Blues & beer festival

Blues music is one of America’s most original and distinctive cultural exports, and the annual Efes Pilsen Blues Festival has been introducing the music to an increasingly enthusiastic Turkish audience for 19 years.                                                              Â

This year’s festival brings John Lee Hooker Jr., son of the legendary blues-man, Sharrie Williams and Watermelon Slim to audiences in over 20 cities, from major cosmopolitan centers like Istanbul and Ä°zmir to much smaller cities that do not have much exposure to the genre.         Â

Considering how packed the venues have been, there is no short supply of blues fans, or at least of people who are curious about music that comes from halfway around the world. Performer Sharrie Williams told the Hürriyet Daily News, backstage after her set in Istanbul on Saturday, about the Turk's appreciation of the blues and her own appreciation of Turkey.

On whether there was a significant difference in audience enthusiasm in smaller cities that make up the bulk of the tour, Williams said, "Of course, some towns have been a little bit different, but not much. There has been a great turnout and the audiences have been enjoying themselves and I have been selling CDs, so people want to take the music home with them. Blues appreciation here is an A+."

Born in Michigan into a family of jazz and gospel musicians, Sharrie Williams’ involvement with the blues began at an early age. Influenced by the likes of Koko Taylor, Patti LaBelle, Etta James, Aretha Franklin and Billie Holiday, she has sung the blues at home since childhood and began playing with her current band, the "Wise Guys," in 1997.                                                                                    Â

24-hour notice                                                                       Â

Williams’ involvement with the Efes Pilsen Blues festival was literally last minute. Originally Eddie Bo was supposed to complete the tour with Watermelon Slim and John Lee Hooker Jr., but unfortunately he suffered a stroke right before he was to depart. Williams’ agent gave her just 24 hours notice about the tour.

"They called me on Tuesday, Oct. 22, asking me to fly out on the 23rd. I said I could not do it; I was a girl with too much stuff to pack for a tour that was to last over six weeks. So my agent asked if I could leave by Thursday instead," she said.

So Michigan-based Sharrie Williams and the "Wise Guys" departed Thursday, arrived Friday and performed their first show that evening. It took her four days to recover, "When I go on a long tour, mentally I get myself prepared, physically I get myself prepared, but this time I did not have any preparation."

The festival includes 25 concerts in 21 cities, mostly in Turkey, and Williams has already been able to see a lot of the country, from southeastern Diyarbakır to northern Trabzon, and across to western Denizli. She has also met many concertgoers.

It is not just the musicians who have been leaving an impression on Turkey; Turks have also left quite an impression on the performers. Throughout her set and throughout the interview, Williams could not stress how much she has come to love Turkey. "The people have been very excited, exciting, very warm and receptive and very open. I just love Turkey, I am telling you," she said.

She regrets not having been able to perform with Turkish musicians, saying that her grueling schedule prevents her from staying up past her performance time, while some of the local musicians she has met have held jam sessions well past three in the morning. She hopes to jam with them as soon as she has a day off between concerts.

She does have some time during the day to explore the cities they are touring through. Her Istanbul weekend consisted of a lot of shopping and a tour of the Hagia Sofia. But her most meaningful experience so far during the tour was not in Turkey, but in Turkish Cyprus. Williams is part of a church congregation back home and when she was able to see Girne, the site of Saint Paul’s first missionary trip, it touched her. "I almost fell into the Mediterranean Sea because I was standing on the edge and just had such a warm experience inside," she said.

One bourbon, one scotch, one beer

Despite the last minute notice, Williams praised the festival’s organization and sound engineers. "The festival has been tremendously top-class. I have been on many tours, but this has been the most outstanding. Sometimes you go on the road for a long time and you get a bad sound and that affects your performance."

This year’s festival still has six more shows in western cities until Dec. 3. So far, the Efes Pilsen Blues Festival has held 260 concerts in Turkey over 18 years. With nearly 303,000 people having attended these "top-class" performances. It is no surprise Turkey has raised a generation of blues lovers.