Black Oak Arkansas
Black Oak Arkansas
The "1998 Bolin Fest" was Friday, July 31,
These were the line-ups for Friday and Saturday:
and Saturday, August 1 (Tommy's Birthday) at
"Rhonda's Speakeasy" in Sioux City, Iowa.
Admission was free. Black Oak Arkansas,
featuring Johnnie Bolin on Drums, headlined.
Friday Night
SET LIST INCLUDED "Shake The Devil", and "Post Toastee" !!!
Saturday Night
(Set included "Mind Transplant" by Mouzon!)
The 1997 "Bolin Fest" proved to be a
Siouxland Jams Entertainment, Inc., in
Other bands included Mug Jug Boles from Minneapolis,
The same keyboard player (Terry Brooks from
Here's a review of the 1997 gig posted on
"The highlight of the entire two-day
In a related story back in 1997...
multi-band event that was more heavily
promoted (and sponsored!) than in the
past. Admission was FREE!
association with Johnnie Bolin (Tommy's younger
brother, and co-owner of Tommy Bolin
Archives, Inc.) promoted the Tommy Bolin
Fest, which was held at the Anderson Dance
Pavillion, on the Missouri River. Some
of the bands included the legendary band,
Black Oak
Arkansas -- with John Bolin on drums.
JRZ System from Omaha,
After Alley from Sioux City,
and a Chill Factor reunion --
a band with a 1996 CD release featuring
Johnnie Bolin.
Sioux City) and bass player (Robert Ware from
Texas) who were at the Tommy Bolin Tribute
Concerts in Denver were also present.
Hey, Glenn Hughes Fans: Craig Erickson's
"Trainjam" performed around 5:00pm at Saturday's
show! Craig Erickson played guitar with
Glenn on an album, and on a tour with Trapeze.
"The Bolin Board" at the Tommy Bolin
Archives site by Geri L. Todd ("magnificenttundra.com")
of Sioux City, IA USA.:
1997 BOLIN FEST REVIEW:
"How many of you Tommy Bolin Fans attended
the tribute on Friday and Saturday Sept.
5 & 6 here in Sioux City? Well, here is a
little something for all of you who were
not able to attend...Friday was really
good. The first band was Stevie B. and the
Storm Chasers...these three boys were in
essence like Tommy...just 15 years old!
Then Kenny Dixon played some good ol'
blues-style music. The third act was a
Sioux City favorite (especially mine)
LEGGS DIAMOND.
HAVE MERCY!! Then the next
one was a bit on the cool side.. Mubbla
Buggs... Saturday was even hotter!!
Stevie B. came back and played again.
But to some people's disappointment,
Chill Factor wasn't able to play; one
of the members was sick. ;)
event was to have heard Johnnie Bolin's
new band "Black Oak Arkansas" they were
very energetic and too hot to handle.
Jim Dandy was the lead singer and Johnnie
was in his usual spot on the drums!! As a
matter of fact, he toppled the cymbals
twice and broke a total of four sticks
during his performance.. Well, Enough
said about this...if there is anyone else
out there who was there to see this
exceptional performance, please add on
your comments!! Just one last thing to
leave here, Johnnie's son Bobby said it
best in three words "Rock on Tommy!!"
Thank you and e-mail me at
magnificenttundra.com if you have any
other things to say or whatever!!! From
a fan in tommy's hometown of Sioux city,
Geri Todd."
On July 18, 1997, taking a break from
all the recent touring with Black Oak Arkansas,
John Bolin stepped in to play some drums
with After Alley, the
local Sioux City band with which he
used to play (formerly called Bolin's Alley).
Their current drummer, by the way, is also
a legend in Bolin lore -- Bobby Berge.
As any Bolin fan can tell you, Tommy
brought Bobby out to Colorado in the
late '60's to join Zephyr
for their second studio album and tours
(to replace the departed Robby Chamberlain).
Bobby also later contributed to Tommy's
two solo albums. He recently returned to
the Sioux City area, and now plays regularly
with After Alley. At this
recent gig, John sat in for a few tunes.
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