While spending a couple weeks in South Florida, I was able to investigate several music venues. South of Palm Beach there is a series of small towns located adjacent to the ocean - Lake Worth, Lantana, Boynton Beach, and Delray Beach. Each town has several bars and clubs that provide live music but my favorite past time was walking around the main street areas in Lake Worth and Delray Beach. Within both towns the venues were in the same proximity allowing us to see several artists during the same evening.
We had come to know Lake Worth from the famed
Bamboo Room - that used to host local and national blues and rock acts. Unfortunately the venue closed last year and there has been no word on its re-opening. However, there is still a vibrant music scene within the same vicinity, with several bars and restaurants hosting musicians:
Havana Hideout,
Homerun Sports Bar,
Propaganda, and
South Shores Tavern. Our favorites were two that were literally across the street from each other:
Brogues on the Avenue and the
Lake Worth Rum Shack. Last Wednesday night we started at Brogues after hearing a booming voice coming from the bar. Over a Jamesons we listened to a fellow playing a few Irish songs and other covers. This is a nice bar - open - with a nice outside corner spot on the street. Afterward we headed to our intended destination, the
Lake Worth Rum Shack. This restaurant\tiki bar hosts live music every night and this evening to regulars were playing:
Jason Montero and
Shauna Sweeney. We selected this evening because we had noticed that Ms. Sweeney was also playing at
Sunfest on May 3rd. The duo are quite entertaining; they played a mix of originals and covers - from Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, to Led Zepplin. At least from Montero's selections. Ms. Sweeney was just as gifted, playing a more soft-rock flavor; and with Montero picking on the acoustic guitar - we really loved their act. We definately recommend taking a look at these two.
Delray Beach is not as compact as Lake Worth so it requires a little more walking. Delray Beach is probably the nicest beach in the area so its a great place to sunbath and swim. Afterward we usually head to
Boston’s on the Beach, where on the weekends they host live music all day. Sometimes we will escape the high sun and listen to
Amber Leigh, then head back to the beach in the late afternoon.
In the evening, head west on Atlantic Avenue. Before the railroad tracks
Elwood's Dixie Barbecue hosts local blues acts on their outdoor porch. I nice place to listen to music and people watch. Behind Elwood's is the area's largest venue,
City Limits. This club attracts national, regional, and local artists - with a reggae/blues/rock flavor. Any place that
JJ Grey & Mofro play is worth looking into. If Irish music interests you, turn left into Pineapple Grove and go to the end of the street where you will find
O'Connors. Smithwicks and music. Oh yea. Finally there are a couple other establishments we haven't ventured to yet,
The Bull Bar and
Dada. We will check them out our next walking tour of Atlantic Avenue.
The first day of the Red, White & Blues Festival at Boston’s on the Beach started out hot and sunny and ended soaked. The second pretty much started as how the first day ended - with the rain commencing an hour into the first act. And not just any rain - another downpour which failed to subside throughout the remainder of the day. There were brief periods of sprinkles - but basically this was another washout. Thus the music was limiited to the Tiki Bar when the rain was weak and the front indoor stage. 
The ShackDaddies started things off in the Tiki Bar in front of a decent number of early devotees. David Shelley sat in with the band and this was a rockn' set until the rain even shut that stage down. We hurrried inside to grab one of the last available tables where Jeff Prine Group was playing one of their last remaining songs. After lunch and a quick swim in the ocean - why not the water was warm and there was no lightening - we ventured back to the bar to hear a combination of Bill Wharton in the front stage and Blues Dragon at the Tike Bar. What a delimna; both were awesome. Just shows how impressive this lineup was. Blues Dragon started in Chicago,while Wharton used his slide guitar to guide us farther south. And during his set Wharton slowly cooked his famous Gumbo onstage - a feat he conducts at almost every show. Basically a live 
picnic - with his own recipe and famous Liquid Summer hot sauce. At this point the entire restaurant was reconfigured - tables were removed, ropes stretched to control the crowd, and the place was packed waiting for Albert Castiglia, perhaps south Florida's most popular bluesman. We stayed outside for this one considering there was no room for the little boy, but could still hear his powerful guitar. And the crowd was lovin' it. When it got even more crowded for the main event - Elvin Bishop and we couldn't even find a spot at the Tiki Bar - we called it a day. After another quick dip in the ocean, it was time to head home. But once again Boston’s on the Beach pulled it off, compensating for the weather and providing us with some awesome blues.
- which was one of my favorite Blues CDs of 2009. This evening we heard the title track and "Heart Trouble" - great tunes. As her set ended we drifted back to the Tiki Bar anticipating another set by 
