St. Louis Blues Festival with Mel Waiters and more

Mel Waiters
R&B singer Mel Waiters was born and raised in San Antonio, TX, where in 1974 he began his performing career at local teen clubs; after a stint as a radio deejay, he was awarded a government contract to entertain at military bases across the southwest....

Bobby "Blue" Bland
Bobby Bland earned his enduring blues superstar status the hard way: without a guitar, harmonica, or any other instrument to fall back upon. All Bland had to offer was his magnificent voice, a tremendously powerful instrument in his early heyday, injected with charisma and melisma to spare....

Shirley Brown
Born January 6, 1947, in West Memphis, the Browns moved to St. Louis, MO, when Shirley was very young. Cutting her teeth in church, at the age of ten, she earned a reputation in gospel circles throughout the city for delivering powerful solos....

Bobby Womack
A veteran who paid his dues for over a decade before getting his shot at solo stardom, Bobby Womack persevered through tragedy and addiction to emerge as one of soul music's great survivors....

Denise LaSalle
Unlike so many other blues vocalists who just reinterpret material given to them by songwriters, Denise LaSalle is a seriously talented songwriter. Although her soul blues style has strong urban contemporary overtones at times, it's best to think of LaSalle as a modern-day Bessie Smith, because that's really what she is....

Charles Wilson
Charles Wilson was raised in Chicago, and started singing early; as a teenager he sang in Chicago area nightclubs but was too young to have a beer. Despite having R&B/blues singer Little Milton ("We're Gonna Make It") for an uncle, his "big break" didn't come until he got the opportunity to go on the road with Bobby Rush....

T.K. Soul