered – both spiritually and musically.

Similar music is traditionally described as ‘nuevo flamenco’ because of the flamenco guitars’ prominence in the melody and body of the songs. But Incendio definitely does it differently, so it is fitting to have a more appropriate name. ‘We like to call it Latin-guitar-world-fusion conservative confluence guitar,’ says Jean-Pierre Durand, ‘because it’s got a lot more rock.’

Incendio has an impressive portfolio built up over the last dozen years, including seven studio albums, DVD recordings, and a following spanning the globe.

‘All of us have had varying musical educations and bring different perspectives: Liza is a classical guitarist, Jim is kind of a metal/progressive guitarist with feelers in Middle Eastern music as well, while I am a blues hound and a rock guy,’ Durand explains. ‘We brought all those influences to bear, and decided to make an instrumental group.’

We’ve all heard instrumental world music – whether it is in an elevator, or dentist’s office, or while on hold with our travel agent – so what makes Incendio’s music unique?

‘I would say that all three guitarists have overlapping but interesting backgrounds,” Durand says. ‘Jim with some of the more metal groups that are technically wonderful. Liza comes from the classical tradition, with rock—she really loves Led Zeppelin, and I am very much a Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn guy. We try to bring those influences aboard with our own stamp on them, and voice them through the guitar. It’s difficult because it is about the melody and the guitars don’t have sustain. That is, they are designed for a specific tone. Even as a guitar player you need to alter your technique for what they do. Helps if you think “if Jimi or XTC were playing, how would they do it?” that’s how you find your own voice.’

With songs varying from composed to set pieces, some hearken to a classical approach, while others are part sequences that enable them to jam out.

‘I love the set pieces as much as the improv, because of the things I listen to. I like to nail an arrangement but there’s always room left to jam-out,’ Durand explains. ‘When you are trying to execute a somewhat difficult passage, it is a situation where you are pushing yourself to the edge, but when the audience is with you helping you push the envelope, either one is going to be exciting.’
With such varying styles of music, and similarly different styles of listeners, how is a fan preferred to act?

‘It varies within the band,’ Durand admits. ‘I tend to like people flying around, in a more rock setting –though we don’t tend to have a mosh pit. It is world and Latin themed, so we fall into a jam band category; I love to see people to move around. I think Jim prefers people to sit down and be more subdued.

We’ve played so many different audiences, depending on how they react, we will skew the show. If it is a listening crowd, we’ll move into more esoteric compositions and ‘set’ pieces. If it is a more raucous crowd, we’ll try to jam a little for their spirit and play more dance oriented, high-energy stuff.’

Because of its musically omnivorous character, Incendio tends to develops a unique type of obsessive fan.

‘At the end of the day, the band really values composition,’ Durand explains. ‘There are so many great players, and we aspire to their kind of originality, I think we have developed our own voice even in the genre where we don’t sound like anyone else, but the people that are most inspiring have a level of engaging writing, and composition.’

Sounds and different styles have been explored throughout Incendio’s career, including jazz, Celtic, Middle Eastern and electronica. “We really wanted to do something a little different; in the past 3 or 4 years, we made it a very serious point to compose together where we are sitting around, throwing ideas around together,’ Durand says. ‘It may sound like “don’t all bands do that?” No, not all bands do that. With us, the evolving is something we achieved or sprang forth from writing things together – something that no one of us would have written on our own. That has been the most important evolution.’

With the musical progression and maturation has come personal development as well. ‘I think the way we approach it is kind of spiritual, having a spiritual bed of dedication to artistic direction,’ Durand explains. ‘Whether you subscribe to Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, etc. the spirituality teaches one to be helpful and be kind. It’s so simple; so important but so ignored especially in the business realm of things. This can be a pretty soul-crushing experience: being in a band, performing, traveling, etc. You have to be a little crazy to participate in the arts in one way or the other, realizing that things are stacked against you. One must have a strong personal vision, but open enough spiritually not to run over people.’

Maraca, 9:45, Amphitheater Stage

Maraca, which follows the 8:30 performance of Orquestra Salsa Merengue, is led by flutist Orlando Valle Maraca, and has toured globally bringing Latin dance and Afro-Cuban music with him. Playing festivals primarily in Europe, Canada and the United States, Maraca also tours extensively in South America and Africa.

