KGSR Blues Festival, Waterloo Park, May 19

KGSR Blues Festival

Waterloo Park, May 19

Rest assured, the climax of the KGSR Blues Festival was Ray Charles crooning "America the Beautiful" on a perfect Central Texas night with a 40-piece orchestra made up of locals purring along behind him, but it was almost anticlimactic all the same. By then, there had been more than enough fine music to justify an afternoon among the funnel cakes and hemp-product bazaar.

For the same ticket price as an evening at Antone's, there was a solid seven hours of music. (The club's beloved namesake was invoked numerous times, though city noise ordinances precluded the sound actually carrying all the way to Bastrop.) Patrice Pike's new outfit Black Box Rebellion shaved off some of Sister Seven's funk beard in favor of contoured FM rock sideburns, but her expansive vocal agility remains most impressive. Seth Walker's band turned in a fine set of Forties jump-blues complete with jiving tenor sax solos, before Guy Forsyth took things even further back. Languishing his slide-guitar tone in the humid Delta haze, Forsyth gave every indication of soon inheriting the mantle held by Sonny Landreth -- even if his pants made him look like he came from a rave. Toni Price, with able assistance from the likes of Champ Hood and Papa Mali, was South Austin fabulous as usual (particularly on a tender Shelley King tune), and Lou Ann Barton even more so when she joined Jimmie Vaughan. This is getting to be a habit -- start a band already -- and even though the guitarist had no difficulty steering his faithful Tilt-a-Whirl band through "Texas Flood," Barton's sassy Southern snap took Slim Harpo's "Sugar Coated Love" and Double Trouble gem "In the Middle of the Night" to a whole different level. Next, Jake Andrews dished out some coltish KLBJ electric blues, and Robert Cray used the smooth Memphis sheen of his new Should've Been Home to get everyone in a mellow, sensual mood.

Only Tommy Malone's winsome Steve Winwood/Dave Matthews hybrid was left. By the time the former Subdude finished, the orchestra was in place around the grand piano and anticipation climbing. The conductor got one of the best receptions of the event, leading the multitude of musicians onstage through a brisk, Count Basie-style warmup, but there was only one thing the Waterloo Park throng wanted to hear: "Ladies and gentlemen … please welcome, Ray Charles!" Smartly dressed in charcoal, Brother Ray was helped to the Steinway, basking in the boisterous reception, and sat down to begin calling out tunes. The tunes he called were Cole Porter, not Muddy Waters, but "Almost Like Being in Love" was a delight and "That Lucky Old Sun" a tender thrill. Later comes "Georgia on My Mind," "Your Cheatin' Heart," and even a brief sax break from Charles. Sure, the LifeFlight helicopter's coming and going from Brackenridge Hospital across the street was a mild distraction, but that didn't stop anyone from choking up during "America." After that, the Genius of Soul gracefully waltzed everyone toward the exit with "3/4 Time," and that was it. Mercifully, the good vibes of a Saturday in the park last much longer than any lingering effects of one corn dog too many.