21.01. Lindewerra, Gemeindesaal

22.01. Soest, Schlachthof      

23.01. Offenburg, Reithalle     

24.01. Bonn, Harmonie         

26.01. Stuttgart, Merlin       

27.01. A-Rankweil, Altes Kino   

28.01. CH-Aarburg, Moonwalker   

29.01. CH-Rubigen, Mühle Hunziken

30.01. CH-Dietikon, Sounddock   

31.01. Karlsruhe, Jubez          

02.02. Aschaffenburg, ColosSaal

04.02. Bochum, Bahnhof Langendreer

05.02. L-Luxembourg, Sang & Klang

06.02. Hannover, BluesGarage    

07.02. Gaildorf, Stadthalle     

09.02. Twist, Heimathaus        

10.02. Hamburg, Fabrik          

11.02. Eisenach, Alte Schmiede  

12.02. Berlin, Quasimodo        

13.02. Worpswede, MusicHall     

“Fresh Blues” was the motto of the fifth´s Blues Caravan 2009 edition. With its three participants combined age of less than 70 years young, it was a real demonstration of the “old mama blues” still in bloom. Blues Caravan 2009 was the most successful tour to date. And now…can this be topped? 

The sixth Blues Caravan proceeds in a totally different direction. The RUF Label will be presenting three personalities from very different corners of the globe. So different that it conjures up the image of “blues without borders”. In fact, one could label it three generations of the blues - considering the age of our dramatis personae.

The 2010 version of the Blues Caravan has already been road tested. The three musicians were presented on one of the most prestigious blues festivals in Europe. They appeared together on stage in Gaildorf and the audience and the journalists loved what they witnessed – as evidenced by the dozens of amateur videos uploaded to the Internet of this performance. The sixth Blues Caravan will feature the following artists:

Meena. This young woman is deep into the survival stories of blues-rock; the sins of legendary blues singers who co-invented rock & roll accompanying her - Koko Taylor or  Etta James: The queen bees of their guild. Not to forget their children, front and center - Janis Joplin.  Meena´s real name is Martina. She slipped out of her nest in Upper Austria and moved to Vienna after meeting her most favoured guitar player. RUF spotted her talent and is now working on her career. At the behest of RUF, Meena recently flew to Memphis to record her first international album with producer legend Jim Gaines and the crew of studio musicians that already cut the final studio albums of the late great Luther Allison.

Shakura S´Aida. She may carry the name of one of Verdi´s most famous operas but her roots are set amidst the “Deep South”. It’s Soul, baby…Nothing but Soul. The US born entertainer has lived in Europe and currently resides in Canada.  Performing Live is her “life blood”. Shakura achieved her big success in the middle of the region where her roots lie: It was in Memphis at the prestigious International Blues Challenge 2008 where she earned the second runner-up position. The Afro-American singer counts Tina Turner among her idols as well as Etta James. Shakura worked with R&B-singer Ruth Brown and has songs of the legendary blues singer Memphis Minnie in her songbook. Her debut with RUF is going to be released soon.

Coco Montoya.  This extraordinary musician is familiar to every blues fan. John Mayall conferred the knightly accolade to Coco when he made him a Bluesbreaker. In this league, he became famous for his guitar duels with Walter Trout. With a biting sound that he once learned from Albert Collins, he established his reputation within short time and after his years with Mayall, Montoya landed a record contract with none other than Chicago´s premier blues label Alligator Records where he recorded several albums. Montoya has recently signed with Ruf and is currantly recording his label debut with Keb Mo producing entitled “I Want It All Back“.