Marcia Ball, James Cotton
headlining Rockland event

    America’s history, culture, and soul suffered a great loss when blues legend B.B. King died earlier this year. He brought blues into the mainstream world and inspired a later generation, comprised of equally legendary Keith Richards, Jimmy Page, and Eric Clapton, to embrace American blues.

        For those blues-infused rock icons, B.B. King was a hero introduced to them through teenage record collections. They dreamed of playing like B.B. King and many of them eventually shared the stage with them.

      But how many high school kids actually get to open for B.B. King? How many get invited on the tour bus to chill and talk and get advice from the master? Two rare talents from Bastrop, Texas near Austin have had that privilege.

These same two brothers, who by the way were also invited on stage by none other than Buddy Guy to jam out an encore with him, are part of a new generation discovering and preserving the blues. And they are part of an all-star lineup at the annual North Atlantic Blues Festival in Rockland that features headliners James Cotton and Marcia Ball this year and such blues royalty as Robert Cray and Koko Taylor in previous years.

     “Our older brother listens to hip hop, and so do we,” said Glenn Peterson, who just turned 18 and graduated from high school. “But we started listening to old school funk and blues and liked it. It makes you move, and bands are jamming and having fun.”

    Glenn Peterson, the elder of the duo, explained that the discovery happened because he and his brother Alex tagged along with their mother and grandmother to garage sales. One of those outings netted a plastic tub full of old records, which included some by B.B. King.

    Without any tone of bragging, the brothers recalled the time they got to hang out with B.B. King. They played regularly in a club near home on Sundays and were asked to open for King. They consulted with each other as to whether they would dare ask to meet their blues idol.

      “He was really the first blues artist we were aware of,” continued Glenn. “We just asked if we could meet him because all they could do is say no. Then he invited us on the bus with him. He didn’t just talk to us about music. He gave us a lot of life advice. He told us that if it was something we wanted, to stick with it no matter what other people tell you.”

      Younger brother Alex, 16, said the entire conversation felt like talking to a regular person. He has come to adopt the blues philosophy that music is about life, and music makes people feel good

“Music makes people have a good time and forget about what they might be going through at home,” said Alex. “We listen to all kinds of music. We’ll just keep doing this as long as we have fun.”

And their parents, neither of whom are musical, are right there behind their boys. Their mother, Deanna, said it isn’t any different than when she and her husband would get their oldest son to his football practices and games. “They love it, and this is what they do,” said Deanna Peterson, who added that Glenn just received an academic scholarship and will be starting college close to home in the fall.

She didn’t mention that the boys just recorded and released their first album, “The Peterson Brothers” on Blue Point Records. The 11-track album showcases Alex’s natural bass prowess (insert heavy Marcus Miller influence) and Glenn’s lead guitar licks on a combination of original compositions and traditional covers.

For three weeks after school started, the brothers went into the studio after their classes and put on the finishing touches of the album. Alex said the recording experience taught him to be focused and relaxed at the same time.

“It made me super happy,” said Alex. “It was fun. It was jammin’.”

Older brother Glenn added a more philosophical note to the experience. “To me, this is all true American music,” said Glenn. “It is one of the ultimate forms of expression, and the blues can be anything you happen to be feeling.”

If you go:

What: North Atlantic Blues Festival
When: Saturday July 11 and Sunday July 12; music starts at 11 a.m.
Where: Public Landing over Rockland Harbor, Rockland
Tickets: Cash only at the gate/ $40 each day / $75 weekend pass (includes Club Crawl) / $5 for children 6-12 years / free for children 5 and younger
For more information: http://www.northatlanticbluesfestival.com
Good to know: Rain or shine ; no pets, no coolers, no sun umbrellas or canopies
On festival grounds: variety of food and other vendors, no alcohol permitted; lawn chairs and blankets suggested, allowed to be placed 6-8 a.m.

Friday and Saturday nights Club Crawl venues:

Trade Winds
Time Out Pub
Rock Harbor Restaurant
Rock City Café
Myrtle Street Tavern
Tradeside
The Oyster Bar @ The Pearl
Fog Bar & Café

Sunday All Stars Jams venues (8 p.m. after the festival)

Time Out Pub
Tradewinds
Festival Lineup:

Saturday, July 11

Roberto Morbioli — electric guitarist with Stevie Ray Vaughan influence

Doug Deming and Dennis Gruenling and the Jewel Tones – electric guitar and harmonica; jump blues and American roots music

Eddie Shaw and The Wolfgang – Chicago style blues saxophone

Tommy Castro & The Painkillers – West Coast electric blues

James Cotto – the maestro of the mouth harp and major influence of blues harmonica players

Sunday, July 12

Dexter Allen – electric guitarists with soul, funk, and R&B flavor
Peterson Brothers – up and coming Texas duo with early blues and 70s funk influences

The Nick Moss Band – Classic electric Chicago style blues

Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers – harmonica lead and tight band with West Coast blues style

Marcia Ball – queen of the stride and boogie piano in swamp rock and Texas style blues