‘Music has always served to unite people,’ Maraca says. ‘Very often after our concerts, people express satisfaction at the end of the concert and tell us that the stress has disappeared.’

Starting classical flute at the age of 10, Maraca went to conservatories studying with Amadeo Roldan and Manuel Saumell, and continued at the Instituto Superior de Artes (Superior Institute of Arts) in Havana. With all of this fantastic musical training, Maraca should have some pretty good rhythm in his hips. ‘There are many musicians who are terrible dancers,’ Maraca says, including himself in the category. ‘Although I am not a good dancer myself, I put half of the world dancing with my music!’

Maraca has played in many different ensembles, and has won too numerous awards for his music to catalogue completely. He has won many awards with the ‘Best’ name, including, just to name a few, New Artist, Salsa Album of the Year, Latin Jazz Album, Recording, and Fusion Music Video.

‘Our music makes people happy and their body, too, through the dance,” Maraca explains. ‘We owe a lot to the public that supports us every day around the globe. I already know some 57 countries where we have returned to perform on dozens of occasions. And I have countless friends everywhere thanks to music. Sometimes they come to Cuba and visit me at home, and when I’m on tour, many of them invite me to their home, too. And that is priceless. People are the ones who inspire me to make better music.’

Maraca has seven releases with his various ensembles, and a greatest hits release as well. His eighth album ‘Reencuentros’ is a CD/DVD combo that can only be bought on tour, which was released under Maraca & his Latin Jazz All Stars, and will be available for purchase at the festival.

‘In the concerts we’ve done here during our U.S. tour we presented new songs from our upcoming danceable album and people did love them; the concerts end up with a lot of dance, and some people join us on stage for dancing,’ Maraca says. ‘It has not been distributed in stores nor digitally yet. We also play some of the songs of this repertoire during our shows, like “Danzon Siglo XXI.”’

For more information about all festival performers, see here.

Even latecomers won’t mind standing on the edge of the reflecting pool adjacent to the venue, guaranteeing a good spot to see a Brazilian and Afro-Brazilian samba performance complete with festive costumes, infectious pulsing drums, earthy vocals, and a thrilling company of dancers and capoeira (Brazilian martial and tumbling artists). Spectators will hear the drums reverberate off the library walls. And, the biggest crowd pleaser – the swirling fire baton choreography.

However, Samba Fogo is more than a dazzling dance show heavily inflected with the musical and dance motifs common to the Brazilian and Afro-Brazilian musical traditions. More broadly, it is a surprisingly rich multicultural affair members are not only from Brazil but from many different backgrounds.

Most of the musicians and dancers were born and raised in Utah but they benefit from a truly cosmopolitan osmosis of cultural experience and travel. For example, there has been a Japanese member of the troupe from New Zealand while another, from Canada, has traveled extensively to Africa.

As Lorin Hansen, a Utah native who directs Samba Fogo, explains, ‘We draw from so many elements – not just from Brazil but also everywhere from the Polynesian islands to America – and we want to share our passion for dance and music.’

There are lots of crowd-pleasing enhancements to this year’s show, which features 16 dancers, seven drummers, and five capoeira artists. Many of the highlights are being adapted from a full-length concert theater performance Samba Fogo did earlier this year to a packed house in the Jeanne Wagner Theatre of the downtown Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center.

The show is a riveting tour of the samba tradition around Brazil starting with the earthy roots of Afro-Brazilian samba in Salvador Bahia and making its way to the exhilarating carnival scene of Rio, complete with feathers, glamour, and glitter. Costumes are authentic, with raffia headpieces that resemble long hair tresses trailing behind, raffia armbands, and skirts of raffia with colorful strips of fabric interwoven.

Samba Fogo also has secured the approval of fire officials to use the more aesthetically pleasing white gas (also known as Coleman fuel), which is easy to ignite, burns brightly, evaporates cleanly, and does not leave smoke or residues on wicks and bodies. Previously, the troupe relied on kerosene but members were concerned about their safety because the fuel leaves oily residues, which can make it precariously slippery for barefoot performers dancing on linoleum mats to cushion against the hard outdoor surface.

