The Blues Are Alright is how the song really goes, and on Friday night they were alright because they were under a freakin’ tent, relatively safe from the mud and rain.

The lure of shelter insured that the Tennessee Lottery Blues Tent was packed all night even if the performances did not always warrant it. Former Memphian Charlei Musselwhite, who should be popping up a new release later this year jamming with the North Mississippi Allstars, Jim Dickinson, and Alvin Youngblood Hart, was backed by a particularl hard-charging blues trio. And while Musselwhite has never been the greatest vocalist (a sort of more reticent Mose Allison) he siwely stepped back from the mic to let his own harmonica and the solos of his guitarist do the singing.

Headliner Keb’ Mo’ ended the night on a way too laid back note. Backed just by a drummer, his mid-tempo set is more appropriate for a Sunday afternoon not a beer soaked Friday night. In all his performance turned the hot and sweaty blues tent into a mild and tame Starbuck’s.