Riverside Blues

After a four-year hiatus, the Riverwalk Blues Festival returns to the New River with a couple of intriguing headliners: Sugar Blue and Otis Taylor. Sugar Blue is best-known for his contributions to late-’70s/early-’80s Rolling Stone albums, most notably on the hit “Miss You,” from 1978’s Some Girls. But the harmonica virtuoso, who plays Saturday at 8:30 p.m., made his bones alongside genre giants such as Honeyboy Edwards and Louisiana Red. Raised in Harlem, Blue, AKA James Whiting, developed a flashy yet substantive style on the chromatic harp. On his latest album, Threshold, the harmonicist delves into R&B and jazz but still gets deep into the blues with blustery takes on “Messin’ With the Kid” and “Trouble.”

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Up before Sugar Blue will be Otis Taylor. There’s nothing flashy about Otis Taylor, who’s slotted to perform at 6:30 p.m., but he’s one of the blues world’s most-riveting tale-spinners. The Denver-based musician mesmerizes with trancelike grooves — pulled from acoustic guitar, banjo, or mandolin — and a voice as dry and haunting as grave dust. The festival takes place Friday through Sunday on the south side of the New River in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Admission costs $10 each day or $25 for a three-day pass. Call 786-380-0866, or for a full lineup, visit riverwalkbluesfestival.com.
Fri., Feb. 12, 6:30 p.m.; Sat., Feb. 13, 12:30 p.m.; Sun., Feb. 14, noon, 2010