This afternoon, I caught up with Judy Dorsey, station manager for WEVL FM-89.9, as she took a much-needed break from organizing tomorrow’s Blues on the Bluff fundraiser, which features bluesmen Kenny Brown and Blind Mississippi Morris, as well as instrumental group the Bo-Keys, hot off a pair of whirlwind NYC gigs last weekend, including a stop at Lincoln Center and an appearance at Brooklyn’s Southpaw Lounge. (For New York Times reviews of both shows, go here and here.)
The 21st annual Blues on the Bluff falls exactly 375 days after the untimely death of WEVL volunteer dee-jay Dee “Cap’n Pete” Henderson, who was murdered in his backyard on July 15, 2008.
“We’re still coping as best we can,” says Dorsey, noting that Anthony Biggers‘ poster for this year’s Blues on the Bluff features Cap’n Pete’s truck and that, thanks to modern technology, listeners can still tune into taped episodes of “Cap’n Pete’s Blues Cruise,” which airs on WEVL from 9 p.m. to midnight every Friday night.
“Even so, there’s a void there that will never be filled,” she sighs. “I miss him every week.”
