Rauma Blues 1986
Pioneering work that
foreshadowed a blues festival began in Rauma already in the autumn of
1985 in the form of small concerts at Kalliohovi club
The
artists were bands from Rauma, lead by Doctors' Special. The
enthusiastic feedback lead Kimmo Toivanen, Sepi Leinonen and Jukka
Salonen to envision a blues event in their home town and between 5th
and 8th of March 1986 the vision came true and a four-day-long blues
event was held at Kalliohovi Restaurant in Rauma. The main concert was
held at the festival room of Rauma's Business College. The brand new
event featured the brightest stars of Finnish blues from Honey B &
The T-Bones and Kapteeni Nemo to J. Karjalaisen Mustat Lasit.
Putting
together a proper festival turned out to be too much for three people
so the organizing party expanded to five with Esa "Essi" Puputti and
Hannu "Tunnu" Pärssinen. The founding meeting of Rauma Blues '86 ry was
held on April 26th 1986. The renewed team's first show of force was the
World Championships of H-boats in Rauma in the summer of 1986 when they
decided to get one of the blues world's most appreciated harpists to
play in Finland's tent. Rod Piazza with his Mighty Flyers embraced the
tentfull of audience and the Rauma Blues organizers were convinced of
the necessity of a local blues event.