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Photos by Laura Carbone

Lobster, seacoast, summertime and live blues! The North Atlantic Blues Festival, in the picturesque coastal town of Rockland Maine, is considered one of the premiere blues-rooted music festivals in the US. In this, their 28th year, 11 acts hit the stage for a music-starved crowd. This festival is special not only for its beautiful location on the mid-Maine shoreline in an idyllic small town, but also for its traditions and solid lineup.

Held right in the harbor against a backdrop of sailboats and the sparkling Atlantic Ocean, approximately 5,000 were in attendance each day—the festival’s largest yet—with an additional swell of around 1,000 more on the streets, all sharing the pure joy of a live music festival.

At this event, all acts are considered headliners, but the North Atlantic Blues Festival has a fondness for encouraging artists to form special combinations—supergroups, if you will—plus revues and special showcases: acts that you’re unlikely to see anywhere else. Saturday, for example started with a blending of Zydeco, gypsy jazz and blues with Anne Harris, Marcella Simien and Guy Davis, performing together as Gumbo Grits and Gravy. Next up was Jeff Jensen and Brandon Santini as Tennessee Redemption. Blues Music Award winner for best harmonica player Jason Ricci, originally from Maine, returned to his home state newly matched with Joe Krown and Doug Belote. Johnny Rawls and Dave Keller frequently perform together and have a wonderful chemistry, but the addition of Lady D to their Soul Revue made their performance even more special.

In another NABF tradition, kids from the Mid-coast Music Academy Blues Camp start off the show, a performance which frequently represents the start of music careers; certainly for most of them it is their first time stepping onto a big stage. Another tradition celebrates female artists on Sunday morning, this year beginning with the powerful vocals of Detroit’s Queen of the Blues, Thornetta Davis. Her soulful performance was followed by the blues keyboard antics and high energy of Tullie Brae, and then the guitar prowess of Ana Popovic. Sunday ended with Coco Montoya and the Ronnie Baker Brooks, first individually and then together, offering a tribute to the late, great Albert Collins. Of course, there is always a big jam at the end of each day with artists returning to the stage with a big blues bang of a finale. If a festival offers you a legend, a favorite, a mix, and introduces you to a new musical find, it is a success, and the North Atlantic Blues Festival did all of this and more.

Offsite, the legendary pub crawl which closes Main Street—aka Costal Highway Route 1—on Saturday night. People can be seen dancing in the streets and special guest musicians drop in to play with the regional bands at the local clubs. In 2010, the town of Rockland received one of the very few out-of-state Mississippi Blues Trail Markers. The “Mississippi to Maine” historical marker honors of the number of Mississippi artists that have played in that area ever since Mississippi-born blues giants Muddy waters and BB King began performing there in the 1970s.

Although the NABF offers 140 VIP seats, there are also over 600 choice seats with open access. The traditional “running of the chairs” starts at 6 AM Saturday morning, but the audience then helps pick up and stack them at the end.

Special considerations this year included planning during the time of COVID-19 (contract tracing with all tickets going through the festival office), dealing with Hurricane Elsa moving up the East Coast, airlines struggling due to staff shortages, setting stages set up during high winds and making sure musicians got there with cancelled flights, not to mention planning with the hope that the festival could happen without social distancing restrictions. In the sole glitch, airline flight changes did prevent German-based Ruf Records from continuing its yearly tradition of the Blues Caravan.

Thanks to the experience and festival expertise of Paul Benjamin and his wife Jean, this year was the best attendance record yet, with fans coming from all 50 states. Paul Benjamin will be curating seven other blues festivals this year, as well as having input into the European Blues Heaven Festival; fans are grateful for his perseverance and dedication to keeping the blues alive.

—Laura Carbone