The village of Onset in Wareham – one of the coolest spots in this region – has hosted a Blues Festival for the last 13 years.
This weekend, I managed to haul butt across the bridge to hear it for the first time.
Traffic going off-Cape was light, but the Bourne Rotary was packed. So, I took a less direct route and avoided the mess altogether.
It was a picture-perfect day, a little on the warm side, but there was a delightful on-shore breeze the entire afternoon, and the Bay was magnificent, filled with pleasure boats and rimmed with beautiful trees on the bluff.
I caught four acts and found two of them outstanding: the Liz Lannon Band and the incredible bluesman, Ricky “King” Russell. Ricky’s set was out of this world – one fan, tipsy to be sure, lurched up and down the aisle, screaming, “I live for this!”
I skipped most of the last set with the headliner, whose band wasn’t nearly as good as Ricky Russell’s. I’d parked the truck in an area called Shell Point, the most expensive part of Onset (some listings are well over $1 mm), and on the way back, passed by the Onset Blues Club, a get-down kind of place that reminded me of the legendary club, Sweetwater, in Mill Valley, Marin County, California.
Ricky Russell was singing with the house band, the original Blues version of “Hound Dog”, and he brought the place down.
I drove by the Bay on the way back and by that time, there was no on-Cape traffic. Since it was on the way, I saved a little money by stopping for gas on the Base. A perfect end to a memorable, perfect day.