The 13th annual Monterey Bay Blues Festival charts a course back toward mainstream blues.

If you''re looking at this year''s Monterey Bay Blues Festival schedule and thinking that it looks bluesier than ever, you''re right.

According to MBBF''s selection committee chairman Lee Durley, the lineup for this year''s festival marks a deliberate move by the festival to veer back in the direction of more straight-ahead blues. The last two or three festivals have wandered further into rhythm ''n'' blues territory than many fans liked, and the festival''s board of directors took note.

"We''ve paid attention to the feedback we''ve gotten from fans," says Durley, "and we''re trying to make it more mainstream blues, West Coast blues, Chicago blues. We''ve been very attentive to everything that filters back to us."

At each festival, survey cards are given to each person in attendance, asking for their opinion of the current festival and requesting input for future festivals. The six-member selection committee then reviews the surveys, cross references them with comments they''ve heard from the community and their own musical preferences, and presents three separate mainstage lineups to the MBBF board of directors. The board selects one of the lineups and gives it back to the selection committee for booking--not always an easy task given the artists'' varying availabilities and price tags.

"What we start out looking for is not necessarily what we end up with," says Durley. "We were trying to get BB King and Buddy Guy but...we''ve always got next year."

As of press time, a few tickets still remained for main stage (Patee Arena) acts but it''s likely those will be sold out before the festival opens on Saturday. There are, however, plenty of grounds passes available which give ticketholders an opportunity to partake of the offerings at both the Garden Stage and the President''s Stage. For many blues fans (including myself), the grounds passes offer more than enough opportunities to catch top-notch acts in a more intimate setting than the arena.

According to Durley, there are many musicians who share the fans'' appreciation for the sylvan setting of the Garden Stage. In the past, says Durley, both Barbara Morrison and Johnny Copeland expressed their preference for the Garden Stage. And at least one performer this year didn''t feel slighted when she didn''t get a gig on the main stage.

Deanna Bogart, an up-tempo triple threat on saxophone, keyboards and vocals, called the festival to let them know she was available over the weekend--after the main stage had been booked.

"We said the main stage is full," says Durley, "but if you wouldn''t mind playing the Garden Stage, we''d love to have you. And she said, ''I''d rather play the Garden Stage, anyway.''"

To help you plan your weekend, in the accompanying schedule we''ve bolded the names of must-see performers on the Garden and President stages, with a short explanation of why you need to occupy that particular juncture of the space/time continuum. cw

Monterey Bay Blues Festival Schedule

(With Chuck''s Really-Good, Small-Stage Recommendations)

Saturday Afternoon

Patee Arena

12:30pm Candye Kane

1:50pm Jimmy King

3:10pm Dorothy Moore

4:30pm Fabulous Thunderbirds

Garden Stage

10:30am Terry Hiatt

(virtuoso, eclectic guitarist somewhere between blues, jazz and rock)

11:50am Guitar Mac

1:10pm Beverly Watson

2:30pm Bay Area Blues Society

3:50pm Candye Kane

(personality plus, dynamic performer who mixes politics with music. And you gotta see her play the piano)

President''s Stage

11:00am Blue Nova

12:00pm Carmel Rotary Club Blues Band

1:20pm The Wild Wood Band

(Santa Cruz-based band makes MoCo debut at impressive venue, must be a reason...?)

2:40pm Next Blues Band

4:00pm Edward Earl Thomas & Barry Levinson Band

Saturday Evening

Patee Arena

7:00pm Little Milton

8:20pm Sista Monica

9:40pm The Robert Cray Band

Garden Stage

5:10pm Mighty Penguins

6:30pm Terry Hanck

7:50pm Broadway Blues Band

(yeah, they play around town a lot, but lead singer John "Broadway" Tucker is the real thing)

9:10pm Deanna Bogart

(sassy saxophonist tweaking blues)

President''s Stage

5:20pm Glenn Lane

6:40pm Paul Delay

(smoky vocals, slinky harp, soulfulness that comes from blues as personal history; you''re gonna dance)

8:00pm B.B. Queen

(smokin'' guitar)

9:20pm Bobby Murray

Sunday Afternoon

Patee Arena

12:30pm Beau Jocque & the Zydeco Hi-Rollers

1:50pm Ruth Brown

3:10pm Joe Louis Walker & the Bosstalkers

4:30pm Barbara Morrison

Garden Stage

10:30am Webb Sisters

11:50am Storm Warning

(if you haven''t seen him in local clubs, you gotta see teen guitar phenom Storm Nilson at work)

1:10pm Jake Sampson

(up ''n'' coming guitarist, kinda funky r&b)

2:30pm Rusty Zinn

3:50pm Sista Monica

(if you haven''t been Sista-ized, it''s time)

President''s Stage

12:00pm Sean Kennedy & the King Kats

1:20pm Monterey Peninsula Jazz Orchestra

2:40pm Beau Jocque

(high, high, high-power zydeco; even the dead''ll dance during this set)

4:00pm Blue Divas

(last year, people were talking about this all-woman group and their mix of female-centric blues)

Sunday Evening

Patee Arena

5:50pm Johnnie Taylor

Garden Stage

5:10pm Rebecca & the Benders

6:30pm Ms. Taylor P. Collins

7:50pm Barbara Morrison

9:10pm Jackie Payne

(soulful, Otis Redding-ish, great way to end the day)

President''s Stage

5:20pm Tony Galla

6:40pm Red Beans & Rice

8:00pm Back to Back Blues

9:20pm Bobby Reed

Monterey Bay Blues Festival, noon to 11pm, Saturday and Sunday. Grounds tickets: $15/day advance (through BASS); $20/day at the gate. 394-2652.

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