The East Coast Blues and Roots Festival (aka: Blues Fest) will celebrate its 21st birthday this Easter with a five day extravaganza of blues, roots, soul, reggae, folk, dub, hip hop, rock n roll, country and world music.  Late on Friday night an elderly Chicago gentleman by the name of George ‘Buddy” Guy will take the stage and thrill you to the core. Buddy is the revered idol of guitar gods such as Jimmy Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and, more recently, Jack White. He is, as they say, the man. Last time I saw him perform he was rocking a baby pink suit, bowler hat and a pokadot tie. A legend like Buddy could rest his bones on a chair and humble his way through a few tunes and you’d be satisfied. Only he don’t do that. He remains a class A performer. Buddy has been known to play solos with one hand while changing out of his jacket with the other. When I saw him he left the stage and got down with the elated audience for an extensive wail. I patted him on the back and felt an fission of delta blues history run right down my spine. A word of warning about the Blues Fest for first timers: it’s long. Five days of festival fever can become an endurance test unless you’re mad for it. Check out the line up (bluesfest.com.au) and pick your days.