And, white gas enhances the high energy element of fire which meshes well into the intoxicating, joyous Brazilian samba beats and the flashy capoeira displays creating a cultural experience just as enthusiastically endorsed by members of Utah’s Brazilian community as it is by the diverse crowds who visit the arts festival.

‘In my own experience, I started as a fire dancer, then took up modern dancing, and then fell into Brazilian dancing and ever since we’ve been looking for ways to bring it all together,’ Hansen explains.

Samba Fogo comprises a family of dance groups and entertainers who not only enjoy the thrill of large-scale shows but also the opportunity of running a full-fledged escola de samba (samba school) in Salt Lake City. Two decades ago, Jon Scoville at the University of Utah started the program, which is now run by Hansen, and Mason Aeschbacher, a jazz percussionist. Both are full-time evangelists for Brazilian drumming and dance across the metropolitan area, and their work has been richly rewarded in terms of visibility.

Since its last appearance at the festival two years ago, Samba Fogo has grown significantly, formalizing its nonprofit organization status and starting a popular children’s dance program. There are two divisions in the school. One is the professional performers’ division which festival visitors will see in the show. The other is the community dance and music program which has about 50 people.

‘Interest in our dance classes really spiked after the last festival appearance,’ Hansen says. ‘In fact, we doubled the size of our weekly classes.’ Samba Fogo is hoping to recruit more drummers and percussionists, which are essential to its more elaborate production numbers.

Styles and elements include Caixa, Chocalho, Repinique, Surdo, and Tamborim. The companion troupe Samba Gringa became the official band of the Real Salt Lake major league soccer team in 2005. Samba Fogo has performed at Salt Lake First Night, World Cup Luge Championships, World Cup Speedskating Championships, and an even longer list of venues.

The nightly performances at the festival percolate with tremendous agility and showmanship and, as the 50-minute show progresses, the dancers feed on the crowd’s equally ecstatic vibe. The end is a full-fledged carnival scene so natural in character that it’s easy to see why this troupe performs every night on the round stage during the festival. Hansen says many months of rehearsals go into each show.

As for the dazzling display of fire choreography, Hansen is matter of fact about it. “The key is to be calm and focused during a high-pressure situation,” she explains. “And, we take smart proactive steps like wetting our hair.”

For more information about Samba Fogo, see here. And, for the festival’s full weekend schedule, see here.

Today’s music headliners (Friday, June 24) at the Utah Arts Festival make not only for a perfect summer night of blues on the Amphitheater Stage but also provide a prominent stage for one of the most loved local bands. Before talking blues, let’s take a look at Sister Wives.

Sister Wives, 9 p.m., Park Stage

The Sister Wives is a successful all-girl band in the Salt Lake City scene. They stop in for the Utah Arts Festival before heading back out on the road for a tour of the Northwest.

‘Best part for me, and I know that everyone else shares the same feeling, is the experience of coming together,’ says Mona Stevens, vocalist and guitarist. ‘You can play your individual instruments, but there is a synergy when it comes together and it comes together well. It is magic, being a part of something bigger than yourself.’

Stevens knows what it means to be part of a team, playing for and later coaching The University of Utah softball team. ‘I’ve always been drawn to the creative process or the performance process with a group of people,’ she says, referring to music and athletics. ‘Coming together and creating something together is really fantastic, I love it.”’

Spending four years in Nashville – from 1988-1992 – Stevens refined her talent and realized what she wanted to do with her life. ‘My dream to was to make a living making and playing music. While I was there I realized I wouldn’t make it in Nashville unless I learned to write, so I took classes, and became very successful,’ she explains.

She started writing many songs, including some ideas that have been used by Sister Wives. ‘But they had a little country flavor, so what we have taken from those songs we have given a different flavor,’ she says, ‘and changed the lyrics in some places to make it more a blues-rocky Sister Wives sort of feel.’

But what’s with the name? Researching the band’s Web site, you realize they are not sisters, or polygamous proponents but rather they use it as a term of endearment. ‘No we‘re not sisters; no we’re not sister wives, but it’s a great name for an all-female band, especially in Utah,’ Stevens says.

Well then, where did it come from?

