Story and Interview by Kiki Plesha • www. facebook. com / TheFairyRockMotherKikiPlesha Photography by Graham Whittington • https:// grahamwhittingtonlensart. smugmug. com
The genre of“ The Blues” is a unique one— not only in its sound, but in its origin. It was born from strife, as it developed from the deep south of America; emerging from the soulful spirituals that were sung by African slaves that toiled in the fields of plantations. As a community, they would lift their voices, and found comfort and fellowship in the lyrics and messages of hope derived from the songs they sang. This was the birth of the blues— and its essence has been embraced by, not only America, but the WORLD as a whole. And never was the wide appeal of the blues so evident to me, as when I attended the International Blues Challenge, sponsored by The Blues Foundation, in Memphis, TN. I found myself immersed in the culture of blues; a culture that was not only represented by the strains of crying guitars, lamenting bass tones and whining blues harps— but in the leagues of nations that filled the entire length of Beale Street. And it was in the midst of this, that I stumbled upon SOBO BLUES BAND, hailing from the Holy city of Jerusalem in Israel.