10:30 am
Hokum Jazz
Hokum Jazz performs vintage blues, jazz and swing from the 20's, 30's, and 40's. Members JC Veve (vocals, guitar), Esther Haynes (vocals, guitar) and Richard Seidel (bass, vocal harmony) present a range of songs from artists of that era. They have performed at the Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival, the Baltimore Blues Festival, and other DC-area events and venues since 1999. Esther Haynes (vocals, rhythm guitar) specializes in jazz from the 20's and 30's in the tradition of Bessie Smith and Sippie Wallace. Esther's love of music began as a child hearing bluegrass in her native Virginia. An accomplished banjo player and folk singer, Esther heard Billie Holiday sing, and decided to attend music school and emphasize jazz in her repertoire. Esther currently sings with local jazz guitarists and with Hokum Jazz. In 2007, she was nominated for Wammies as best big band vocalist and best jazz vocalist by the Washington Area Music Association. J.C. Veve (vocals, National Steel Guitar has performed with Hokum Jazz, with the acoustic blues group, The Resonators, and with Document Records recording artist, Sister Shirley Sydnor. His unique stage persona, vocal sound, and guitar skills intrigue and please audiences. He specializes in finger-style blues and swing guitar and has erformed in DC, NY, Georgia, and Austria at other blues festivals and venues on the East Coast.
Contact: estherh@erols.com
Website: www.estherhaynesmusic.com

1:00 pm
Robert Lighthouse
Robert Lighthouse, a native of Sweden, has been described by reviewers as a "master of the Delta blues." He first came to the United States at the age of 18, determined to learn more about the music he loves -- Mississippi Delta Blues. For eight years he traveled around the country visiting blues Meccas like Chicago's famed Maxwell Street and New Orleans, the cradle of the blues. He toured Belgium and Holland with the Charlie Sayles Band and then landed his own steady gig at City Blues Cafe in D.C. Lighthouse has represented the DC area at the Blues Foundation International Blues Competition twice, once with his band and once as a solo. His critically acclaimed debut CD, "Drive-Thru Love", was released in 1998. Of his long awaited follow up, "Deep Down in the Mud," released in the summer of 2007, Washington Post reporter Mike Joyce wrote that the new CD salutes "the likes of Robert Johnson, Dr. Ross, Elmore James, R.L. Burnside, Magic Sam, Muddy Waters, George Clinton and Jimi Hendrix. That's a tall order, to be sure, but Lighthouse gets the job done...... Like John Hammond, Lighthouse gets a lot of mileage out of his voice, guitar and harmonica, especially when he's celebrating country blues traditions with a percussive attack."
Contact and Website: www.robertlighthouse.com