Grandview Stage Country Resort

Tim Williams in Concert at GVS

BLUESMAN TIM WILLIAMS DELIVERS THE
GOODS AT GRANDVIEW STAGE
(from Mountaineer Article on Nov 7/2011)

Yet another
visit from one of Canada’s finest bluesmen Tim Williams last Friday night at
Grandview Stage, and what a show!

The evening
began with a ham and scalloped potato buffet with salads as well as pyrogies,
sausage and sauerkraut.  With a small
turnout, we all fit in the Hole in the Wall, so it was a cozy environment to
listen to one of this year’s nominees for the Maple Blues Awards Acoustic Player
of the Year (the Blues equivalent to the Canadian Country Music Awards).  A high honour indeed but well deserved for
this blues icon.

Tim has been
to Grandview several times in the last few years, but has such a depth and variety
of material that his shows are never the same.
While most performers have a standard song set as well as some well
rehearsed jokes and stories for the audience, a lifetime of playing and
performing have given Tim a seemingly inexhaustible supply of anecdotes about
the songs and people in the blues world that he draws on seemingly without
effort.  There is no one we’ve talked to
in the music business that doesn’t know Tim Williams, and seemingly no one Tim
hasn’t played with at one time or another.

Tim grew up
in the L.A. area in the 60’s where he met and studied many of the great
bluesmen who were “rediscovered” during the blues revival of that time.  Most of these performers were black musicians
who first recorded in the 1920’s, another period of great blues interest.  It’s fascinating to hear of the roots of many
of not only the blues songs of that time, but how that music influenced many
others to come, including Muddy Waters, BB King, Eric Clapton and Keith
Richards, as well as countless others in all music genres.  Even the great father of bluegrass, Bill
Munroe, drew heavily on the black blues traditions of these early masters.

The last of
the old time great bluesmen, Honey Boy Edwards, was a close friend of Tim’s.  He was performing live until this year, and
decided to retire a couple of months ago.
He died a week later.  He was 96
years old.  With him died the last living
link to the great blues era of the 1920’s, when Rev Gary Davis, the Mississippi
Sheiks, Bo Carter, Blind Willie McTell, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Boy
Fuller, Mississippi John Hurt, Memphis Minnie, and later perhaps the greatest
bluesman of them all, Robert Johnson, all recorded and played.  Tim said he began to feel sad at Honey Boy’s
passing, then thought, “he played what he loved in decent health till he died
at 96.  What’s to feel sad about!   We should all be so lucky to do something we
love for such a time.”

This
Friday’s performance was, in our opinion, one of Tim’s best here at
Grandview.  He was relaxed and casual,
kidding with the audience and telling jokes and stories between songs.  At least half of his tunes were ones he
hadn’t done before here.  He played slide
guitar, flat top guitar, mandolin, and electric guitar through a huge variety
of tunes from blues, Spanish, and Western, all with flourish and energy,
accompanied by a whiskey-smooth voice that captures every nuance of the
music.  All in all, a wonderful night of
music and musical reminiscence, thoroughly enjoyed by everyone in attendance.

True to his
roots, Tim plays vintage instruments including a 1937 Stella flat top guitar, a
1930 National resophonic guitar, and Willie P Bennett’s 1920’s mandolin in a
virtuoso display of musicianship that somehow looks effortless – the mark of a
true professional.  Thanks for a great
evening Tim.

By the way,
to vote for Tim as Blues Player of the Year, Google “Maple Blues Awards” and
follow registration and voting instructions.

Be sure to book early (403-845-6404) for our special Christmas Concerts on Friday and Saturday,
December 2 and 3, when we are pleased to present Juno Award Winner and CCMA
Hall of Famer Gary Fjellgaard and friends Darryl and Saskia.  They were here last year and put on a
wonderful show.  Group bookings are welcome too, so if you are looking for a group Christmas party venue, why not
share a great night of entertainment with your friends at Grandview Stage.

Get on Grandview’s concert email list by dropping us a line at gvstage@harewaves.net, or look us up on
www.grandviewstage.com.  Meantime, thanks for all your continued support and thanks as always to the Mountaineer for their great press and advertising.  We couldn’t do it without
all of you.

Wishing  you good times and good music,

Del and Lesley
Ramage

Grandview
Stage

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