‘Amy (who plays drums) was living with the bass player Jani and her husband Winston during the 2002 Olympics, and one morning Winston yelled up the stairs to Amy, “Sister wife, breakfast is ready.” She came down and said, “That would be a great name for a band.”’

Stevens continues, ‘She and Jan had been thinking about forming a band already, and they asked me a few months later if I would be part of the band. I was hesitant and unsure because I was so busy coaching up at the university, but they told me the name of the band. I had no idea where they got the name; no idea what it meant even though I grew up in Utah.’

The band recently recorded a live performance in Salt Lake City for a Costa Rica benefit. It will be available for purchase at the festival as well as the other two albums they have released.

‘Honestly, playing in the Arts Fest is one of our favorite gigs that we have booked,’ Stevens says. ‘The sound on the stage is fantastic and people in the place are a different experience, so we’re really looking forward to that and The Young Dubliners is one of our favorite bands, and I will be there hanging out there on Saturday and Sunday as well, we all will.’

Harry Lee & The Back Alley Blues Band, Friday, 8:30 p.m., Amphitheater Stage

Harry Lee & The Back Alley core have been together for nearly 20 years, and although they have picked up new members since then, they remain rooted in brass-driven blues and maintain that scene for blues-hungry Utahns. They feature 11 pieces at this year’s Utah Arts Festival.

Their new album Harvest Moon is expected to be available today for purchase at the show. They have been working on it just over a year, Lee says, but the group experienced particular grief during its production.

‘One of the fellows that started the album – Wayne Christiansen – was tragically taken after the Mayor’s Jazz Festival last year. He came down to play from Kennewick, Utah, recorded some songs that weekend, played festival both nights, and headed home early Monday morning. Unfortunately he had an accident with an elk, and was thrown in front of a semi. He was fatally hurt. He planned on coming back that Wednesday to finish the album,’ Lee explains.

After regrouping, they were fortunate enough to find Ken Coopenburg to complete the recording started by Christiansen.

Lee can play the harmonica like it was a train whistle – long and lonely and haunting, or stupid fast and funky. ‘It has been God’s gift to me,’ Lee says. ‘Never had any real formal ‘training’ training even though James Cotton, every time he comes to town will sit down with me a give me a few licks. I consider that my formal training.’

Cotton teaches Lee only conditionally: ‘He said to me, “boy, all the stuff I’m showing you, you’ve gotta leave to someone before you leave here. If not I’ll see you on the other side and it won’t be good.” So I try to find young harp players, work with them, and help them move forward. A lot of upcoming harp players out there, If I can point them in the right direction, give them a lick or two. I’m always game for that.’

But did Lee’s parents always have this dream for him to be a premier ‘harp’ player? ‘No, I played the tuba from the fourth grade to ninth, and played the piano and stuff, but I started playing the harmonica after a friend I was in a band with left a harmonica and never came back to pick it up. I pulled it out and started playing,’ Lee recalls.

Considering the band’s incredible talent, I wondered why I hadn’t seen Harry Lee and The Back Alley Blues Band before. ‘We’ve got a great fan base, but not a lot of venues for blues and jazz,” Lee explains. ‘There are a couple places but they are so spread out. Fan base is really starved, so when we get a national act that is well known, you get a very good turnout. There is not a lot of publicity for the blues here. Anytime I can throw a rock and make a little noise, I’m willing to do it because there are a lot of upcoming musicians willing to carry on this tradition.’

Go ahead and throw a rock, Harry Lee: ‘Utah is a small community as far as musicians go,’ he says. ‘So most of the talented musicians know each other. I know that all the musicians around town feel the same way; everything has gone up, except musician’s wages. They are making the same wage they were in 1960,; everything has gone up except wages. Venues expect them to play for cheap, and we have some talent, but if you won’t play for little to nothing, you don’t play.’

Ronnie Baker Brooks, 9:45 p.m., Amphitheater Stage

Ronnie Baker Brooks has blues music pumping through his veins. Son of living blues legend Lonnie Brooks, he grew up listening to music by blues monsters B.B. King, Muddy Waters, and Buddy Guy and seeing them kick it with his father. He developed his own variation on the blues theme, including more funk and soul and rock influences, and has released three studio albums. He graciously agreed to do a Q&A with the Selective Echo.

