Sometimes legends begin quietly. It all started in 1993 as a family reunion in the backyard on a summer's day at Brian and Robin Remaly's house in rural Cambell Hall in upstate New York. Brian & Robin decided it was time that they would have a down home backyard BBQ so everyone could have a chance to taste Brians famous BBQ ribs and enjoy some blues. The backyard BBQ was so successful that it has been running now for 17 years as an annual event and has gotten bigger and better. In 2004 Brian's nephew William passed away at a young age and the festival continued in his honor. William loved music. The list of performers grew Popa Chubby, Junior Mack, Michael Hill, SaRon Crenshaw. The late great Blind Pig recording artist Bill Perry was a mainstay at the festival.
Brian and Robin started to believe that they weren't meeting these great musicians by chance and there must be a reason they were put in their path. They believed they were getting a little nudging from their late nephew William who was telling them to keep the blues alive. In 2010 Brian & Robin made the decision to open a restauraunt and blues club nearby in Middletown NY.
Brian and Robin's new venture is keeping William Remaly's spirit alive and besides the artists I mentioned above Alligator Records Michael Burkes has graced their stage as well as Sugar Blue, Alexis Suter, Little Sammy Davis and many others. Brian's Backyard BBQ has been named a great blues venue by The Blues Hall Of Fame and will host a Blues Hall Of Fame Induction Day on Sunday September 25th, 2011 where tribute will be paid to a number of New York blues artists and of course to Brian and Robin who helped make it happen along with nephew William who I know is smiling in blues heavenBrian's BBQ is located at 1665 Route 211 Est, Middletown NY TEL- 845-692-3227
Absolutely Excellent Mike!!
ReplyDeleteAndy Aledort has been a significant figure in the international music scene over the last 20 years. As a senior editor for the top guitar-oriented music magazines GUITAR WORLD, GUITAR FOR THE PRACTICING MUSICIAN, GUITAR EXTRA, GUITAR LEGENDS, and GUITAR WORLD ACOUSTIC, among others, his work is unsurpassed as a music transcriber, instructional columnist and journalist.
He has authored over 200 books of guitar transcriptions as well as a series of guitar-related instructional books and videos/DVDs, all of which are distributed worldwide, for the leading music publishers Hal Leonard Corp., Warner Brothers Publishing and Cherry Lane Music.
Aledort is a performing musician as well: along with leading his own ensembles in the New York/tri-state area, he is often tapped for high-profile appearances with artists such as Buddy Guy, Dickey Betts, and the Allman Brothers band.