I was standing in front of the Budweiser Stage, the rain having just subsided after delaying the 9 p.m. acts by more than a half-hour, when a rumble from the crowd turned into an ovation. The stage crew had begun removing the plastic covering from Ben Folds’ piano, and the show would go on, right? As if on cue, the rain hit again, hard all at once this time. The giant white plastic cover went back over the band setup, and those stage hands who were just being cheered were now booed.

With the advantage of being covered, the Tennessee Lottery Blues Tent was standing-room only. Charlie Musselwhite, the harmonica master who is a regular at Music Fest, was probably the only act playing at the entire festival for most of his set, and he delivered. The native Mississippian who saw success in the 1960s playing in Chicago with Paul Butterfield closes the gap between the two regions, showing that no matter where it’s from, it’s all just the blues.