North River Blues Festival brings rarely seen West Coast acts to Marshfield Fairgrounds

This weekend marks the 28^th edition of the North River Blues Festival, at the Marshfield Fair, and throughout its history the fest has featured a masterful blend of national, regional and local talent. Fans might hear certified music legends like Bobby Rush or Otis Clay, become acquainted with hot regional acts like perennial favorite The Rampage Trio, or revel in the sizzling sounds of local talent that works regularly on the South Shore scene, like Quincy’s stellar singer/guitarist Sam Gentile.

This year, the festival, directed by Marshfield promoter John Hall, has a bit of a theme running through it, and you might dub it “West Coast acts that seldom play New England.”  The music runs from noon to about 8 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday, and it is all free with a fair admission ($15).

Saturday’s lineup offers San Jose, California, native Chris Cain, one of the genre’s most versatile stars. Also performing is the Bennett Matteo Band that was such a hit last year, but they’ll be augmented by The Delgado Brothers, a West Coast band that has never played anywhere on the East Coast before. Sunday’s lineup is headlined by Michigan’s Laith al Saadi, who has been a popular performer in past years, along with the Plymouth-based Delta Generators, Boston’s Diane Blue All Stars, and the California band Early Times, another act seldom seen around here.

Stepping back

Cain has been one of the most electrifying singer/guitarists in blues since his 1987 debut album, “Late Night City Blues,” which garnered four Blues Music Award nominations. He continued to release incendiary albums, on West Coast labels, while touring internationally up until 2003. Cain stepped back a bit from recording at that point, concentrating on touring and somewhat tied to the West Coast by his teaching improvisational music at San Jose City College. Cain has only released four albums since 2003, but his profile is enjoying a resurgence in recent years, and he’s set aside his teaching job to focus more on performing and touring more.

Cain’s eponymous 2017 album garnered a Blues Music Award nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album, for a dazzling set that included guests like Tom Waits and Jim Pugh (best known as Robert Cray’s keyboardist). In 2018 Cain was nominated for the Blues Music Award as Best Guitarist, and also named Best Male Artist by Blues Blast magazine. By 2021, Cain had been signed to the nation’s premier blues label, Alligator Records, and his “Raisin’ Cain” album has been another triumph.  Blues rocker Joe Bonamassa has called Cain “one of the most criminally underrated blues players of all time,” while jazz/rock/blues titan Robben Ford has noted Cain’s “intensity that keeps you on the edge of your seat.”

More: UNITED, THEY SING: Local musicians rally to support Quincy guitarist Sam Gentile

East Coast trip a highlight

We caught up with Cain by phone before he set out on the latest tour.

“I am really looking forward to playing the North River Blues Festival, because that’s a part of the globe I have always found was very nice,” said Cain. “I’m trying to change my touring schedules to include more of the East Coast, so we can get out there more often. New England is actually one of my favorite areas.”

Cain’s original songs boast contemporary lyrics, but also take delight in bringing some humor to the blues, which makes them instantly relatable.

“I appreciate people, and I just always thought of songwriting that way,” he said. “When I first began writing songs, I wanted to find a way to put some humor in it. I will admit, I have fun doing it too.”

Blues with humor

Just a glance at the songs on the latest album demonstrates how Cain neatly balances the emotional quotient of the blues with good natured humor.  “You Won’t Have A Problem When I’m Gone,” and “Too Many Problems” and “Found A Way To Make Me Say Goodbye” all deal with romantic woes, but keep a light touch without sacrificing the genuine emotions. One example fans love is “I Believe I Got Off Cheap,” where the exasperated man is leaving a woman who spends her days watching Dr. Phil.

“I never start out to write a tune with funny stuff, but in that case, I seemed to be thinking of something like Albert King’s ‘Cold Feet,’” Cain recalled. “You are putting in things, details to make it more real.  Now I have shows where I look out and people are laughing out loud at that Dr. Phil line. That makes my day.”

Cain’s guitar playing has been compared to Albert King, as well as B.B. King, and Freddie King, and he was lucky enough to have seen them all perform. Cain became especially close to Albert King.

Inspired by legends

“The first time I saw Albert King was such a mind-blowing thing,” Cain said with a warm laugh. “I fell under his spell. First, he looked eight feet tall, and to shake hands with him as a young kid, it was like grabbing a couch. But his tone was instantly recognizable, and when I heard him, I knew I’d never heard anything like that before. His guitar cut through the rest of the band, like it was singing, with big, big tone. But as incredible a visual as he presented – he was the size of a building with a real physical presence – when he sang, he crooned. He had great arrangements on his records, and I couldn’t get enough. Now, I’d seen Freddie King, who was like a keg of dynamite, and I didn’t think anyone could top that, but Albert – thumb-picking with his guitar upside down – was incredible. Albert had a reputation for really crushing young guitarists who got up to play with him, but he was always very nice to me. He would come out to see me whenever we played Memphis, where he lived, and one night brought Otis Clay along with him.

“B.B. King was just a beautiful person, with his own unique tone you could pick out anywhere,” Cain added. “I’ve seen B.B. play a solo where he had tears rolling down his face. And that was the key to his style; if you feel it, play it. That’s the way I approach solos, to leave yourself open for whatever the guitar might want to say.”

Cain likes to tell the story of how he encountered both B.B. and Albert King at a festival long ago.

