Canada, Yeeehaaaa!

Back for the 7th time!
The photo is from 2001 where they put us on a special stage in the round, right in the middle of the main stage crowd. I’m stoked to see my friends in Canada this summer. It’s a biggie. The Ottawa Blues Fest welcomes 250,000 music fans over a period of ten days in July and I have two shows there on July 14. I will also make a stop at the local homeless shelter on the 13th. This and more in June and July. Here’s the Schedule. For details and ticket links sauceboss.com/tour

6/16/2023 Leesburg, VA  – Macdowell’s Beach
6/18/2023 Franklin PA –  Franklin Blues and BBQ Festival
6/21/2023 Sharon PA  – The Keg
6/23/2023 Pittsburgh PA –  Steamworks Creative
6/25/2023 Lorain OH – Beaver House
6/28/2023 Buffalo NY – Sportsmens Tavern
6/30/2023 Syracuse NY – 443 Social Club and Listening Room
7/8/2023 Durham NH – Private Event
7/9/2023 Tamworth NH – The Barn at Farmstand
7/13/2023 Ottawa Ontario – Ottawa Mission (private show for clients)
7/14/2023 Ottawa Ontario – Ottawa Blues Festival
7/27/2023 St Augustine, FL – Plaza de la Constitucion

Live at the BBC!
Check out our latest on Youtube.
February 11th was our last gig at the Bradfordville Blues Club a few weeks before the iconic club closed its doors. I brought Extra Sauce, (Brett Crook and Neal Goree) and we got pretty wild, evidenced by this video shot by Ian Weir, and edited by Mary Wharton. The audio was recorded by Walter Potter and mixed by Doug Oade.

That’s why… “I Can’t Sit Down.”

Liquid Summer Hot Sauce will do it to it.

Sockeye Papillote with Herbes de Provence

Herbes de Provence

Sounds highfalutin, uptown, top shelf, out of reach, $$$$, and downright French! Au contraire, mon ami. Yes it’s French; no, it’s not unattainable. This 30 minute, easy and fun recipe is hearty and healthy…and different than the normal pescatarian bill of fare. Instead of fat from frying, or piquant from hot peppers it offers flavors from fresh herbs seeping into the fish.

Parchment paper
Filet of fish
Asparagus
Zucchini
Carrot cut into ribbons
Green onions
Tomato slices
Lemon slices
Salt
Pepper
Rosemary
Marjoram
Savory
Thyme

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
If you don’t have fresh herbs, you can use the dried Herbes de Provence mix .
I used asparagus, purple carrot ribbons, zucchini, green onions, and yellow tomatoes in layers on a sheet of parchment.

Place the fish on top, spray with olive oil, and shake some salt and pepper.
Add sprigs of the fresh herbs, pressing them into the fish.

Place lemon slices on top.

Seal the parchment paper, crimping the paper all around the salmon.

Cook for 15 minutes, or when the thermometer says it’s done.
Voila!

I served it with brown rice.
Bon Appetit!

Follow Me Way Up North On TikTok

This summer I’ll be up north. Why don’t y’all come with me? Follow my Quixotic journey to feed the masses (body and soul) with uplifting blues, great gumbo, and the “Best hot sauce on the planet!”
Starting July 4th, I will be posting daily on TikTok. saucebossx is my TikTok handle. In keeping with the whole TikTok melee, I will be posting music, food, wildness, wardrobe malfunctions, alternative realities, and oddities that I find along the way. Follow me! Reserve a front row seat at the debacle known as the Sauce Boss Traveling Gumbo Show.

Charleston, Pittsburgh, Sharon PA, Buffalo, Johnson City NY, Marion OH, Detroit, Lexington, Wilmington NC, Stafford VA, Fredricksburg VA, Kennebunk ME. Sometime in August, I will make a surprise appearance at a very special event in New England. I’m looking forward to gettin back to this gig. Beyond the valley of the baddest of the bad. I am soooo happy to be out and about once more. Alert the troops! See ya down the road. Here’s the skinny.

But before I head north…this Friday, June 24th, I’ll be bringing Extra Sauce to the Bradfordville Blues Club in Tallahassee, Florida. We will be slathering inside for this one. That’s the only way I can describe this band. Brett Crook and Butch Gonzalez have played together, off and on for decades, and Neal Goree just lays it on top. Slathered! We will be cookin in various ways, mixin media like cornbread. Bring yer funkiest dancin shoes and yer appetite too. TICKETS.

Many thanks came from the folks at The Community for Creative Non-Violence in Washington DC. Three blocks from the Mall. They now serve 2500 clients every day.

