NSU Blues Fest: Groovin' on a Sunday afternoon

Truth be told, I wasn't all that tantalized by the lineup of this past weekend's South Florida International Blues Festival. Now in its second year on the nicely groomed main campus of Nova Southeastern University, the event was heavy on the generic blues-rock guitar slingers, nothing new in these parts. But I was intrigued enough to attend at least a few shows Sunday afternoon.

I was most curious to hear what Daniel "Slick" Ballinger was up to. Last I had seen the babyfaced guitarist-blues shouter at the Riverwalk Blues Festival, I was mightily impressed by his insistent grooves, powerful tenor vocals and almost involuntary rubber-legged dance moves; the kid seemed to be channeling the spirits of the Deep South, and had certainly absorbed plenty through his mentor, the late cane-fife master Otha Turner. But apparently, Ballinger, 24, had a religious awakening some years ago, and now was putting his talents in the service of the Lord.

The grooves were as thick as ever, as Ballinger took the stage noon Sunday, accompanied solely by a drummer for a set of hardcore gospel sermonizing set to mesmerizing, neck-snapping cadences. Looking like a country preacher from another era, a well-scrubbed Ballinger was attired in a dark suit and tie, his combed, close-cropped hair parted near the middle. He then proceeded to launch into some heartfelt hollering — even when he was singing blues, you couldn't doubt his sincerity, but this was something closer to the marrow, as he sang his love for Jesus and the importance of getting right with the Lord with evangelical fervor. Yet, it never came off as obnoxious, and secular audience members (like me) could appreciate the hard-bitten Hill Country rhythms that defy your body parts to remain still, as well as the conviction in Ballinger's performance. Oh yeah, and in case any fans were wondering, Slick remains as animated as ever, and even in his church clothes (he did shuck his jacket), he danced about the stage and leapt and landed with both feet, as if he were stomping his defiance of the devil himself.

Next up was Blind Mississippi Morris Cummings, who played harmonica on Ballinger's Oh Boy recording Mississippi Soul. Joined by his longtime musical partner Brad Webb on guitar and drums, Morris was in excellent voice. Resplendent in striped scarlet-on-scarlet slacks and vest, the Memphis bluesman put over some hoodoo blues with great humor and charisma, providing a contrast to Ballinger's spiritual material as he explored spooky Deep South mythos involving the crossroads and more earthly delights, and even evoked in one lyric the age-old African marriage tradition of "jumping over the broom." Morris and Webb were soon joined by a band of South Florida stalwarts — Darrell Raines on keyboards, George Coleman on bass and Richie Coricelli on drums. While the guys did fine work, the show somehow seemed less special with the addition of the band.

The singular James "Super Chikan" Johnson followed, and he appeared to be having a great time as he burned up a lime-green guitar that was customized with his signature bejeweled decorations. Accompanied by a tight and funky quartet, including his daughter on drums ("at least that's what her mama tells me," he joked), Super Chikan worked very electric territory, bending strings and evoking the late Albert King. While not as idiosyncratic as his acoustic shows, in which he plays his homemade "Chi-kan-tars" and sings more personal, Delta-centric material, this performance was nonetheless quite a bit of fun, for audience and entertainer.

I was determined to check out former South Florida harmonica hotshot Jason Ricci, at least for a couple of songs, and that's really about all I could sit through. His opening two numbers could hardly have been more generic and less engaging. And given that the sun was fierce and there was really no appreciable shade out on the main festival grounds, I split, deciding to catch powerhouse vocalist Janiva Magness, who I've seen before, at another time (namely, this weekend at The Back Room).

So, my advice to festival organizers for next year: Put up a few tents, even if they're not the costly big tops of years past, so people can duck out of the sun, and please, give us more acts like Ballinger, Morris and Super Chikan.