The Ponderosa Stomp Celebrates Unsung Heroes of American Music
Jacob Blickenstaff is a photographer who recently shot the cover for Sharon Jones' excellent new album "I Learned the Hard Way" on Daptone Records, and has a long list of local and international credits that just keeps growing. He's a pro with a fine eye that will be joining the ranks at BTB, but that's not why we're excited. It's because he writes stuff like this that make people think about all the tired ways we're consuming music these days. Look for all sorts of contributions from Jacob in the near future.
This Saturday, July 31, the Ponderosa Stomp in conjunction with Lincoln Center Out of Doors and the Roots of American Music Festival will feature a full bill of musicians from Detroit in New York. The bill spans raw blues, soul, Motown, rock & roll, punk and garage in a rich and varied program. The show is completely free and open to the public.
The Ponderosa Stomp will feature sixties garage icons Mitch Ryder and ? and the Mysterians, iconoclastic rockers The Gories and Death, nomadic bluesman Eddie Kirkland, stirring soul singers Melvin Davis and Spyder Turner, Motown hit-makers The Velvelettes and Dennis Coffey and R&B all stars The Party Stompers.
The Ponderosa Stomp's mission is to serve as "a showcase for living history and thriving art, spotlighting the unsung heroes who planted the very roots of American music."
I've been to Detroit on two occasions this year and was deeply moved by the experience. Many photographers have focused on the city's devastation in almost a nihilistic way, but I was drawn to the cultural signs and life amid the ruins. The city is indeed a shell of a 'Big American City', and everyone has heard the reports of abandoned buildings by the hundreds, economic decline, crime and decay. Yet many musicians, artists and good working people of all kinds call it home. The people of Detroit express sadness, frustration and caution but I saw that it did not overshadow their pride, integrity and the glint in their eyes. Even in photos that show empty buildings, I was looking for the cultural fingerprints and vernacular language of Detroit's identity, rather than dwell on morbid things like 'the decline of western civilization'.
My experience there was much more life affirming than depressing, and there is certainly an unconquerable spirit to people who believe in and inhabit their home town. The gallery of photographs below are proofs of portraits made with musicians still living in Detroit, scenes observed driving through formerly active commercial streets and an incredible gathering at the 'Carpet House', a free outdoor blues event that occurs weekly during the summer at a vacant lot. I'd highly recommend seeing this show, and consider going to the 9th Annual Ponderosa Stomp September 24-25 in New Orleans.
For now, you can come out and experience the heart and soul of Detroit via the Ponderosa Stomp via Lincoln Center, an amazing assemblage of Detroit ingenuity in our own backyard.
