![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/blackburn03.jpg\")
<\/p>\nContinued from Part Two…<\/i>
\nSoul music figures into the Blackburn Brothers\u2019 mix as well. The lyrics of \u201cBobby\u2019s Blues,\u201d the new album\u2019s opening cut, display a social consciousness reminiscent of Marvin Gaye\u2019s recording of \u201cWhat\u2019s Going On.\u201d Brooke Blackburn says that song is drawn from his father\u2019s experiences. \u201cIt specifically references a hurricane that hit Toronto in 1954,\u201d he says. The song also makes reference to the intriguing story of the Avro Arrow, a supersonic fighter plane built in Malton, one that was never used.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt talks about Black power, too,\u201d Brooke says. \u201cWe come from a mixed family; my mother is white, and my dad is Black. And we grew up with a strong sense of African Canadian culture.\u201d He notes that when he was coming up, if you weren\u2019t completely white, you were Black. \u201cSo I write a lot about the history of Black people in this country,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd \u2018Bobby\u2019s Blues\u2019 sort of encapsulates that.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the lion\u2019s share of songs on SoulFunkn\u2019Blues<\/i> are band originals, Blackburn Brothers include a well-chosen cover. \u201cSister Rosa\u201d was first cut by the Neville Brothers in 1989. A paean to civil rights icon Rosa Parks, the song featured on Brotherhood<\/i>, the group\u2019s 2009 release as Blackburn. While that version has merit, a completely new recording of the song \u2013 with a remarkably different arrangement \u2013 is a highlight of the brothers\u2019 latest release.<\/p>\n
\u201cSister Rosa\u201d had been in the Blackburn Brothers\u2019 live set for years, and over time, the arrangement developed into something much more soulful, much funkier. \u201cLive, we do it with more of a James Brown feel,\u201d says Duane. \u201cIt\u2019s funky as hell. I love the funk feel to it, and of course the message.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Blackburn Brothers Live<\/b>
\nLike most everyone, the Blackburn Brothers found themselves sidelined during the Covid-19 pandemic. They used that time to write and record. But with a new album and a return to live concerts, the group is once again placing its focus on in-person performances. \u201cI think our strongest quality is our live work,\u201d says Duane.<\/p>\n
Duane Blackburn emphasizes his band\u2019s energy and arrangements onstage. \u201cThey\u2019re not used to that in the blues scene,\u201d he says. \u201cThe telepathic communication between us is special; we know where each other is going, so we can follow and give each other space.\u201d The Blackburn Brothers\u2019 approach, he says, is to keep the audience as engaged as possible. \u201cThere are [times] in the show when it breaks down to a nice, gritty blues,\u201d he says. \u201cBut then we bring it up. There\u2019s our horn section, and we have a lot of action happening onstage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like the United States, Canada is a big county with a lot of open spaces. That means that the logistics of touring on the road can be challenging. \u201cWe drive a lot<\/i>,\u201d says Brooke. \u201cWe\u2019re talking like 10, 12 hour drives to a show.\u201d Blackburn Brothers have played at White Mountain Boogie N\u2019 Blues Festival, the Pennsylvania Blues Festival and others; they\u2019ve even traveled as far as Memphis, a more than 15 hour drive.<\/p>\n
Asked to name a gig that felt like a significant breakthrough, Cory Blackburn mentions this year\u2019s Montr\u00e9al Jazz Festival. First launched in 1980, the annual event features a staggering 3000 artists from dozens of countries, drawing more than 2 million attendees. He laughs as he recalls the brotherly conversation that took place during the drive to Montr\u00e9al. \u201cOkay, guys,\u201d he told his band mates. \u201cThis is the NBA playoffs, okay? We\u2019ve got to bring<\/i> it.\u201d<\/p>\n
And they did. \u201cI was so proud of everybody,\u201d Cory says. \u201cand we were surprised with some really good reviews after. We knew we did good, but when you see it in print \u2013 and when you see the reactions from people who are outside your circle \u2013 that\u2019s a validation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just before the pandemic hit, Blackburn Brothers had been booked to play the prestigious International Blues Cruise as well as the Panama International Jazz and Blues Festival. Both of those events were put on hold, but now they’re back on the band\u2019s upcoming concert schedule. \u201cSo we\u2019re getting out there internationally,\u201d Brooke says. While there are no firm plans as of yet, the group has set its sights upon Europe as well. \u201cWe\u2019re hoping more than anything to get to Europe [in support of] this new album,\u201d Brooke says. \u201cIt\u2019s a big world, and hopefully we\u2019ll get everyone to know who Blackburn Brothers are.\u201d<\/p>\n
The band\u2019s Brotherhood<\/i> album marked a momentous turning point for the Blackburn Brothers. \u201cWe did some traditional blues on that,\u201d says Duane. \u201cAnd it got a great response. So I said, \u2018Let\u2019s go this direction.\u2019 Now there\u2019s a mixture of everything, but the blues foundation is at the root of all of our music. The blues community is very accepting of what we do, and it works for the Blackburn Brothers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Continued from Part Two… Soul music figures into the Blackburn Brothers\u2019 mix as well. The lyrics of \u201cBobby\u2019s Blues,\u201d the new album\u2019s opening cut, display a social consciousness reminiscent of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26979,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,41],"tags":[5352,5351],"class_list":["post-26971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blues","category-interview","tag-backburn-brothers","tag-blackburn","cat-9-id","cat-41-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26971"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26983,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26971\/revisions\/26983"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}