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Lady Blue

Nina Van Horn is suitably excited for someone coming to India for the first time. “I’m an old Flower Power child. When I was a teen,we all had in mind to go to India some day.

Nina Van Horn is suitably excited for someone coming to India for the first time. “I’m an old Flower Power child. When I was a teen,we all had in mind to go to India some day. I had to wait a little,but my wish is about to be fulfilled,” she exclaims. The renowned blues singer,known as much for her powerful vocals — reminiscent of the legendary Janis Joplin’s gravelly voice — as for her electric stage presence is thrilled about performing her music at the Blue Frog tonight and on Saturday night.

The singer,with her trademark Texan hat,is a regular performer at blues festivals around the world,even having performed alongside legends like Chuck Berry and Bette Midler. That is why it comes as a surprise when she reveals that blues was not what she started her musical career with. “I was a ballet dancer and I sung opera till I was 18 years old,” she reveals. She even flirted with hard rock,jazz and freestyle before settling on the genre that made her famous. It was actor Dan Aykroyd,a blues fan himself and co-creator of the legendary Blues Brothers act,who brought Van Horn’s attention to blues. She recalls: “Dan heard me at a Harley Davidson rally. He told me after the show ‘You should sing the Blues,you’ve got what it takes’.” A couple of Jack Daniels later,he had Van Horn convinced. Subsequently,she moved to New Orleans,the birthplace of blues,and got immersed in the music. As a tribute to the man who showed her the way,Van Horn got a Blues Brothers tattoo (it even won her a tattoo contest in Daytona,Florida).

The French singer can speak five different languages,but she insists that English is the only one in which she sings blues. “Singing it in French would be like singing flamenco in German.” But she’s equally assertive in stating that good performers of the genre can be found all over the globe,not just in its birth country,America. “I meet people from all over the world who perform this music genre. Some are really sticking to the original form and many bring their own interpretation to it. Blues is not only a music. It is a state of mind: if you feel it you can do it,no matter where you’re from,” Van Horn says. Which is why she is miffed by European blues festivals who stick to the notion that only Americans,especially African Americans,can genuinely play blues. “In the USA,they don’t care whether you come from Mars,as long as your blues has soul and spirit,” she states.

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