The Reno Blues Society has been helping Reno-ites celebrate Mardi Gras every year since 1994. This year’s event was held at the Ramada Inn in downtown Reno, where it’s frequently been held.
This is not just a party; it is a fundraising event that benefits RBS’s sponsorship of the summer Tuesday Bluesdays — a summer long series of free outdoor blues concerts — at Palisades Tahoe (formerly The Village at Squaw Valley), as well as their music grant program.
This year, for the fourth time, Delta Wires came from their home turf in the Bay Area to kick it up at this party. They’re an extremely talented band that has been part of countless blues festivals all over the West Coast and Sacramento, as well as Memphis, New Orleans, and as far away the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy. They have also been inducted into the California Blues Hall of Fame.
Delta Wires played three sets of great classic blues songs interspersed with their own originals. As a matter of fact, this was also a CD release party for their newest CD, if anybody told me…, released January 24th. Being a 7-piece blues band, complete with a horn section, they had no problem engaging the crowd and getting the dance floor filled at several point through the night.
The sweat was flowing on both the stage and the dance floor. The horn section was hot, the rhythm section was tight, the guitar solos were on fire, and the vocals and harp were soulful, bluesy and passionate. The blues mixed well with the purple, green and yellow of the Mardi Gras theme.
Many of the revelers were dressed in colorfully appropriate Mardi Gras outfits bringing the festive nature to life. Since it’s an annual event put on by RBS, these folks were mostly old friends too. Many had on beautiful carnivale and jester masks typical at Mardi Gras events.
A big part of the fundraising effort is the silent auction that has been going on at these parties since 2014. There were three tables full of items up for bid, ranging from dinner and show packages, original artwork, golf coupons, and ski resort passes. There were several gift certificates for dinner and drinks at many popular locations around town also, plus much more.
The item that caught my eye was a vintage Aria electric guitar and carry bag from the 60s. Somebody will be playing the blues on that gem. Word is that more than $3,000 was raised to support RBS’s causes, setting a record for the Mardi Gras events.
To make sure that the band looked good and sounded good Eugene Bango Entertainment was on site with their assortment of lighting equipment and a great sound support system.
Mission accomplished. A good time was had by all.
To find out more about the Reno Blues Society, or the other participants of this event, click the links below.
The Reno Blues Society Delta Wires Eugene Bango Entertainment
“Laissez les bons temps roules”
