The Mahindra Blues Festival has become an annual event every February. Held at the iconic Mehboob Studios, Bandra, this DVD relives the two days of the weekend of 15^th and 16^th February 2014.

Our playlist opens with Grammy award winning the Tedeschi Trucks band from Jacksonville, Florida fronted by slide guitar master Derek Trucks and his wife singer-guitarist Susan Tedeschi. Watch Midnight in Harlem and Susan crooning to Made up Mind. Susan’s powerful vocals and Derek’s intricate slide work brought about an effortless combination with the other 11 backup musicians, producing an impactful big band experience.

Five time Grammy Award winner Jimmie Vaughn, the remarkable Texas blues guitarist brought in Texas blues. Vocalist Lou Ann Barton joined him on stage by and sang a track Scratch my Back while Vaughn brought in clear fluid riffs on his trademark white Fender when he played I Ain't Never.

His short stature wasn’t a stumbling block for Lil’ Ed Williams the quintessential Chicago bluesman whose rasping slide guitar was a pleasure to watch. Two tracks Going Up, Going Down and Mess Around are the highlights of this wonder man.

Next you have Mississippi bluesman Zac Harmon, whose music combines elements of soul-blues, gospel and reggae. He gave a dynamic, expressive performance so watch him again strutting around the stage with Boogie Down culminating in bluesy version of the reggae classic No woman no cry. Pretty impressive. Doyle Bramhall II guitar riffs are something to watch out for. On Meet Me in the Bottom he excels.

We also had our own Desi lineup of Shillong’s Soulmate who brought three Khasi musicians playing to Shad Pynnang Pynnang and Warren Mendonsa’s Blackstratblues. Both are a joy to watch again. The two day event culminated with a jugalbandi of all artists converging for a finale showcasing all four tracks producing dazzling, fretted and slide guitar work to close the fest on a memorable note.

The CD has all tracks, except the four All Star Jam finale tracks.

Rating: ***1/2

-  Reviewed by Verus Ferreira