For Carroline Shines, blues music is life.
“It breathes and tells us a story,” Shines said. “It’s the weird things that go on in life and both the good and the bad. It tells us the amazing story of our roots. To me, blues is a breath of life.”
Shines will be headlining the Druid City Arts Festival Saturday, April 6. Daughter of the late blues legend Johnny Shines, she plans to bring “real blues” to the stage.
Debbie Bond, founder of Alabama Blues Project and a blues guitarist and singer herself, said under the name “blues” are a wide range of styles.
“There is something for everyone,” she said. “It’s a tradition and a style of music. It is everything from acoustic guitar to funky soul to house-rocking blues to traditional country blues. People think it’s sad, but it’s not. It’s about overcoming. You dance your blues away. It’s about letting the good times roll.”
Born in Chicago, Ill., with blues in her blood, Shines got an early introduction to the many types of blues. Her father moved their family to Holt, Ala., and Shines said it was through her father that she was first introduced to the blues and received a remarkable blues education.
“Always knew my dad to just be my dad and when I realized who he was, I wanted to be just like him,” she said.
Johnny Shines taught her to understand both the happy and sad blues.
“Now that I am older and have kids of my own, I can understand [and] relate to his music even better. I will never be as famous as him, but I love to sing. And I miss him very dearly, every day.”
Bond met Johnny Shines when she was 22 years old, when Carroline Shines was 12 years old. Johnny Shines mentored Bond, and through that relationship, Bond was introduced to the rest of the family.
“Carroline and I are sisters in the blues,” Bond said. “Her daddy was a big influence on me, and it has been a thrill to see her grow up and blossom into a great and original artist in her own right. It was incredible that she got to grew up in the real deal blues culture.”
Bond said Tuscaloosa has more of a blues scene than people may think and that is founded in a very rich blues heritage.
“People know a lot about Mississippi and New Orleans, but there is definitely an Alabama blues,” Bond said. “Over the years there has been a thriving blues scene here. It is just kind of an underground thing.”
Although there is no blues club in Tuscaloosa, The Alabama Blues Project, The Johnny Shines Festival and Moe’s Original Barbecue are supporters of the blues scene.
Shines said that is not sufficient though.
“Not enough, not enough, not enough,” Shines said about the blues in Tuscaloosa. “We need to do more to support the blues in this community.”
Rosa Johnson, a friend of Shines, said she was a late bloomer when it came to the blues, but she is a strong supporter now.
“I was more exposed to it in later years,” Johnson said. “I am a strong supporter as I learn more. It is so soulful and tells you a story.”
Johnson said there is a lot of blues happening in Tuscaloosa, but it is just not publicized. She would like to see more collaboration between the college students and the blues legends.
Shines is not just a loyal advocate for keeping the blues alive in Alabama but also for women in the blues. Supporting women in the music industry is one of Shines’s passions. Last year, The Johnny Shines Blues Festival that Shines organizes each year sported an all-women line-up, featuring women in blues, R&B and hip-hop genres.
The real blues is not about appearances, Shines said. It is about the stories the music tells. Shines challenges women in the music industry to make their music meaningful and challenges audiences to choose to listen to music that does not degrade woman.
“Listen to the real blues,” she said. “Listen to meaningful music. We as blues women don’t have to sing about taking our clothes off,” she said. “We don’t have to grind on the stage and degrade ourselves. We are educated women. Listen to our voices, and don’t look at our bodies.”
Bond agrees there are still not a lot of women blues artists.
“I’m a blues guitarist, and there are even less instrumentalists,” she said. “It’s definitely still a man’s world. But I think that being unique as a woman blues player has its advantages, and it’s exciting that if you are a woman, you can continue to be a trailblazer.”
However, Johnson believes DCAF is a great opportunity for both Shines and the community.
“Come out here, and hear her, and learn about who she is and what she has to offer and also what this festival has to offer,” she said.
Shines said she is also excited about playing on Saturday.
“I love entertaining people,” she said. “I love, love, love people. I like to have fun, and doing my music is all about having fun and giving life. [The concert] is going to be wonderful, and I am looking forward to it.”
For those looking to hear more of Shines, she released her newest CD, “The Party’s on Me,” about six months ago. The album is dedicated to the Alabama football team and is available online and in stores.
