By Melina Paris, Music Columnist
Blues veteran Southside Slim, who has played at many clubs throughout Los Angeles is kicking off this year’s Long Beach Bayou Festival June 23 on the New Orleans stage. And, young blues phenom Ray Goren who has been touring locally, will be closing the festivities this year.
As always, Southside Slim keeps himself busy doing what he loves. Since October 2017, he’s kept a steady pace of work — a routine that includes playing his guitar for five hours a day, as well as lots of studio gigs. And recently, he has been producing talent, too.
He plans to start a residency in July at Roscoe’s Seabird Jazz Lounge in Long Beach. It’s called Back to the Blues Showcase at Roscoe’s. The residency nights will also feature performances by other local artists.
Slim embarked on a tour through Mexico. He was featured with the Freddie Maguire Blues Band. They performed in cities including Guadalajara, Mexico City, San Miguel and Celaya, where Slim headlined.
“It was fantastic!” Slim said.
One of the best times he had was in San Miguel during Día de Los Muertos. They partied for weeks, he said. He will return to Celaya again for another festival in October 2018.
But he has also begun to produce other artists. He recently started working with new vocalist, CoReathea Marie. He described her as a classical singer who happens to love the blues.
“I will always be an entertainer but I like searching for talent,” Slim said. “My goal is to produce both young and older talented singers.”
Slim plans to release a “best of” album of his own songs in September, which will also include a couple of new numbers. His motivation is to stay focused and to work on music and projects with others.
Slim has an exciting event, which all can tune in for right before the Bayou Festival. He will be the guest performer June 17, on the 95.5 KLOS radio show, Breakfast With the Beatles. Paul McCartney’s birthday is June 18 and Slim will perform McCartney’s number, Early Days from his 2013 album titled, New. Slim performed with Sir Paul McCartney in an impromptu jam session, which lasted for 30 minutes, after the filming of the Early Days video. The video also includes Long Beach’s own, Al Williams, the founder of the Bayou Fest and many other Long Beach events. It also includes Johnny Depp among other local blues musicians.
Time: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. June 23 and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 24
Cost: $25 to $35
Details: longbeachbayou.com; www.southsideslim.com
Venue: Queen Mary Events Park, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach
Check out another Bayou performer:
https://www.randomlengthsnews.com/2018/06/15/ray-goren-merges-old-and-new/