Music Maker Relief Foundation is a non-profit based in Hillsborough, NC, dedicated to helping the true pioneers and forgotten heroes of the blues gain recognition and meet their day-to-day needs. The organization is currently commemorating its 20th anniversary and, in celebration, has collaborated with Duke Performances’ Music in the Gardens for a fine series of multi-artist summer concerts.
Self-taught electric guitarist Cool John Ferguson was born in the Sea Islands of South Carolina, and his Gullah heritage and the gospel music of his upbringing inform his approach to the blues. A frequent performer at blues festivals around the world, Cool John was named “most outstanding guitarist” by Living Blues Magazine two years straight. The legendary Taj Mahal had this praise for Cool John: “He is among the five greatest guitarists in the world — he ranks with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Wes Montgomery, and Django Reinhardt.” Cool John is joined in this Gardens show by harmonica player and country belter Sam Frazier, Jr., who hails from Edgewater, Alabama, a small coal mining camp outside of Birmingham, Alabama. Sam’s first harmonica was gifted to him by blues legend Sonny Boy Williamson, and he’s been featured on the Country Boy Eddie Show and the Johnny Otis Show.
**Music in the Gardens presentations are excluded from Pick-4 & Ages 30 & Under discounts.**
Duke Performances’ Music in the Gardens is made possible, in part, with support from Duke Continuing Studies, Duke Summer Session, and the Sarah P. Duke Gardens.