First Step's Soul Shine Blues Festival

We did it again! First Step's 12th annual Soul Shine went off without a hitch with great music, food, and fun for the entire family. This year's festival welcomed seasoned musicians from across the US and those in attendance could testify to the quality of the music. Here are the highlights.

The Music: This was a year of firsts at Soul Shine musically. Although festival headliner Bryan Lee is a Soul Shine veteran, all the other acts were brand new...at least in their presentation. This year we welcomed the inaugural performance of the Soul Shine Blues House Band. Comprised of the Mercer brothers on guitar, Rusty Campbell on drums, Denny Miles on piano, and Dave Phillips on vocals, the band provided a fitting opening to the festivities. The Soul Shine Blues House Band was also the resident band at the Afterglow Event. More on that later. First Step also welcomed the Sean Carney Band for the first time this year. Sean has been to Soul Shine before but never at the front of his own act. This was the perfect year to have Sean too since he performed at Soul Shine after taking first prize at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. And boy did he deserve it! The crowd was treated to a genuine class act and a true student of the blues. Next on the bill was another Soul Shine first. Andrew Junior Boy Jones was one of many press packets we received in preparation for this year's Soul Shine, and he caught our ear with his guitar style and hot Texas blues. We were not disappointed. Jr. Boy's music is reminscent of the style played by his early band mate Freddie King. But he has also made his own place in the blues world. Our headlining act this year was Byran Lee, returning by popular demand. He certainly did not dissapoint. Bryan brought the house down with his take on New Orleans meets Chicago blues. Once again Soul Shine's artists proved why we bring the best blues to Northwest Ohio.

The Food: This was the second year Wally's Great American BBQ has undertaken the food at Soul Shine. Wally's brought their award winning chicken, ribs, pulled pork, and beef brisquet. In addition to this Soul Shine also brought back its famous red beans and rice and seafood jambalaya courtesy of Elaine Bruggeman. As always, the food matched the atmosphere bringing the best southern cooking to the best blues festival in Northwest Ohio.

Everything Else: It was a whirlwind of activity at this year's Soul Shine. Everything from theme baskets, to raffles, to foo foos was available to festival goers this year. But in the end the most important thing was the music. This year's festival crowd was treated to a variety of activities for the entire family and the energy of the festival was palpable. First Step is thankful to all our sponsors, supporters, volunteers, and festival attendees for making Soul Shine 2007 a success.

If you would like more information about Soul Shine or First Step contact us at:

PO Box 1103 Fostoria, OH 44830 or 419-435-7300

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