© published March 27, 2000

By CHRISTOPHER BLANK

ST. PETERSBURG -- For parched lawns and thirsty flowerbeds, Sunday morning's rain was a great blessing. But for blues lovers, the blessings were mixed. Dark clouds over Vinoy Park threatened to wash out the final acts of what, so far, had been the best Tampa Bay Blues Festival in the six-year history of the event.
The rain came. Then the clouds parted, and the afternoon brought a lineup that included headliners Walter Trout and Susan Tedeschi. 
With a coveted array of superb musicians, this was the year the sun finally came out on the Tampa Bay Blues Festival.
According to Bob Vorel, publisher of Blues Revue magazine, no other American blues festival before Memorial Day could boast the roster of national acts this year. "This is quickly becoming a world-class festival," Vorel said backstage. "The music is fantastic; and more importantly, Tampa Bay is showing that it has a fan base that appreciates the blues." 
The festival brought a diverse group of players Sunday, and a few surprises as well. Carl Weathersby played a rousing set, attired in his purple suit. He was followed by the Paul deLay Band, which perhaps performed just under the energy level of previous acts. Though he mostly sang through his set, we might have expected gutsier harp work from the Oregon bluesman. 
Few of the weekend's performers would have been able to top Sunday's most fiery act, Walter Trout. From the moment he was introduced, the guitarist struck out on a no-holds-barred mission to eke every possible sound from his instrument's steel strings. In a poll taken by the BBC, Trout (who is big in Europe) was named the sixth best guitarist in the world. He came in just behind Jimmy Page. It was easy to see why. The two players sound similar, though Trout always seems to go full throttle, while Page likes to wax more on the slow material. One of his slower tunes kept the audience spellbound before before it erupted into a heated rock and blues tune. 
Careful listeners may have spotted Trout's penchant for throwing in familiar musical phrases, such as an electrified take on Beethoven's Fur Elise, or Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Like Saturday night when Robert Cray followed guitarist Coco Montoya, a somewhat less raucous performer, Susan Tedeschi, followed the crowd mover. The Grammy nominee experienced some sound problems at the beginning of her set. First, a stage monitor wasn't working, while the vocals in the pit were too soft. But she finished gracefully and concluded the festival on a high note. 

To read another report click St.Pete's online

Hi Walter and Gang!
 
You guys were the greatest at the festival in St  Pete! .. I knew you would be and I was on a mission to tell everyone to be sure to get up by the stage.. I took some pictures of you and have posted several of them on a web page.. if you care to look at them, they are at 
www.redrules.com/festival.html     Carol