Winter Blues Festival, with 3 area bands, returns for second year
For the second consecutive year, Mike Milligan's Bloomington Winter Blues Festival will cut this season's chill as it sweeps in to the Buskirk-Chumley Theater Feb. 21. Milligan has been generating blues fests in Indianapolis and Kokomo and last February brought the first Bloomington Winter Blues Fest.
Coming along with Milligan and his own band, Mike Milligan and Steam Shovel, are a couple of additional groups — King Bee & the Stingers and Andra Faye and Scott Ballantine.
For 10 years Milligan produced, booked, promoted and performed in the Indianapolis Winter Blues Fest on Indy's north side at Birdys Live. He has had similar duties in a smaller version in Kokomo, his hometown.
"... they immediately invited the festival back"
Valentine's-Day-time is when Milligan loves his winter fests to beckon fans' hearts. "Last year was such a good turn out," he said, "they immediately invited the festival back. I was really surprised at the turnout and all the appreciative fans — of all ages."
Working with his brother Shaun Milligan and his "musically adopted brother," Robert "Tiny" Cook, provides much of the satisfaction for Mike Milligan. "They can read me like a book on stage. And, and I can throw things at them musically improvised and they see it coming, before I even do."
'Take Me out to the Bathroom!'
"My brother Shaun is not one for the spotlight," Mike Milligan said. One year while performing at the Cincinnati Reds stadium, the band was supposed to start a sing-along of "Take Me out to the Ballgame." Assuming he still had a good quarter of an hour, Mike Milligan visited his dressing room. The drummer had gone to the restroom. "The cameras showed up, and my brother had to sing this song on camera in front of the entire stadium by himself. We call it 'Take Me out to the Bathroom!' There's really not enough room for me to tell all the funny stories we've experienced together."
"Robert 'Tiny' Cook was sent to us by the drum gods," Mike Milligan said. Prior to Cook's being part of Milligan's band, he caught their gig at the Indianapolis jazz festival.
"Before he could even see who we were," Mike Milligan said, "Tiny followed our sound and told his friend this is a band he would love to be involved with." Soon, Cook attended another Milligan Indianapolis performance, but his time he introduced himself. The Milligan band invited him to join them in a song. Several months later, Milligan's drummer moved out of state. The band auditioned several drummers, of whom Cook was one. "I loved his drumming style and personality," Mike Milligan said. "That was 22 years ago!"
Which one has the ego?
"Ego? If there has to be one, it's probably me," Mike Milligan said. "Mostly because I'm very protective of my guys, what we do and who we are. I am constantly reminded of all the fantastic things we've done and accomplished, but I also never forget that we're not Rockstars and we don't ride on a tour bus and we are just regular people doing the best we can."
The three bands
King Bee & The Stingers is six pieces of blues, soul and funk from Bloomington and are 2018, 2019 and 2023 semifinalists in The Blues Foundation's International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. Harmonica player and vocalist Mark "King Bee" Menefee launched this classic, gritty roadhouse blues band 20 years ago, and they've grown their following across Indiana and other parts of the Midwest. In 2015, Menefee's daughter Sarah Menefee became lead vocalist.
Andra Fay ("First Lady of the Blues Mandolin") & Scott Ballantine (founder of The Strugglers) joined forces to build a blues duo that whips together original compositions and traditional styles. Faye's belty, feisty vocals match Ballantine's guitar mastery and phrasing with its plucks, slides, bends and vibrato. Their albums "Laying Down Our Blues and Coulda Woulda Shoulda" earned applause for instrumental and vocal talents as well as their songwriting.
Faye has played with bands such as Saffire — The Uppity Blues Women. (Find their "Middle Aged Blues Boogie" on YouTube.) In 2011, Faye founded a "rootsy" band named Andra Faye & The Rays.
Mike Milligan and Steam Shovel formed in 1993 and consists of brothers, Mike Milligan (guitar/vocals) and Shaun Milligan (bass) and Robert "Tiny" Cook (drums/vocals). In 2023 they celebrated 30 of touring and recording with their (2022) album "Kokomo Honey."
They received an award for a Lifetime of Keeping the Blues Alive by the Fishers Blues Festival (Indianapolis) and performed for 5,000 with Robert Cray Band. They also won an achievement award from the mayor of Muncie for their 30th anniversary and performed a sold-out show with B.B. King on his final Indiana show. They have performed Buddy Guy, Los Lonely Boys and Jimmie Vaughan.
As far as his own band's music goes, Mike Milligan enjoys hearing fans describe how the band's songs have helped others in life, as they've helped Milligan. "It's like sharing your favorite cookies you've baked and everyone enjoys them," he said. "Loves them. Wants more."
If you go
WHAT:Second annual Bloomington Winter Blues Festival, for all ages
WHEN: 7 p.m. Feb. 21, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave.
TICKETS: $21.82, general admission, available online at buskirkchumley.org or at the BCT box office.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Winter Blues Fest returns to Bloomington for second year on Feb. 21
