A pair of blues bands and a TV newsman pay tribute to the harmonica at tonight’s Mojo Blues Festival in Westlake. The 18th-annual bash also serves as a musical memorial to late music promoter Tom Halloran, whose passion for the blues was sparked by a 1989 visit to the Chicago Blues Festival. “He saw three harp players jamming onstage, and this really knocked him out,” recalls Aces & Eights’ guitarist and harmonica-player Dave Morrison, who performs tonight. “That would have knocked me out as well.”

Also on tap tonight: Chicago’s Billy Branch & the Sons of Blues, and a solo set by Todd Meany — an on-air reporter at WJW-TV 8 who also sings and plays harmonica in Ace Molar. Plus, blueswoman Becky Boyd will sit in with Aces & Eights. “I enjoy moonlighting with some cats in town to bring some refreshment to me,” says Boyd, a singer in the local band Real Life. “As long as people keep coming out to the clubs, and I enjoy what I’m doing, I am a happy camper.”
Sat., Sept. 29, 8 p.m., 2007

This article appears in Sep 26 – Oct 2, 2007.