When we boarded the plane, early in the morning, the flight attendant came on the PA to tell us that the weather in Los Angeles was 62 with 0% humidity. Everyone sighed with relief. The Revue was coming from all over the Southeast: New Orleans, Macon, GA, Bernice, LA and Atlanta. As you can imagine it has been a scorcher this summer in the South and the Revue was ready to bring the heat to LA for their performance at the Skirball Cultural Center. The night before the show we were winding down in Albert White and Lil’ Joe’s room when Robert Finley called to see what we were up to. Finley showed up and the guys started jamming – a great time was had by all.

Robert Lee Coleman

The next day everyone headed to the Skirball and we quickly realized what a magical evening this would be.  The venue is absolutely gorgeous and the staff at the Skirball treated the artists like royalty. This was the Revue’s LA debut and the band came to tear it down. The sun began to set and the show kicked off with an introduction by Lil’ Joe and  a song from Albert White. Former James Brown and Percy Sledge guitarist Robert Lee Coleman took the stage next and he came out rippin’! Coleman laid down the law with solos straight from the heart of Macon, GA. The audience was on their feet when the next artist came out. Alabama Slim slowed the show down with his deep Nola grooves putting everyone in a musical trance.

The last musician to come out was Music Maker’s newest partner artist Robert Finley. Finley has been losing his vision due to glaucoma and let the audience know as soon as he stepped on stage. “I may be going blind, but I can feel y’all all over my body – come on!”, Finley exclaimed, and the crowd quickly rose to their feet. It was suddenly a rock and roll show with Finley playing songs from his upcoming debut album – Age Don’t Mean A Thing. The grand finale was played by the whole band and when the last tune finished the audience began chanting – ENCORE! ENCORE! The band came back on stage and gave them one more – to much appreciation. The Revue had a plane to catch the next morning to head to Belgium for another show. Lil’ Joe ended the show, “We gotta go to Belgium – see you there”!

Lil’ Joe Burton & Alabama Slim

The best part of this show was that West Coast Music Maker supporters got to come and see the Blues Revue. Almost all of them had never seen a live Music Maker show before and they were beyond thrilled. Thanks so much to all of our supporters for making sure these important artists are heard and seen all around the world.

— Corn