The Gas Station Blues concert series returns in Downtown Issaquah this month at the Historic Shell Station, 232 Front St. N. For COVID reasons, it went online in 2020. On July 8, 2021, it will take center stage again.

This is a Free Concert series – for all ages. Beer, wine and food available for purchase. Guests are being asked to bring their own chair.

Tony Frederickson, president of the Washington Blues Society, helped bring blues to the Shell Station because of his own love for the genre. As a nomadic musician, Tony moved from town to town evangelizing music, but small towns like Issaquah are where his heart is.

“I was born in Everett but have lived all over the world,” he said. “Issaquah is great for music. It’s a small town but there’s so much to do. So much culture.”

Washington Blues is a charity, dedicated to preserving music and maintaining culture and history. “Blues are the root of all-American music,” Frederickson said.

Gas Station Blues show this year will be live and in person every Thursday, July 8th through August 26th 7pm – 9pm.

“The level of talent is truly extraordinary and a great tribute to the return of live music,” said Christina Bruning, president of the Downtown Issaquah Association.

First up, July 8th 7 – 9pm: Jonn Del Toro Richardson from Houston, a well-known guitarist who has won international blues challenges. In 2007, Jonn played on the Grammy winning album The Last of the Mississippi Delta Blues Men.

Richardson has had the pleasure to work with players such as Diunna Greenleaf, Otis Taylor, Bob Margolin, Hubert Sumlin, James Cotton, Bob Stroger, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Anson Funderburgh, Ronnie Earl, Rich Del Grosso, and many, many more. Jonn has released two CDs with other artists.

In 2011, Jonn released Time Slips on By with Rich DelGrosso to great reviews. It garnered a Blues Blast Nomination for best Traditional Album and was named one of the top 100 blues CDs by Billboard Magazine of 2011. In 2013, Jonn teamed up with Sean Carney to release Drivin’ Me Wild.

Then, July 15th, Eden Moody from Leavenworth. “She’s a songwriter. Telling the story is what it’s all about. Sharing with others,” Frederickson said.

While many people allow fear to hold them back from making drastic career changes later in life, singer-songwriter Eden Moody is doing just the opposite. Born in Argentina, raised in Brazil, and currently living in the United States, EM has performed at VIP pre-shows for some of the biggest names in music, all while being supported by a devoted global fan base that joined forces to raise more than ten-thousand dollars to help her record her debut album with top musicians in Nashville.

Frederickson describes Chris Eger, another artist on the docket, as “a young guy who is one break away from being a national player. A frequent winner of the Best of Blues Award.”