He readily admits it. He chose the blues without knowing the blues.
That’s why this weekend’s Heritage Music BluesFest has been a work in progress for the past quarter-century.
“The evolution of BlueFest actually started the very first year because I knew I wanted to do a music festival at Heritage Port, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do. But when I looked around to see what was popular, I saw that fans of the blues would travel from city to city for festivals,” Wheeler explained. “And the truth was, I didn’t know diddly squat about the blues back then.
“So, I found an agent to help me, and he did just that,” he said. “He helped me get the last two acts and he told me to fill out the schedule with regional blues artists. So, that’s what we did and eventually, the Heritage Bluesfest became a very popular festival.”
Wheeler, though, is now one of the most respected bluesmen in the country because of what he’s accomplished since seriously struggling the first few years.
“If you go to heritagemusicfest.com, you can see the lineups that we’ve had during the entire history of the vent,” Wheeler said. “Now, I don’t think I’m any kind of genius, and when you look at those lineups, you’ll see that all I’ve done is repeat what works for our crowd.I bring in new brands we’ve never seen here, and I bring back the bands that were loved.
“That way, the festival goer gets something fresh and new every year,” he said. “We have people come to Wheeling from 28 states and that’s because they get some much great music in one weekend. Think about it … it’s the same reason why people love the Easter buffet every year. You get all of your favorites every year.”
The gates to this year’s three-day Heritage Bluesfest will swing open at 3 p.m., and the tunes will begin at 5 p.m. with singer/songwriter Jimmy Adler. The weekend’s lineup can be found here.
There’s a Party Goin’ On
“A good man feeling bad.”
Not only is that a popular line from the movie, “Crossroads” starring Ralph Macchio and Joe Seneca, but also it was once a well-known description for the blues genre.
When it comes to the blues, though, Wheeler believes that while country and rock n’ roll music have changed through the years, blues music has remained the same and is better understood than ever before.
“The blues have pretty much stayed true to its roots,” he said. “While other genres have changed through the years, the blues have stayed the blues. And the blues has expanded because it’s more welcoming of other genres. About 25 years ago, blues music was defined by its location. There was Chicago, Memphis, and the Delta blues, but these days the blues are the blues.
“These days, New Orleans is big with the blues, but that’s only because a bunch of artists moved there,” he said. “So, the blues has expanded.”
It was in the late 1800s when Blues tunes became more mainstream, and many historians believe that’s because slavery was coming to an end in many areas of the United States. From there, many singer/songwriters – including the late-great Elvis Presley – created rock n’ roll from the roots of the blues, Wheeler explained.
“Blues music has roots in a lot of other genres of music, and rock n’ roll definitely is one of them. And now, the blues is welcoming those other genres and it’s pretty amazing to watch. If you examine American music, you’ll realize it really came from the blending of European melodies with African rhythms. That’s the essence of the blues.
“For some, they took the blues and expanded it into Jazz,” he explained. “And then it expanded into rock n’ rock, and that’s one of the biggest stories in the world of music. The blues had a baby and it was named rock n’ roll.”
But are the blues about sadness and depression. Quite the opposite, Wheeler insisted.
“The one thing about the blues that still amazes me after all of these years is that some people think the blues is about depression. They think blues music is sad because when people are sad, we say they ‘have the blues’. So, people confuse the two,” Wheeler said. “Blues music is about celebration, no doubt, and that’s why we have so much fun at our Bluesfest each year.
“That’s why you see so many people dancing at BluesFest,” he said. “It’s really just great party music.”
We are so lucky that Bruce took such a phenomenal risk to bring the Blues to Wheeling.The incredible spinoff of friendships,business+ putting Wheeling on the map for one of the best venues in the US is due to his work and that of his family+ friends .Everyone looks forward to this festival each August and it is due to Bruce+ family.🎶🎵😎Thank you!