Saturday 23rd March saw the second Blues on the Beach Concert by Marriott Resort Hua Hin and it was pretty spectacular. On a warm and very breezy evening four great blues bands and about 80-100 attendees converged on the beach behind the Marriott Resort. The stage was set, the food was all prepared, the tables arranged and ready to have an incredible evening of cool beverages, delicious food and blues music. The guest chef for the evening was from Bangkok’s Bourbon Street Restaurant.
491 Blues Band kicked off the festivities with an uptempo array of blues and R&B tunes that set the stage for the rest of the evening. They were followed by The Prathan Blues Trio who were headed up by the young and very talented guitarist, Bank Prathan. Their 35 minute set weaved through a medley of traditional blues songs intermingled with Stevie Ray Vaughan Texas Blues. A highlight of their set was Bank’s beautiful instrumental version of Jimi Hendrix “Little Wing”.
At 7:15p Hua Hin’s own “Crown Jewell” blues ensemble, Ped Bluesman and Friends, took the stage and delivered a very dynamic set of tradional blues, R&B and very cool cover versions of “Ticket to Ride” and Robben Ford’s ” Chevrolet”. As always, the rhythm section of Nun and Graf were as solid as a precision Swiss timepiece, but the guitar interplay between Ped and Thian was absolutely seamless as they wove through uptempo Chicago Blues and slow and sultry Delta Blues. The pinacle was ending the set with their stunning and always memorable redition of the Allman Brothers classic guitar harmony song, “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”. The crowd went wild. It was an awesome finish to a stellar set of music.
After a brief stage setup change and a few timely announcements by ‘yours truly’ acting as the MC for the evening, the headline act Keith Nolan and the Cotton Mouth Kings
launched into an array of Blues, R&B and Soul songs that had everyone dancing, either on the sandy dance floor or in their seats. This five piece band does an incredible job of playing just enough and never too much. They are tight and loose all at the same time. Keith commands the stage with his vocal delivery and his piano embellishments. Veteran guitarist Khun Teh had just the right amount of tasty licks as well as bold and brash solos. A highlight of their set for me was their cool, laidback and haunting version of Ace’s “How Long” and their original composition “Bad Man”. They finished the amazing evening of Blues on the Beach with John Cleary’s “When You Get Back”. All in all, it was a stellar ending to a stellar evening out on the beach under a full moon and the stars.
This was the second in a series of ‘Blues on the Beach’ concerts presented by Marriott Resort Hua Hin and a precursor to a 2 to 3 day Blues Festival here in Hua Hin. Hats off to GM George, F&B Mgr. Stefan and the great John Murphy for making this all a reality. Thanks also to Frank Hidalgo for his outstanding photography on the event. Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention the phenomenal sound, lights and staging delivered by Khun Ae (Nuttapong Kowjun) and his company Innovative Ideas which made this night on the beach so magical. Khob khun mak kup. 🙏