Planet Gumbo is back on the road!
Since discovering Planet Gumbo, I have played well over 100 shows at homeless shelters and soup kitchens all over the USA. (And a few in Canada). It’s my volunteer work that I do, to share my gifts with those without. I do not receive a salary for this, but I consider it some of my most important work. In this photo, we are standing in front of a pile of blankets. That day, in 2003, I served gumbo to 200 people. During the pandemic it was impossible for me to do Planet Gumbo gigs. But now, I am super psyched to play shelters this summer in Charleston, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Lexington KY, NYC, Wilmington NC, and Fredericksburg VA, along with my regular paying gigs on this tour. The 501c3 Non-profit Planet Gumbo is entirely supported by individual donations. If you would like to contribute click here.

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You Know You Want Some

Liquid Summer Hot Sauce. Get it HERE!

MOTM 2021 CHILL OUT IN key west

NOVEMBER 4, THE CASA MARINA, 3 PM

See y’all at the Meeting of the Minds 2021! I’m playing at the Casa Marina on Thursday, November 4, at 3 pm. This one will be rockin! I’m looking forward to hangin in key west, bumpin into old friends, and doing some free diving, and fishing, and soakin up sun before the winter comes.

Here’s my schedule
Nov. 4 Key West – MOTM Casa Marina 3 pm
Nov 14 Brooksville, FL – Olive Grove
Nov 20 Noontime Palm Coast FL – Florida Agricultural Museum Fall Festival Fiery Chili Challenge
Nov 20 7 PM Tallahassee, FL Cascades Park Ampitheatre with extra special active Ingredients, playing before showing of “Jimmy Carter Rock and Roll President” movie
Dec 6 Daytona Beach FL – Kids Rock the Nation benefit at The Bank and Blues, with Kenny Neal

Swampside Studio

Super stoked to begin puttin some stuff down. This 16 foot peak gives me plenty of space to stretch out. Swampside Studio is officially up and running. Stay tuned…

Mary Wharton’s rockdoc premiered at #7 nationwide! ICYMI, it will begin streaming on her birthday, November 11, 2021. I actually contributed some drum tracks for the Petty film, so “actually”…I’m proud to be a monstrously tiny part of this film. Here’s a link to the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1sU9Evua9I

Liquid Summer Hot Sauce

Time to stock up for the holidaze. Liquid summer will turn any meal around. The hot sauce for the new millennium, the road to culinary Nirvana, Liquid Summer will CHANGE you life. It changed mine and it will change yours. Get yours right here!

Sashimi Avocado with Orange Miso Dressing

2 Tbsp miso
1/4 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp Liquid Summer Hot Sauce
Dash of sweetener (you can use honey or ripe persimmons or a fruit preserve to taste)
Mix all ingredients and spoon it over avocado slices

AHHHHH!

I’ve Got Killer Tone

Sunday, August, 16,  I’m doin the tunes for the times that we live in.
Tune in @ 8 pm EDT on FACEBOOK LIVE

Cookin With the Sauce Boss is a series of tunes for the times we’re in right now. And I have something on the stove for your down home dinner plans. Join me swampside for tunes, new and used, and a belly full of…well you know.

Killer Tone

Here’s the song recorded Live at the Green Parrot in Key West with a schmokin band: John Hart, guitar, Jassen Wilber on bass, and the one and only, Justin Headley playing the drums. This tune and a whole lot more coming at cha next Sunday!

Welcome to Swampside

Swampside is really a magical place, mentioned in my memoir.
(For the whole story, get “The Life and Times of Blind Boy Billy” on Amazon HERE)

Istanbul, Turkey

Swampside is now my new record company and studio. It’s a work in progress, but it’s coming along. It’s a studio and workspace to improve my quality of life. I sold a couple of guitars and an old amplifier. Then our kids found out about it and they kicked in also. Thanks to Annie Wharton and Mary Wharton for the $$$$$, and Floyd Wharton for your time and expertise. I am truly one lucky dude to have such a generous family.

I am currently working on an album featuring the tunes which were included in Mary’s movie, “Jimmy Carter Rock and Roll President.” There were 17 pieces of my music that were used in the film and this has garnered me the “Original Score” credit. The theatrical release for the film is in September, and it will also be aired in January on CNN. My new album will feature classic Sauce Boss tunes and also unreleased material that I wrote for the soundtrack of the film. I’m hoping for a January release date for this as well.

 

 As an aside, keep yer eye on Mary Wharton. Some crazy good stuff is happening for her in 2021. I am so excited for us all. Stay tuned.

