Germanna Daniel Center packed as Saffire-the Uppity Blues Women kicked off farewell tour with rollicking, bawdy, funny blues tour de force in Culpeper

SAFFIRE--THE UPPITY BLUES WOMEN CONCERT A HIT BEFORE CAPACITY CROWD AT GERMANNA'S DANIEL CENTER IN CULPEPER .....MAKE-UP TEST AT GERMANNA LAUNCHED SAFFIRE--THE UPPITY BLUES WOMEN. 25 YEARS LATER, THE NATIONALLY KNOWN BAND KICKED OFF ITS FAREWELL TOUR SATURDAY NIGHT AT GCC

They regularly headline at major music venues like Wolf Trap and the Birchmere, but the nationally known SAFFIRE—THE UPPITY BLUES WOMEN got their start at Germanna Community College.
Twenty-five years later, they kicked off their farewell tour where they got started—at Germanna, with a show at the Daniel Center in Culpeper Saturday, Feb. 21.

The concert was a smash hit, drawing a capacity crowd of 700 that had a rollicking time as Saffire put on a blues tour de force that had the audience swaying rhythmically in their seats and laughing out loud at songs like "Too Much Butt."

Band member Gaye Adegbalola, who had the flu, climbed out a sick bed at the last minute to do the show, and give a spirited performance.

Fans came from both Culpeper and Fredericksburg, and prior to the show, downtown Culpeper restaurants were packed with out-of-towners there for the concert.

Pianist/guitarist/songwriter Ann Rabson was on faculty at Germanna, teaching computer science, when one of her students had a death in the family and missed an exam. So Rabson took the exam to student Earlene Lewis’ home. Turned out that Lewis had a piano and a bass --and Saffire was conceived from a Germanna makeup exam.

Rabson and Lewis convinced singer Adegbalola, a Virginia Teacher of the Year at James Monroe High School in Fredericksburg, to join them. The rest is blues history. Saffire—The Uppity Blues Women developed a cult following, not just in America, but around the globe. And they remain relevant after a quarter of a century of touring and recording. Adegbalola has just been nominated for honors as 2009 Best Contemporary Female Blues Artist at the 30th Annual Blues Music Awards to be held May 7 in Memphis.


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