VI Blues nad Bobrem in Bolesławiec began on 12 August 1995 with music workshops in guitar (taught by Leszek Cichoński, Janusz Konefał and Wojciech Seweryn), bass guitar, whose instructors were Andrzej Pluszcz and Krzysztof Ścierański, drums under the guidance of Zbigniew Lewandowski, piano (Janusz Blecharz) and vocals, led by Aleksandra Sozańska-Kut and Agnieszka Trawniczek. This lineup of personalities guaranteed a large number of participants—and that is exactly what happened.
More than one hundred musicians came to improve their way of interpreting the blues under the guidance of true masters.
The amphitheatre on Górników Street was the venue where the official opening of “Blues nad Bobrem” took place on 13 August 1995 at 7:00 p.m.
It was carried out by the city president, engineer Józef Król, and the director of Bolesławiecki Ośrodek Kultury, Dr Danuta Maślicka. Two bands performed at the opening concert: NO COMMENTS from Bolesławiec and SWAWOLNY DYZIO from Wrocław.
On 15 August 1995, a photographic exhibition by Wojciech Zawadzki entitled “in Blue” opened at the BOK “Pegaz” Club.
Inspired by blues music, the exhibition’s author presented 21 photographs of various objects in the colour blue. The pictures show our reality from behind the scenes, revealing the poverty, dirt and deprivation concealed behind a mask of ordinary objects and plants shrouded in the haze of the sad colour blue.
The Jam Session, which was supposed to take place every day at 7:00 p.m., had many faces. It usually began very late and rarely reached a high standard. The same was true the previous year, when an impassable gulf existed between the “workshop participants” and the “Professors.” I admired the blues fans who, wearing their badges—admission tickets to all events costing 10 złoty—waited for hours at the “Pegaz” Club for their idols.
The third blues-band showcase, held on 18 August 1995 in the evening, drew an overflowing audience to the “Forum” hall. This time too, the young people waited as long as 40 minutes before the compère appeared on stage and announced that the delay was due to waiting for the bands selected for the showcase. Of the eight bands, only four ultimately performed: NADMIAR from Piła, BLUE HAZE from Łódź, LIGA DUSZ from Oświęcim and FIRE BAND from Ostrów Wlkp. In this modest competition, the jury decided to award first place to BLUE HAZE from Łódź; they also received an invitation to a recording session at Polskie Radio Wrocław, while the band’s guitarist received an LDM amplifier. The audience award went to the band from Oświęcim, LIGA DUSZ, with its bearded vocalist known by the nickname “Dziki.”
A disturbing feature of these showcases was the constant mixing of blues with rock. This was a troublesome situation for the jurors. The young audience only warmed up when NOCNA ZMIANA BLUESA appeared on stage. The Wierzcholski–Kamiński duo was unrivalled (of course, it performed outside the competition). The entire concert was hosted by K. Ranus from Poznań, who did so professionally.
A true feast for blues fans was the concert presented on 19 August 1995—this time punctually—by the renowned musicians and bands: BLUES ROCK GUITAR WORKSHOP, DŻEM, COMBO WARSZTATOWE, PIVO, OBSTAWA PREZYDENTA, GANG OLSENA, NO COMMENTS, as well as PTAAKI with PARTYZANT, who received less applause.
A different style of blues was presented by the only soloist in this distinguished lineup—Roman Puchowski, the previous year’s laureate. The bands’ concerts lasted all night, until dawn. The event was hosted splendidly by the true bluesman Sławek Wierzcholski (Nocna Zmiana Bluesa). It was a large-scale event of national importance.
The next edition of Blues nad Bobrem and the third Blues Workshops are needed by young people and by the promotion of Bolesławiec on Poland’s musical map. The event could not take place without substantial help from sponsors and from people who live for the blues and devote much effort and time to implementing ideas for music education. That is how it is: certain people are always visible during “Blues nad Bobrem.” Jania Trawniczek and Krystyna Juszkiewicz from BOK, Sławomir Wierzcholski, Leszek Cichoński and Andrzej Pluszcz—the authors of textbooks and instructional tapes for learning to play the harmonica, guitar and blues guitar, who served voluntarily on the jury—as well as the editors of the festival newspaper “BLUES-PLUS-MINUS” and many others were always within sight. I do not mention them all here, although they did not receive payment for their work.