Will Owen-Gage ~ Key to the Highway

Guitar-slinging prodigy Will Owen-Gage and mentor smokin' Jay Boy Adams tear up "Key to the Highway" (Charles Segar and Willie Broonzy) with Flaco Jimenez, bassist Ronnie Leatherman (nee Thirteenth Floor Elevators) at the Bluebonnet Blues Festival on a hot spring afternoon in Texas. I believe Owen-Gage was 17 at the time. I first saw Adams at a midsummer concert in 1973 where he was on the bill with Willie Nelson, Wishbone Ash, Blue Oyster Cult and headliners ZZ Top. Willie was the opener, unknown at the time to us wee rockers, but just starting the movement later to be known as Redneck Rock (a la Jan Reid) or Progressive Country. Soon all of us were crossing all the boundaries. Adams was the young hotshot guitarist of the day, trading licks with Billy Gibbons, and getting tons of looks, but he vanished into some obscurity around 1980. He re-emerged in the late 90s, and to my thinking was especially re-energized lately by the finding, and mentoring, of young Will, in much the same way that I think Gibbons had taken him under his wing. Gage got tons of experience playing with Adams' Roadhouse Scholars just south of town here, and the benefit is obvious. Adams told me his one wish was that Will would find the melody in his runs instead of becoming just another lightning-fingered clone. In this and the other clips i'll be posting I think that's just what you'll hear -- a young man on the verge of being found by the music world largely because there is so much music in his lines. And he can sing too.

filmed 2 April 2006 in Marble Falls, Texas
by tony gallucci, milk river film
special thanks to Kathleen Hudson
and everyone at the Bluebonnet Blues Festival

check 'em out here:
http://www.willowen-gage.com/
http://www.jayboyadams.com/
http://www.bluebonnetblues.com/

Will Owen-Gage Jay Boy Adams Flaco Jimenez Key Highway Texas blues guitar tony gallucci milkriverfilm milk river film

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Will
• Owen-Gage
• Jay
• Boy
• Adams
• Flaco
• Jimenez
• Key
• Highway
• Texas
• blues
• guitar
• tony
• gallucci
• milkriverfilm
• milk
• river
• film

[lrealander]

Go Will!  Sounds great!!

[andersdejenfelt]

Nice pictures of the accordion!

[Loz1234567]

Fantastic. Is it an annual event this festival? Is it still going?

[Metalkiller123]

indid man

[Trekki61]

blues is still alive, great number

[Yearst]

Beautiful.

[ArikBulldog]

Very good!

[phunnie99]

Nice! ;D Thank you!