Filmmaker’s Statement

In 2018, The Reel Blues Fest, Inc., led by Woods Hole Film Festival director Judy Laster and legendary bluesman James Montgomery, joined forces with Northern Light Productions director Bestor Cram to move forward with the feature documentary, Bonnie Blue, about James “Super Harp” Cotton. Musicians from around the country gathered to participate in a unique celebration of Cotton’s legacy captured on multiple 4K video cameras in an old textile mill in Fall River, Massachusetts. The production included an intimate evening of storytelling and improvised music sessions followed by a day of interviews and a sold-out all-star concert at The Narrows Center for the Arts, Fall River’s famed club and music venue. 

In the middle of the stage sat an empty chair with a harmonica noting the absence of one of the true legendary blues men of all time. With James Montgomery playing preacher, the house transformed into a cathedral, worshipping the extraordinary sound and diverse musical expression of the blues. After 4 hours of amazing music and stories, everyone in the house had born witness to what it means to ‘Got my mojo workin.’ 

Bonnie Blue combines this original footage with archival footage, including never-before- seen concerts with Cotton and many blues legends recorded in 2004 at the House of Blues in Boston, as well as other concert footage filmed in 2012 with Cotton and his band recorded in Connecticut. Numerous interviews create a narrative that begins in the cotton fields of Mississippi and travels throughout America reflecting social change and upheaval within a nation that is often defined by its cultural embrace of music. 

Cotton created a distinctively expressive tone that he combined with raw energy making it possible for him to traverse musical decades always remaining at the forefront of changing rhythm and tempo as the blues continued to influence new generations of musicians. 

This new film capture’s America’s soul as the blues becomes jazz, big band, rock and roll, punk, hip-hop and rap with one of the principal interpreters leading us through a life lived on stage, expanding the 12-bar tradition of classic blues. 

Production continues through 2021. 

Michael Majoros is the editor and Portland Helmich is the line producer. For more information, contact info@thereelbluesfest.org or follow The Reel Blues Fest on Facebook