Blues beat will rumble again at another venerable Tallahassee venue
You may have heard it when it’s quiet — a low-down rumble to a thumping 4/4 beat. Could it be the blues again in Tallahassee?
Ever since the Bradfordville Blues Club closed its doors on April 1, a core group of aficionados have been trying to figure out ways to resurrect the magic that emanated from the woodsy site for over 20 years. It hasn’t been easy.
Efforts to negotiate a renewed lease with the Henry family whose members own the property, have not been successful. As a result, all of the BBC’s sound equipment, the stage, and the renowned painted table-tops have been put in storage, awaiting, say a small group of “blues-movers,” a time when the Blues Club will find a new permanent home.
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In the meantime, before the ephemeral images of the old Bradfordville site fade, that group of longtime music lovers have decided to take matters into their own hands.
Dan ‘Mac’ MacDonald, Brett Newman, and Dianne Robinson, supported by dozens of others eager for the harmonicas and gas-can guitars to begin again, have contracted with the American Legion Post 13 at Lake Ella to present acts of the same caliber as what the old BBC did in its aging concrete building on Bradfordville Road.
The group has already arranged the first booking with blues performer Charles "Cros" Mack for July 7.
“We have great bookings through the winter and I think into the new year,” says MacDonald, who is acting as the prime mover. “There’s a lot more to it than I thought,” he adds, referring to the lights, sound, scheduling, booking and all of the other arrangements one finds as the production manager of big-time acts.
As the president of the new “BBC at the Legion,” with Robinson as vice president, MacDonald says that “very, very soon,” they will obtain an LLC designation (Limited Liability Company) under the name, “Mac Daddy, Blues Production,” as the group works toward booking the country’s “best blues performers.”
Robinson says that when looking for a suitable venue for music of the type usually found in gritty honky-tonks, Kim Anton, Gary’s wife, wondered if the American Legion had any dates open. Robinson ended up in a conversation with the Post Commander who, “told me he was looking for just such an arrangement.” For the foreseeable future, Robinson says she hopes that, “there will be bookable nights at least one per weekend and maybe both nights.”
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That is for now. But there may be stirrings on the horizon. Though nothing is formalized and only “information gathering” confabs have occurred. MacDonald says that he has met with Robert Felicetti, who purchased the 104-year-old Gramling's Seed Company building in 2022, and is working with an architectural designer from the international firm, 10 Designs.
Gramling's owners foresee a major project with ideas that might include a Blues Museum, an eating and performance venue, and even housing for artists and veterans. Though MacDonald says ideas are definitely in a concept stage, he hopes that in 18 months to two years, there may indeed be a new place for his BBC dreams to materialize.
In the meantime, with Gary Anton, the BBC’s now retired owner offering “support in every direction,” MacDonald said, the three retired state workers have taken up the mantle of the blues, carried forward on a preservation crusade they just couldn’t resist.
If you go
What: Charles "Cros" Mack, blues performer
When: 8 p.m. Friday, July 7
Where: American Legion Hall, Post 13, 229 Lake Ella Drive
Tickets: For now, at the door. Look later for a new website for the BBC at the Legion.