Hubble Creek Blues Series coming to Stooges this fall

Forget football on Sunday afternoons this fall and head to Stooges Restaurant in Jackson, where live music will be on an outdoor stage for the Hubble Creek Blues Series.

From 3 to 6 p.m. beginning Sunday and continuing each Sunday for six weeks, musicians from around the country and as far away as Canada will participate in the free concert series.

Attendees are encouraged to bring a lawn chair but not food or drinks, which will be available from the Stooges kitchen.

"A bar will be set up outside for food and drinks," Stooges owner Ron Cook said.

Because Sunday's weather is expected to be on the warm side, Cook said people also are welcome to bring canopies for shade.

Should it rain on any of the next six Sundays, the concert will be moved inside the restaurant.

Cook said he's always wanted to do a fall blues series, considering the popularity of the establishment's spring music event, Stoogefest, which completed its seventh year.

Peter Karp and Sue Foley will kick off the series, and this songwriter-singer pair has made quite the splash in the five years since they released their first CD, "He said, She said."

The two met at a music festival in Canada, where Foley is from, in 2009 and struck up a friendship. After going their separate ways, they continued to stay in touch by writing letters to one another.

"After a year, we met up with the letters, and we took the letters and made a record out of it," Karp said. "We're going to be telling stories and playing music that makes you jump around and get excited, makes you think, makes you laugh and makes you have a good time."

The twosome also will bring copies of their new double CD, released Sept. 22. The CD, "Live for Hope," contains 22 songs, and proceeds from the sale will go to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.

"Come on out and see the show, or just come out to support the cause of ovarian cancer research," Foley said.

On Oct. 4, Doug Rees and Big Larry will take the stage. Southeast Missouri favorite Rees has been a regular performer at Stooges on Thursday nights for the past nine years.

Rees' style is predominantly Americana. He said Big Larry brings the blues component to the act.

"Big Larry is the blues guy," Rees said. "He's the epitome of the blues."

Big Larry is an 87-year-old veteran musician who often makes up songs as he goes, in the true spirit of a bluesman.

"He just starts singing, and I find the key, and I make a song out of it," Rees said. "That's the beauty of our act."

Virginia musician Eli Cook will entertain Oct. 11 with his brand of country blues. This 21-year-old can be described as a one-man band.

"I play the drums with my feet," he said. "I try to get a full band sound out of a one-man show. It's almost a rock show."

He took up the guitar as a teenager in the Virginia foothills, and his musical style was influenced by blues greats including John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Bukka White and Lightnin' Hopkins in the tradition of Southern blues.

Cook released a CD, "Primitive Son," in May 2014.

He described his style as hard-rockin' blues.

"I mix up a lot of old blues with some original arrangements," Cook said. "It's not every weekend I get out there. Be sure not to miss it."

Eddie Turner and the Trouble Twins will perform Oct. 18. Turner, a Cuban-born blues guitarist, grew up in Chicago and now lives in Colorado.

In 2006, he was listed among the "Best New Artists Debut" by the Blues Foundation. His music blends the Afro-Cuban sounds of his motherland with the deep blues of America. He plays a diverse blend of rock, voodoo blues and R&B, peppered with African rhythms.

Tennessee's Scott Holt will entertain Oct. 25. With seven solo records under his belt, he has reputation for an exciting live act.

His style of blues incorporates influences from jazz and rock 'n' roll. He played his guitar alongside Buddy Guy for a decade.

Local musician Ivas John will wrap up the series Nov. 1 with his brand of blues that was influenced in equal measure by the likes of Ry Cooder, Mose Allison, Robert Cray, Van Morrison, Keb Mo and Delbert McClinton.

John plays throughout Southern Illinois and Southeast Missouri and also is a regular entertainer at Stooges. In 2012, he released his fourth album, "Doin What's Natural."

John helped establish the Southern Illinois Blues Society as well as the Cross Rivers Blues Festival in Cape Girardeau.

The series is sponsored by Cape Air and Stooges, 507 W. Main St.

Cook said the music series wouldn't be possible without the support of Cape Air and the help of Bruce Loy of Tunes at Twilight, the seasonal Friday evening concert series that takes place on the lawn of the Common Pleas Courthouse in Cape Girardeau.

"He's got some good connections with blues musicians," Cook said. "These are major acts."

Pertinent address:

507 W. Main St., Jackson, Mo.