Insanely Healthy Stewed Okra and Tomatoes

Got tomatoes? Got okra? Fresh from the garden is a completely different animal.
Sliced okra
Chopped tomatoes
4 cloves minced garlic
1 medium onion chopped
1 Banana pepper chopped
3 Tbsp Liquid Summer Hot Sauce
Vegetable broth

Saute onions, garlic and pepper in vegetable broth
Add okra, tomatoes and Liquid Summer, stir, and cook until the okra works it’s  magic thickening the whole mess
Let it sit for a minute to cool down and further thicken the broth
That’s what I’m talkin bout

 Get yours HERE!
And please subscribe to my YouTube Channel

I am truly heartbroken about what has happened due to the mishandling of the coronavirus. There are places in the world where there are zero cases because they took care of business. In New Zealand they are having soccer games now with 50,000 in attendance. They are completely covid free. And we, on the other hand…
Take a minute and check out this video that Mary and I made, and please share it with your friends.
Keep Cookin, be well, keep smiling, and bless all your hearts,

Bill Wharton

 

 

Smile In A Basket Release

Me and Mary are smiling. (There’s a lot going on this week)

My new music, “Smile in a Basket”, is a message of compassion. We worked with Grammy Award winning producer, Mary Wharton, who was produced and directed by me and Ruthie Wharton. I contributed this tune and 16 others to Mary’s upcoming documentary, “Jimmy Carter Rock and Roll President”, garnering musical score credit. The movie is about to hit the film fest circuit and has found some verrrrry prestigious places to land. It’s an amazing film, actually a rockumentary, with interviews and performances from a who’s who of the musical landscape. 

I think you’ll really dig this video of “Smile in a Basket”.   We will have a live premiere on my YouTube channel on Thursday, June 11, at 8 pm. Subscribe here and we’ll send out a reminder 30 minutes before it airs, so we can all watch it together. The video is dedicated to all the health care and essential workers who have shouldered the load for the rest of us. Share it with your friends.

Big thanks to all who joined me:
Produced, directed, and edited by Mary Wharton
Camera/producer: Ruthie and Bill Wharton
Words, Music, Vocal and Guitar by Bill Wharton
String arrangement by David Davidson
Violin: David Davidson
Viola: Kristin Wilkinson
Bass: Byron House
Photos/movie clips: Mary Wharton, Kelly Durrant, Jennifer Garrett, Danny and Kelly Goddard, Bill Wharton, Damon Fowler, Naeam Wilkerson

The response to my Facebook Live concerts has been really great. Thanks to all who watched and contributed. This is REALLY helping me stay afloat during these _________________(you pick a word) times. Please join me on June 14 for a special edition of Sauce Boss Live on my Sauce Boss Facebook page. Come on down at 7:45 PM.  Concert starts at 8:00 pm. I’ll be singing my new tune and makin gumbo. 

Fasolakia (Greek Style Beans)

These are good times to concentrate on your health. I have been feeling better now that I’m cooking so much. Here’s a couple of recipes that I just made, to get my vegetables.

Made with beans and tomatoes, fresh picked. Onions, potatoes, garlic, lemon and dill. Saute onions and garlic. Add tomatoes, a little Liquid Summer hot sauce, and cook em down just a little, then add broth, potatoes, beans. Cover and cook on low. Add lemon juice and fresh dill. This is the real healthy version. I saute the onion and garlic in broth. If you want a little more grease, use olive oil for the saute, then splash a little more when you add the juice and dill. 

Bim Bim Bap a la Peckerwood

So I had these leftovers. Asparagus, collards, and the beans.  Scraped together a salad of lettuce, onions and cukes; grated carrots and threw some mung sprouts in there, added a quank of bread-and-butter squash pickles, put the cold veggies on hot steaming brown rice, and I had the beginnings of a great meal. You know what they say, “It’s all in the sauce.” Gochujang sauce. The red sauce in Korean food. I use the Korean pepper, but you can substitute cayenne and paprika for this recipe.

2 Tbsp light miso
1 Tbsp ground red pepper
1 Tbsp paprika
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp Liquid Summer Hot Sauce
4 cloves minced garlic
Water to thin it out

Eat up with flavor, it makes the leftovers jump and shout! This sauce livens up a lot of dishes. Let some little cubes of cucumber or steamed brussel sprouts sit in some of this stuff overnight. Yummm!

EAT YER VEGETABLES, DAMMIT!!!!!

WhartonShop  is now on Etsy

Sauce Boss merch and memorabilia, (some great old festival shirts. If you’d like anything autographed, just let us know ). Also vintage personal items, clothing and whatnot for your browsing pleasure. We’ve been selling a bunch of Ruthie’s childhood board games. So if you’re “board”…just sayin, stop in and check it out.

Tips:
Who woulda thought that I would have to spend most of this year at home? I really appreciate all y’all’s generosity! I look forward to seeing y’all again on the road, and sharing my gumbo with you.  Here’s a link to my “Tip Jar” page.