Published: September 11, 2008 10:14 am         

MUSIC: Blues festival hits Niagara Falls.

Toby Rotella hasn’t owned a blues club in more than two decades, but he still feels the music that was played in his former business on a daily basis.

The former Niagara Falls resident created The Imperial Garage in 1980, a converted mechanic’s shop on Third Street that hosted blues legends such as B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan and John Lee Hooker during its short life.

Rotella moved to Florida after the club shut down in 1984, and he began hosting blues reunions there about seven years ago. Shortly after, he gauged interest in a full-blown Imperial Garage reunion.

With enough backers on board, those effort will culminate this weekend with the inaugural Niagara Falls Blues Festival.

The day-long event will serve as a tribute to Muddy Waters, the singer who died 25 years ago and to whom Rotella owes his passion for the blues. Rotella met Waters during a gig he had in Toronto in the 1970s, and Rotella soon began to follow Waters and other blues acts across the country; Waters would also visit Rotella’s home each time he passed through Western New York.

“The blues is something that gets stuck down in your soul and you can’t get rid of it,” Rotella said.

That passion for music led to Rotella’s acquisition of the Third Street structure, which he recalls as being near condemnation but possessing great charm.

“There was something in the atmosphere of that place,” he said. “It was always jumping.”

Blues acts would call Rotella requesting to play there, he said, with Waters always the recipient of his mother’s sweet potato pie as well as a local favorite — “Muddy was a big wings fan,” Rotella said.

The big names continued to pour in, but attendance dwindled in the later months. Part of the structure crumbled in 1984, but Rotella said personal circumstances left him without the desire to rebuild what was, for a short time, the most popular blues club in the region.

That does not mean, however, that his passion for the music is gone. Although only in its first year in 2008, Rotella envisions the festival becoming a week-long celebration next year. Numerous local businesses and the city have pledged support, with Mayor Paul Dyster promising money and other assistance in terms of soliciting backers.

“With fine, live blues music, food and fun throughout the day, the ... festival will draw residents and visitors alike to the heart of our downtown tourism and business corridor,” Dyster wrote in a letter to area businesses.

In addition to music, the festival will feature a classic car display, food vendors and other booths set up by local agencies. Rotella hopes to pass the torch on to someone else to keep the festival going in 2009, but he promises to still play a part even if he intends to back away from the day-to-day planning.

“This is not going to be a one-day event. I want this to carry on,” he said. “Blues is a gut feeling, a feeling inside. It grabbed me and never let go.”



IF YOU GO

* WHAT: Niagara Falls Blues Festival

* WHEN: 1 to 11 p.m. Saturday

* WHERE: Third Street between Main and Niagara, Niagara Falls

* MORE INFORMATION: Call 510-9997 or visit imperialgarage.com



THE LINEUP

* 1 p.m. Dave Viterna Group

* 2 p.m. Filter Kings

* 3 p.m. Junkyard Dogs

* 4 p.m. Electras

* 5:30 p.m. Rockin’ Jake Band

* 7:30 p.m. Jimmy Thackery

* 9:30 p.m. Downchild Blues Band

Harmonica Dean and Juke Box Scales will perform throughout the day.