“B.B. arrived in a limo, beautifully dressed as usual,” said Cain. “Then, here came Albert, driving a U-Haul truck with all his band’s gear in it. I’d seen Albert another time, arriving at a gig driving his band bus, and I thought ‘that’s my guy!’ But B.B. King and Albert King, those are the two guys I really studied.”

A versatile musician

Cain was such a curious musician, he also learned to play piano, bass, saxophone and clarinet. And his classes at San Jose City College involved as much jazz improv as blues.

“Playing sax really opened up my guitar playing,” Cain noted. “I’d listen to how sax players were phrasing and try to incorporate that into my guitar. There is a tendency for guitarists to get locked into that blues scale box, and at times it can feel like handcuffs. Playing sax and those other instruments opened my ears up to different ways of phrasing, different ways to play things.”

That jazz background plays into another upcoming appearance, as five days after Cain plays Marshfield he’s due in New Zealand for a pair of concerts.

“A while ago I made a record with the Roger Fox Big Band, from New Zealand,” he explained. “The record only came out in New Zealand, but that big band is having its 50^th anniversary, so I’m joining them for what should be really special. They came over to play the Monterey Jazz Festival a few years ago, and they have charts for all my tunes.  That’s a celebration that will be a treat and a thrill.”

Martha’s Vineyard music

A relatively new festival rapidly becoming a tradition is the Beach Road Weekend held on Martha’s Vineyard this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Staged at Veterans Memorial Park in Vineyard Haven, the Friday night lineup is especially tempting, with Bon Iver headlining, and an undercard including rock legend Patti Smith, Mary Chapin Carpenter and John Hiatt. Saturday features Mumford & Sons, Gary Clark Jr. and Dispatch.  Sunday offers a bill topped by Leon Bridges, with Boston favorites Dinosaur Jr., Japanese Breakfast and Alvvays. Tickets for all three days start at $400, while single-day admissions start at $150. Check beachroadweekend.com for more information.

Music on the water

Saturday marks the all-day Plymouth Waterfront festival, with tunes from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.  The popular Aldous Collins Band headlines at 3:30, but also don’t miss Scituate’s Ward Hayden & the Outliers, kicking off at 1:15 p.m. And it’s all free.

Springsteen takes over Gillette

THURSDAY: Fingers crossed he’s healthy by then, but Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band continue their 2023 tour with stops at Gillette Stadium on Thursday and Saturday. The indie rock bill of Jimmy Eat World and The Manchester Orchestra take over MGM Music Hall. Lyfe Jennings gets down at City Winery. Bearly Dead opens a two-nighter at Soundcheck Studios. Songwriter Gabby Barrett at Cape Cod Melody Tent.  The Mexican r&b of Girl Ultra at Brighton Music Hall. Music at the Marshfield Fair includes the Midtown Horns (3-6 p.m.) and Crooked Devils (6-9 p.m.)

FRIDAY: KISS guitarist Ace Frehley brings his solo band to Memorial Hall in Plymouth. The band named Hockey Dad is actually an Australian surf-rock outfit, at Brighton Music Hall. The Xfinity Center hosts the rock ‘n’ ska doubleheader of Slightly Stoopid and Sublime.  Diablogato and three more local rock bands light up The C-Note. Songsmith Griffin House at The Spire Center. Mr. Vegas leads the Reggaefest at MGM Music Hall. Alvvays and Alex G rock The Leader Bank Pavilion.  R&B crooner Toosii arrives at The House of Blues. Buoys of Summer with yacht rock at The Sinclair. Comic Ilana Glazer at Cape Cod Melody Tent. It’s the best of Americana with Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore at City Winery. The Wave performs at the Marshfield Fair (6-9 p.m.)

SATURDAY: Sam Hunt grooves at MGM Music Hall. Jeff Pitchell’s Legends Live, a tribute to the Neville Brothers, Neil Young, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, at The Spire Center. The pairing of roots icons Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore moves on to the Narrows Center. Echoes of (Pink) Floyd at Soundcheck Studios. Arcy Drive rocks The Sinclair. Tusk – a Fleetwood Mac tribute – takes over Plymouth’s Memorial Hall.  The funk sounds of The Groovalottos at The C-Note. Heavy metal thunder with Distant, and three opening acts, at Brighton Music Hall.

SUNDAY AND BEYOND: The Ryan Montbleau Band headlines Soundcheck Studios Sunday night; while Irish folk-rockers Hermitage Green takes on Brighton Music Hall; Celtic thrush Mary Fahl sings at City Winery;  and comedian John Oliver opens a two-night stand at MGM Music Hall. Tuesday’s Steve Earle show at City Winery is sold out; but tickets remain for the visceral blues-rocker Joss Stone at the House of Blues. The free Project Arts concert on Wednesday in Plymouth features reggae stars Duppy Conquerors. The king of blues-rockers, The Delaware Destroyer, George Thorogood sweeps into the South Shore Music Circus on Sept. 1. Li’l Baby raps at TD Garden on Sept. 2. New Orleans melting pot rockers Dumpstaphunk heat up Soundcheck Studios on Sept. 3. Beck at MGM Music Hall on Sept. 5. The Eagles Farewell Tour hits TD Garden Sept. 11 and 13.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Marshfield Fairgrounds to play host to North River Blues Festival