The Delta Sonics at the Longmont Museum

Wednesday nights at the Longmont Museum through the summer are music nights, offering up awesome local entertainment, free of charge, in the museum’s beautiful garden. Recent weeks have seen the Hot Tomatoes Jazz Orchestra take to the stage, and this evening, with the sun beating down, it’s the turn of blues band the Delta Sonics.W

These guys have won “Best Blues Band” in the Westword poll for four consecutive years, and that has to count for something. Putting a Colorado spin on swampy New Orleans and Delta blues, the band has (in their words), “opened for many nationally known blues artists, including BB King, Koko Taylor, Junior Wells, Taj Mahal, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, The Radiators, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Tommy Castro, and Charlie Musselwhite.. In 1999 and 2004, the band brought blues piano legend Pinetop Perkins to Colorado for two successful tours. Most recently, The Delta Sonics have also backed Steadyrollin Bob Margolin , Big Bill Morganfield, Lurrie Bell ,the late Bo Diddley (2004), and the late Pinetop Perkins on their many club and festival performances in Colorado. They are a sought after back-up band for national blues artists.”

What’s obvious in Longmont is that they’re a tight group of talented musicians, and singer/harmonica man Al Chesis is a captivating and charismatic frontman. The songs are fun and swinging, notably a number called something like, “You’ve Packed Your Luggage Baby, Now What’s Your Trip?” (Apologies if that isn’t quite right).

These Wednesday nights are about more than the music though. As the community gathers and children run around playing, it’s clear that the Delta Sonics are proving a welcome soundtrack for a friendly and blossoming neighborhood vibe. Long may that continue.