Steve 

Steve Robinson will represent the Long Island Blues Society in the solo/duo category at the 2008 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee next January. 

The 58 year-old Massapequa Park-based singer-songwriter and fingerstyle guitarist bested several other talented Long Islanders (Bob Westcott, Phil Minissale, Dan Freedman, and Josh Allen & Junior Allen) for this coveted honor during a competition held at Patchogue’s BrickHouse Brewery on Sunday afternoon, August 5.

Robinson was “still in a bit of shock” when reached for comment on Tuesday night.  He noted that prior to the recent Great South Bay Music Festival, he was not even aware that the competition was taking place.   While he was at the festival, WBAB DJ Joe Rock, whom Robinson has known for some time, encouraged him to enter and introduced him to guys from the Long Island Blues Society, prompting Robinson to sign up the next day. 

“Music has always been a big part of my life,” says Robinson, who has held a variety of day jobs during his lifetime.   A clear and expressive vocalist, Robinson claims “I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember.” 

An Americana or roots-oriented singer-songwriter, he pens songs that don’t all neatly fit into one genre.  “I am not exclusively a blues player, although it is one of my many musical loves,” says Robinson.  As demonstrated both in his live performances and on his 2005 debut release, Back Roads, his melodic music is a mix of blues, country and folk, with dashes of jazz, soul and rock n’ roll tossed in for good measure. 

During the competition, Robinson played four originals – including “Find My Baby Blues,” “Lucinda” and “Little Rock and Roller” from his album, and a new one entitled “Lonely Town.”  He also covered “Nadine” (a Chuck Berry tune that he learned by way of John Hammond), “Deep River Blues,” and Misissippi Joe Calicott’s “Fare Thee Well (which he learned via a recording by Paul Rishell). 

Robinson is among the Long Island artists participating in a 5 p.m. song swap that kicks off the 2nd Annual Huntington Folk Festival at Heckscher Park (Prime Avenue and Main Street/Route 25A in Huntington Village) on Saturday, August 11.  He also will perform solo acoustic at Jesse’s Lip Smackin’ Roadhouse in Merrick on Friday night, August 17, and at the Irish Cottage in Massapequa Park the on Saturday night, August 18.  (For more information on these gigs, see the AcoustiCalendar listings). 

“It’s a bit humbling to think of some of the guys who have gone on to Memphis,” says Robinson.  Notable among them is Little Toby Walker, a 2002 International Blues Challenge winner who makes his home on Long Island.  Walker continues to draw fans and media buzz on both sides of the Atlantic with his finger-pickin’ good Delta blues and ragtime guitar stylings, as well as his gift for gab and on-stage storytelling.  A big hit during last fall’s Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) conference in Monticello, New York, Walker graces the stage at the 46th annual Philadelphia Folk Festival, one of the country’s premier music fests, next week.  The blues guitar virtuoso will perform a 30-minute, late afternoon set at the festival in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania on Friday, August 17.   (For more information on the festival, visit www.folkfest.org).