SE: What is your schedule like for the week?

RBB: Got off the plane, landed in Las Vegas, coming to Salt Lake Friday, go to Denver Saturday, back to Chicago. It is summertime, and it picks up a lot more in the summer time. Do a lot of stuff in Europe in the down time, or record.

SE: You grew up in a unique circumstance so do you feel you have an advantage because of it?

RBB: I don’t think I have an advantage, because you have this expectation of being ‘the son of…’ I wouldn’t say I have an advantage, other than getting exposed to it earlier, and being around it at an early age. Dad never forced me, I wanted to do it. It has an advantage to but it was also added pressure and expectation level. People saying certain things, got that or this gig because of his dad but I try to work harder so people couldn’t say that. I’ve got what I’ve got and played where I’ve played because I have earned it.

SE: I have been told that Salt Lake is ‘blues starved,’ do you think that’s true?

RBB: Considering me coming from Chicago, and there are many, many, many blues clubs and blues players—blues legends—playing there. You could say that. I’m trying to hit Salt Lake once a year, every year and when I come out people are very appreciative; I get a lot of love here. Being from Chicago, I could say that about the whole country, maybe around the world. We have 15-20 blues clubs and they’re all pretty good. And we host the biggest free blues festival in the world; last week there was over half-million people here. I would say they’re all starving.

SE: So what does the prodigy of a blues legend listen to? What excites you?

RBB: I listen to gospel, R&B, rock, hip-hop. I try to keep my ears open to everything that’s going on. I have an eight-year-old daughter so I listen to what she’s into. I’m trying to stay on top of the whole industry, but still listen to all the older guys – Buddy Guy and Taj Mahall, B.B. King – all the guys before me. Then there’s the young guys around Chicago, Erik Davis, whomever. Anybody that’s putting it down, I’m looking forward to listen to.

SE: What would you do if you weren’t playing music?

RBB: I can’t tell you, because I don’t know. As they say in the NBA, I’m all in. I’m blessed to do what I love, so I don’t even think about that. I’m happy to be able to do what I love to do. I never thought about what I would be doing if I wasn’t playing blues music. I love the music. I appreciate the people that paved the way before me, so I have to respect that. I try to apply that respect towards the music when I play it. If you don’t feel it, don’t mess with it. Because there are a lot of people that have sacrificed their lives and their careers for the music, so I take it serious.

SE: Were there other artistic outlets that you were taught or encouraged to do in your home?

RBB: My dad was very, very stern when it came to education. He was very serious about that; he didn’t play when it came to education. If it was something we wanted to do, both my parents supported it. For example, I played basketball; dad was very supportive. He didn’t like it, but he supported it. His dream for us was to be the next Jackson 5, so when I quit at an early age, it broke his heart, but he still would take me to my games; watch me play. I always liked drawing; wished I could draw; people put their heart into it. I can appreciate it, but I never had the skill or the patience.

SE: So is an album in the works? What are the inspirations for its content?

RBB: I’m writing songs now, trying to get it ready for the end of this year, or next year. Everyday life. I like to write about things that I can feel, my own experience or someone I’m close to is experiencing; be true to it. That’s what the blues is about – is the truth. People can feel the sincerity. I gotta try to keep it real. It’s like therapy. The way you can see someone else relating to what you’re doing, you think ‘maybe it’s not just me.’ It’s like a therapy session. I enjoy seeing people have a good time. If I can do that with my music, it makes me feel better.

SE: What do you love most about music?

RBB: I love to see the process, where you start out with an idea, it becomes a song, and becomes more because people understand the lyrics, and it relates to their life, I enjoy that process.

‘I’m looking forward to coming there. Hopefully the people are looking forward to seeing us. Pick up merchandise, support us.’ – Ronnie Baker Brooks

For more information about all festival headliners, see here.

SLC Mayor Ralph Becker will be joined by Lisa Sewell, executive director of the festival, in presenting the 19th annual awards today (Friday, June 24) on The Festival Stage at 8:15 p.m., prior to the Jazz Commission Concert.

