Valley Music Hall of Fame announces 2024 class. Who made the list?
Plus, the 10 most iconic performances in Fresno? That's up for debate.
The Valley Music Hall of Fame announced its 2024 class of inductees this week.
It’s a rather contemporary list as these things go. It’s the first class in which all of the honorees are still living, which means they’ll all be attendance at the induction ceremony Sept. 25 at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theatre (tickets should be on sale soon).
The class includes:
Evo Bluestein — This is the second member of the Bluestein family to included in the Hall of Fame. Evo’s father Gene Bluestein was inducted in 2022.
As a fiddler, Evo performed all over the world with Bluestein Family Band. He became better known for working to create the next generation of folk musicians through a series of school programs and mentoring (see: the Gilly Girls). He also hosts a series of community folk dances and wrote the book “The Road to Sweet’s Mill — Folk Music in the West during the 1960s and ’70s.”
John Chookasian — Chookasian, along with his wife Barbara formed a musical ensemble in the mid 1990s as a way to preserve and perpetuate both Eastern and Western Armenian folk music. The group continues to performs traditional folk concerts.
In 1999, it received the “National Gold Medal Award,” from Armenia's Cultural Minister during a concert there. More recently, the band’s 2009 album “Passage to Armenia” was named “Best Traditional Armenian Folk Music” at the Armenian Music Awards in Los Angeles.
Before all that, Chookasian was part of the King Tut Review, which played in Las Vegas in the 1970s.
John Clifton — A blues singer, harp player and band leader, Clifton had already been part of a popular local group (the Mockers) before he started the infamous MoFo Party Band with his brother Bill in 1989.
Started as a jam band for a weekly gig at the dive bar Zapp’s Park, it wasn’t even able to get its name printed in the local paper, for years, but by the time the band broke up in 2014, it had an international fan base, having played some of largest blues festivals in Europe.
Clifton continued as a solo artist, touring and releasing a number of albums on Rip Cat Records (home of the Blasters, etc.). His latest, “To Much to Pay,” was recorded with a group of musicians in Warsaw, Poland, with some additional work (including vocals from Keysha Burns and Haillie Williams) done at Fresno’s Wolf Sound studio.
Other accolades for Clifton:
Received 2019 Central Valley Blues Music Award
Was a featured artist on Mark Hummel’s Blues Harmonica Blowout five times
His song “Anytime Is Cool” was featured in the 2017 film “Shattered.” Clifton and the band were also in the movie.
In 2013, he produced an album that won “Best Blues Album” at the Polish Blues Awards
Anna Hamre — Alongside Fresno Philharmonic conductor Rei Hotoda, Hamre could be the most important figure in classical music in Fresno.
Over the last 20 years, she’s lead the Fresno Community Chorus as it has grown to include five ensembles; the Master Chorale, Coro Piccolo, Coro Solare, Quintus (male), and Altissima (female).
She currently serves as the chorus’ Artist Director conducts and three of the five ensembles.
Prior to the Community Chorus, Dr. Hamre was the Director of Choral Activities at Fresno State, during which time she performed twice at Carnegie Hall as part of the MidAmerica series. Her writings on instruction have International ChoralBulletin, The Choral Journal, and Spotlight on Teaching Chorus.
Marisa Orduño — Orduño is considered a pioneer in mariachi music for her role in bringing female musicians into the genre.
As a performer, the Roosevelt High School graduated played guitarón in Mariachi Divas, one of the longest running all-female mariachi ensembles, which on the Grammy for Regional Mexican album in 2009.
She went on found her own ensemble Mariachi Mujer 2000, which has seen its own successes, including a performance at the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in China. The group even spawned a tribute, the Mariachi Nuevo Mujer 2000.
Other inductees into the Valley Music Hall of Fame include:
Class of 2021: Russel S. Howland, Dr. James. H. Winter, Dick Contino, Audra McDonald and Dave Stogner
Class of 2022: Gene Bluestein, Ray Camacho, The Fresno Musical Club, Allen and Fay Harkins and Richard Hagopian
Class of 2023: Benjamin Boone, Kenny Hall, Redbone, Dr. Juan Serrano and Ann Leonardo Thaxter
The 10 most iconic performances in Fresno? That’s up for debate
Over at The Fresno Bee, I wrote a piece outlying 10 iconic Fresno concerts.
These are performances that stand out in some way as being extra ordinary or cool. That’s either by virtue of the performer (Elvis, a British invasion-period Rolling Stones), the venue (a frozen yogurt shop, the water park in Clovis) or some other factor (being famous on the bootleg market).
To be clear, the list was designed as less of a top 10 and more of an introduction and invitation for discussion, realizing there are dozens, if not hundreds of performances that meet an arguable criteria by which to be labeled “iconic.”
Another quick list could include: Weezer at Visalia’s Ragin’ Records, The Police at Ratcliffe, the Clash at Warnors, Fugazi at the Knights of Columbus Hall, Rage Against the Machine at Cadillac Club, Cage the Elephant at Audie’s Olympic, Ramones at the Wilson Theatre, R.E.M. at Star Palace, Cream at the Selland Arena, Ike and Tina Turner at the Rainbow Ballroom, Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Rainbow Ballroom, Fleetwood Mac at the Rainbow Ballroom.
There’s also Prince and Madonna and several performances from Elton John. If you wanted, you could (and should) include any time Circus Bogus played anywhere around here.
To join in the fun (and see some cool historic flyer art and reviews of some of these shows) go to the comments on my Facebook page. And also here.
That’s it for this week. Remember you can now hear me on the Homegrown Show Sundays at 8 p.m. on New Rock 104.1 FM. Follow my other writing at The Fresno Bee. If you have anything you think I need to be looking at or listening to, feel free to let me know: jtehee@gmail.com