Dedication

This year’s Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival is respectfully dedicated to two of the most talented and influential figures ever to grace the world of blues — Fred McDowell and Son House. Both men were familiar performers at previous Ann Arbor Blues Festivals, and their absence this year is a loss suffered by us all.

“Mississippi” Fred McDowell was probably the most accomplished bottleneck guitarist in blues history. He learned the technique as a small boy, courtesy of an uncle who played it with a polished “beef bone” (as Fred was fond of recalling). He exchanged the beef bone for a bottleneck which was filed smooth, and proceeded to perfect a style of guitar playing which only now is receiving the kind of attention jt warrants.