August 4, 2025 – Hoke's Jukebox

Review: Music Haven’s Blues BBQ Presented Rick Estrin and the Nightcats, Selwyn Birchwood and Annie & the Hedonists Sunday

Three expert acts represented three blues eras Sunday at Music Haven.

Appropriately, the oldest came first in the skilled hands of Annie and the Hedonists presenting antiques from the 1910s onward. Half a generation younger, Selwyn Birchwood played almost all originals in the middle slot. Rick Estrin and the Nightcats closed, playing traditional 1950s and 60s style, both originals and classics by their inspirations.

With Annie Rosen’s human trumpet vocals up front, the Hedonists played mainly tunes by women artists, reaching back to 1917 for a Memphis Minnie chestnut, to 1924 for Clara Smith’s “Prescription for the Blues” and 1942 for Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s “Shout Sister Shout.”

Annie & The Hedonists – From leftL Don Young, bass; Jonny Rosen, guitar; Jerry Marotta, drums; Annie Rosen, vocals; Peter Davis, keyboards and clarinet

They changed up with the fervent gospel “When I Get Home” that grew from organ and harmonized voices into a church-y groove with Peter Davis’s organ solo. In the mellow shuffle “Shout Sister Shout” and “Prescription for the Blues” his clarinet solos hit melodic high points; otherwise, Jonny Rosen’s guitar carried the solo spots, tough and tasty. Mary Gauthier’s compassionate “Mercy Now” (2005) sounded as vintage as some of the vintage tunes sounded contemporary; but there was no doubt about their closer, “Bessie Smith’s “Cakewalking Babies from Home” – antique fire all the way.

Annie Rosen

No surprise that everything flowed in easy, confident grooves; Don Young’s bass linked beautifully with solid drumming of Jerry Marotta. The most famous player onstage Sunday, he’s supported Orleans, Peter Gabriel, Hall & Oates, Indigo Girls and many more and fit well with the Hedonists’ grooves.

Selwyn Birchwood, third from left, with Regi Oliver, baritone saxophone; Byron Garner, drums; Donald Wright, bass; and Mike Hensley, keyboards

Guitarist-singer-songwriter Birchwood relied on tradition some, but reshaped It to his own purposes. He sounded 60s with slashing chords, biting tones and single-note scrambles, but used vintage sounds to examine his life now. He stands right behind Gary Clark Jr. (electrifying at SPAC’s Saratoga Jazz Festival in June) and Christine “Kingfish” Ingram among younger blues stars.

Selwyn Birchwood

His desperate “Living in a Burning House” led smoothly into the antique invitation “Come On in My Kitchen,” one of few covers Sunday. He roamed the stage, and the audience, soloing as his band cooked: a quick-stepping tight crew of Regi Oliver’s low-down baritone sax, the righteous clatter of Donald Wright’s bass welded tight to Byron Gardner’s drums and Mike Hensley’s keys, mostly organ.

Birchwood works the crowd, IN the crowd

Birchwood stretched “Exorcist” (title track of his current album), offered consolation in “Soulmates Waiting” and tore up “All Hail the Algorithm” – what’s more blues than warning of AI’s dangers?

Well, maybe, the ferocious, funny and fun firestorm Rick Estrin and the Nightcats brought to the BBQ’s last, and longest, set. Four guys – singer-harmoni-cat Estrin, drummer and spark plug Derrick Martin, hyper-guitarist Chris “Kid” Andersen and keyboardist Lorenzo Farrell – sounded like five since Farrell played bass with his left hand, melodies and fills with his right.

It was bustling, busy and tight.

Rick Estrin, center, orange suit, with, from left: Kid Andersen, guitar; Derrick “D-Mar” Martin, drums; and Lorenzo Farrell, keyboards and keyboard bass

If the early stretch belonged to Estin, playing Little Walter/Chicago-style harmonica and growling lyrics of rage or resignation at love’s losses, the middle was all Martin. Maybe the most athletic drummer around, he blasted a beat of mighty muscle, more tempestuous than merely time-keeping. His sticks flew high, and so did he, springing off his stool in what looked like sheer glee. But I’m getting ahead of myself, because the guy was so electric, so entertaining.

Rick Estrin

So was Estrin, who took over the Nightcats when co-founder Little Charlie Baty retired.

Early on, Estrin sardonically urged a lover to take her high expectations for the relationship to “Somewhere Else,” setting a funny/fatalistic wises-ass mood most songs followed. He also promised, in a similar funky shuffle, “I’ll Never Do That No More;” a big wink in his voice belied his intent. Estrin also dug into the past to honor his main harmonica inspiration, Chicago blues giant Little Walter Horton in a fiery cascade of upbeat riffs.

Afterward, Estrin cautioned “You can’t learn this on YouTube,” punctuating with hip slams his injunction that learning the blues means understanding a feeling, and that “you gotta be old as hell.” Estrin is 75, and his next lyric began “When my life is ended and they have placed me in the ground.” However, his powerful vocal and shining solos by Andersen, Farrell and Estrin’s harmonica showed big signs of life.

Kid Andersen, left, and Derrick “D-Mar” Martin

Nonetheless, Estrin then left the stage to the three other Nightcats who burned it up, mainly in the happy fury that is Derrick “D-Mar” Martin. Touring with Little Richard for 17 years taught him that over the top may not be high enough. So he entertained at a breakneck intensity that would have been exhausting to watch if he hadn’t clearly been having so much fun himself.

He ran around the place, drumming on chair backs, fans’ water bottles, the microphone when he returned to the stage, then on Andersen’s guitar, playing “Voodoo Chile” by drumming on the strings.

These 20 minutes of adrenalized mayhem might have rendered Estrin’s return anti-climactic, but he took over with customary romantic fatalism in “Callin’ All Fools,” happily stretching its shuffle energy by noting “We’re just groovin’ now,” on the last night of their tour and didn’t want to stop.

A rambling encore of kaleidoscopic Andersen blues-rock guitar and Estrin’s good natured grumble about Slash (a non-bluesman, per Estrin ) knocked his (ironically titled) “The Hits Keep Coming” off the top of the blues charts felt arguably like a stretch too far, though.