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Gary Brown, of blues band Bushmaster, has been performing since 1992. Bushmaster will play at Old Forge Brewing Company at 9 p.m. Saturday.

Posted 9 hours ago

DANVILLE — Old Forge Brewing Company will spice up January with their Beat the Winter Blues Fest, featuring a Cajun-inspired menu and musicians from across the state.

Doug McMinn will kick off the event on Thursday night, playing from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

He’s performed for the blues fest three times prior.

“They do a great job with their food and their beer,” he said. “I’m a brew pub guy, I try to play at all the ones that are nearby.”

A veteran performer with 35 years of experience, he said what keeps him going is love of the music.

“I only play music that’s deeply meaningful to me and I consider myself very fortunate that I’m able to get by doing that,” he said. “So it’s partially just being a ham and partially love for the music.”

He’s inspired by artists like Muddy Waters and Howling Wolf. The appeal of blues is that it “speaks to the realities of life.”

“It’s one of the ground points for all of American vernacular music — rock and roll, jazz, everything. It’s even a ground point for country to some degree,” McMinn said.

Saturday night, the Blind Chitlin Kahunas will play from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and then Bushmaster, led by musician Gary Brown, will perform from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Brown serves as the composer, lyricist, guitar player and vocalist for Bushmaster. He’ll be joined by bandmates George Belton on bass and Justin Walls on drums.

Like McMinn, Brown has also previously performed at Old Forge Brewing Company.

“It’s a great experience, great staff, good crowd,” he said.

Bushmaster will be playing some originals written by Brown as well as a few blues standards.

Brown has been playing since 1992 and has performed in “the whole tri-state area,” including Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia.

He describes Bushmaster’s sound as funky blues rock, with influences “too numerous to mention.”

Bushmaster’s music has received airplay across North America, Australia and Europe, and Brown hopes to take the band on a show outside the U.S. soon.

“That’s my next goal, I haven’t done that yet but I’m shooting for that.”

The blues “will never be out of fashion,” he said, as long as people struggle with relationships and pressure.

“It comes and goes as far as popularity … But it will never go away.”

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