There are a couple of programs suitable for this holiday weekend that will interest blues fans, both in the public broadcasting sphere. First, bassist/DJ John Kessler will dedicate an hour, both tonight and Sunday, to the music of the civil rights movement. John is a very insiteful purveyor of music, especially the blues, and it should be an interesting hour. It’s from 7:00PM to 8:00PM, during his weekly All Blues segment on KNKX. If you don’t listen to this already, it’s a fine music mix with an entertaining and informed DJ. It’s six hours long on Saturday and Sunday nights (6:00 to 12:00), so you should have time to tune in for parts of it.
Then on Monday night, Independent Lens on PBS will feature a documentary on the overlooked contributions of Native Americans on modern music in this country. Apache guitarist Stevie Salas was touring with Rod Stewart and wondered who, if any, Indian performers had preceded him. It wasn’t obvious; his predecessors had shed their native heritage to appeal to white audiences. He found many talented, popular and influential artists, featured on RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World. It airs Monday at ten on your local PBS station, and is streamed on the pbs.org website.
