Down home blues at the library

The Jazz and Blues Series at the Southfield Public Library, 26300 Evergreen, continues at 6:30 p.m. tonight (Aug. 21) with a performance by Glemie Beasley and the Down Home Blues Band.

Glemie Beasley  (BluesPhotos by Don McGhee)

Beasley, a Detroit resident born and raised in Little Rock, Ark., is an urban hunter who likes to hunt raccoons.

“He’s known internationally as the ‘Coon Man,’” said Don McGhee of the Detroit Blues Society. “Google 'Glemie Beasley' and you’ll find all kinds of things about that side of him.

“He’s a great down home blues man too.”

Beasley will perform tonight at the library with his backup group, the Down Home Blues Band. The event will also serve as a birthday celebration for his son, Glemie Jr., who plays bass in the band.

“He’ll play some down home blues, but also a little bit of country and little bit of gospel,” McGhee said.

”He’s been performing off and on for a long time, but he’s never been really well known. He released a CD  ("The Best of Glemie D. Beasley - I Was Born Down in Arkansas") a few years ago that is wonderful. It has a lot of original songs. One is called ‘Chain Saw.’ It’s an answer to Albert King’s ‘Crosscut Saw.’ It is very funny and cool. It has a line in it that says something like ‘with me and the chain saw, you’re not going back to the crosscut saw.’ It’s that double entendre stuff.

“The album is amazing.”

For many years, Beasley had his own small recording studio, McGhee said. Beasley has recordings made by many of Detroit’s blues performers that have never been released.

Admission to the concert is $5. There’s a discount if you are a member of the Friends of the Southfield Library. Children under age 12 are admitted free.

The series is sponsored by the Friends of the Southfield Public Library and the Detroit Blues Society.

Workshop canceled

The Detroit Blues Society sponsored workshop -- How to Handle the Business Side of the Music Business -- scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 25, has been canceled, due to limited advance registration.

The DBS plans to videotape a similar session, with multiple visual aids, in the near future and make it available as a very affordable DVD.

This will resolve the issues some musicians had with schedule conflicts, travel distance, etc.

To send info to JB Blues, please email Joe.Ballor@Dailytribune.com