RIP Famous Dave's Blues Club

Today I got the bad news that Famous Dave's in Uptown will no longer be having be having live music. I knew something was wrong when they stopped having the annual blues festival downtown . Then to make matters worse they raised the prices on their menu in 2013

 and ditched the blues paintings on the wall to make way for some TV's so that they could play football. Famous Dave's Blues Club was my go to place to hear live music. Over the years I was able to place to see Blues greats like Johnny Winter and James Cotton at the club. I also got to see amazing blues guitarists like Guitar Shorty and Coco Montoya. It was also my go to spot for local Minneapolis blues and soul acts like The Butanes, Soul Tight Committee and The Lamont Cranston Band. The festival they had downtown was my first real exposure to the blues. There I was able to see three members of Muddy Waters band Mojo Buford, Willie Big Eyes Smith and Pinetop Perkins. I also got to see blues legends like Charlie Musselwhite pictured above with Dave and Lonnie Brooks. Now they will nothing but a sports bar. Unless they reverse their decision I will no longer be setting foot in any of their restaurants and will take my business elsewhere to places like Minnesota Music Cafe and Wilebski Blues Saloon.