The honorees are:

Trent Alvey – Visual Arts

Born in 1948 and a graduate of Westminster College, Alvey has cultivated a long productive career of work as a graphic artist and mixed media artist who uses painting, sculpture, and lighting techniques to create works that have been described as contemporary and pop. Her most recent work is looking at installation and project art in communities. For example, she plans projects focusing on the City Creek and Red Butte water systems.

Alvey won a bronze in 2002 for a mixed media piece, for The Sacred and the Profane, in a statewide competition for the Bountiful Davis Art Center. The University of Utah Museum of Fine Arts acquired her 1992 installation, Toaster Worship, for its permanent collection.

Alvey was chosen as one of twenty Utah artists to be part of the Women Beyond Borders exhibit at Art Access Gallery during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. Salt Lake County also commissioned her to create an 80-foot long wall mural in downtown SLC.

Her work has also been included in a variety of local and national exhibitions including the 337 Project and the Salt Lake Art Center. Other credits include The Painting Center, Crossing the Line, New York City (2005); Springville Art Museum’s Spring Gala (2005); Kimball Art Center, Park City (2005), and Artspace Forum Gallery (2003).

Carol Edison – Service to the Arts by an Individual

A folklorist for the Utah Arts Council for 33 years until she recently announced her early retirement, Carol Edison was a nationally recognized leader in contemporary folk art programming. She had won a national award from the American Folklore Society last fall. Edison had hoped that the state would reconsider cutting the budget for the programs which Timothy Lloyd, executive director of the national organization, had described as ‘one of the very finest in the United States, [and] supporting local artists and cultures in every county of the Beehive State in a remarkably cost-effective manner.’

Edison’s work reached out to many populations in the state including Native Americans, Hispanics and Latinos, Polynesians, Mormon pioneers, and cowboys and ranchers. Since 1986 she has directed programs at the Chase Home Museum of Utah Folk Arts, a facility located in Salt Lake’s Liberty Park that houses the nation’s only museum dedicated to a state-owned collection of contemporary folk art.

Charles Lynn Frost – Performing Arts

Frost is a graduate of Brigham Young University who grew up Mormon in Spanish Fork and was married and had a family before he came out 19 years ago. He left teaching and went into business and later was a consultant before plunging into the world of theater as an actor, director, and writer. Working with local activist Troy Williams, he developed, wrote, and performed in The Passion of Sister Dottie S. Dixon, which opened at the Pygmalion Theatre Company.

The play was an instant smash hit, with consistently sold out performances. The play is a comedy – basically, the story of a Mormon mother from Spanish Fork, Utah who has taken on a mission. Her son (Donnie) is gay – and Sister Dottie loves him and her church so much she’s determined to find a way to bridge the two worlds.

The public certainly took to the positive role model exemplified by Sister Dottie. Perhaps one of the most significant honors and awards Frost received for the work came last year when readers of Salt Lake City Weekly voted Dottie as ‘Best Utahn 2010.’

Ruth Lubbers – Service to the Arts by an Individual

Arriving in Salt Lake City in 1993 from Muskegon, Michigan, Ruth Lubbers quickly became a force on the local cultural scene as executive director of Art Access, a program that makes art available to individuals with disabilities. In 2002, Lubbers received the seventh annual Enrichment Award from HealthSouth of Utah for enriching the lives of persons with disabilities through the arts and was given the honorary Alumna of the Year Award from the College of Fine Arts at the University of Utah.

She was a member of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games Arts and Culture advisory committee and developed Art Access exhibits which were part of the Cultural Olympiad. Other honors came from Utah Business Magazine, the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, and most recently, The Cathedral of the Madeleine. Lubbers recently served on the boards of the Utah Arts Festival and the Utah Museums Association. She also is on the boards of 15bytes and the Utah Youth Mentor Project.

The Book Arts Program – Service to the Arts by an Organization

The Book Arts Program at The University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library has been instrumental in cultivating a deep appreciation in the community for letterpress and handmade books. Treasure Chest of Rare Books, funded by several grants, typifies the type of programming involved. Instructors travel to Utah schools and teach a history of the book to students at the elementary and high school levels, involving essentially a ‘treasure chest’ of rare materials. The students have the chance to make a book model based on one of the examples from history.