
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, January 21, 1994                   TAG: 9401200044
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: By KEN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

CAFE HAS BLUES

College students returning to the New River Valley with a case of the back-to-school blues have somewhere they can turn this winter.

Welcome to South Main Cafe, a Blacksburg restaurant and nightclub where serving up the blues is becoming a weekly tradition.

This week's special: The Metropolitan Blues All-Stars - a Lexington, Ky.-based band that blues legend Albert King once described as being so hot, "I had to let the stage cool off before I did my show."

Unlike many blues acts that adhere only to the standard gritty blues styles of Southside Chicago or the smooth styles of the Mississippi Delta, the All-Stars combine traditional blues with Country and Western and Appalachian folk to create a unique sound all their own.

Although the practice of combining country and blues is the predecessor to rock 'n' roll and is nothing new, the band's innovative slant on an old art form has led to four albums - all released to critical acclaim.

But regardless of their albums' successes, South Main Cafe owner Linda Ruth Schwab says it's the band's live shows that shouldn't be missed.

"When you have music that grabs a hold of you and you can't sit still, that makes it really special," she said. "The Metropolitan Blues All-Stars are like that."

Even though the band has been a regular performer at South Main Cafe for years, Schwab said she has not been able to book the band as often as she has wanted, something she hopes to change in the future.

"Now we're trying to get them three or four times a year."

The Metropolitan Blues All-Stars will be the second show in a weekly blues series the cafe will offer throughout the winter. Future acts will include the Nighthawks, Terrence Simien and Skeeter Brandon and Highway 61, among others.

Schwab said she hopes the cafe's promotion of blues acts, especially acts as good as the All-Stars, will encourage local students to take an interest in blues artists.

"I really like a lot of different kinds of music, but I especially love blues," she said. "Students come out mostly for regional bands. For blues bands, it's predominantly faculty and staff and local professionals."

The All-Stars will perform at South Main Cafe tonight with doors opening at 10 p.m. Advance tickets for the show are $5 with student ID and $7 without. Tickets are $9 at the door.

by CNB