The Cascade Blues Association and KINK FM102 Sunday Night Blues are pleased to announce that on Saturday, March 10th, the Second Annual Willamette Delta Showcase will be held at the Aladdin Theater. This event is designed to present premier Blues performers who may not otherwise have the opportunity to play in the City of Portland. In an attempt to build interest in this year's show, we will be profiling one of the scheduled performers each month prior to the event. Last month's feature was on the multi-instrumentally talented Paul Oscher. This month, we'd like to give you an introduction to our headline act: Hubert Sumlin.

There is no denying the impact that Hubert Sumlin's guitar prowess has given to the world of modern music. After playing beside the immortal Howlin' Wolf for more than 23 years and a short stint with the great Muddy Waters, Sumlin's guitar provided one of the most distinctive sounds emanating from Chicago during its golden age of Blues. It has been said that his string-play was every bit as crucial to the music of Howlin' Wolf as the growling vocals of Wolf himself. Easy to believe when you listen to classics like "Smokestack Lightning", "Wang Dang Doodle", "Killing Floor", or perhaps his shining moment with the band on "Hidden Charms".

It is also hard to deny those that credit Hubert Sumlin as being a major influence in the way they've approached playing the guitar; people like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page and Stevie Ray Vaughan being among these.

Following the death of Howlin' Wolf, the shy guitarist found himself on his own for the first time in his professional career. He has taken control of his destiny over the many years since, stepping to the front of the stage as a singer and his guitar playing simply seems to improve with time. Hubert Sumlin has released several well-made recordings over the years, including "Heart & Soul", "Healing Feeling" and "I Know You". He is also about to release a tribute collection of the songs of Muddy Waters, featuring some well-known Bluesmen alongside him.

It is certainly a special honor for the Willamette Delta Showcase to host a true "living legend of the Blues" such as Hubert Sumlin. We hope to see you all at the show for what is building up to surely be one of the biggest Blues events of the winter.

Read Willamette Delta Showcase Preview 1, featuring Paul Oscher, or Preview 3, featuring Sean Chambers.

The CBA thanks the following Willamette Delta Showcase Sponsors for their support: