Chase Garrett presents his Eighth-Annual Blues and Boogie-Woogie Piano Stomp Festival at the Englert.

By Salma Rios
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To many residents of Iowa City, music is an integral part of life. Many musicians crowd the busy intersections of South Clinton Street and play their hearts out on instruments such as a saxophone and drums, not to mention the famous pianos that occasionally line the streets downtown and in the North Side Marketplace.

Chase Garrett is all too familiar with the Iowa City music scene, and eight years ago, he decided to bring the sounds of the blues and boogie-woogie to Iowa City. The Eighth-Annual Blues and Boogie-Woogie Piano Stomp Festival will perform at the Englert, 221 E. Washington St., at 7 p.m. Friday.

The Piano Stomp has stops in both Iowa City and St. Louis.

This year’s performance will include four horns, three piano players, a guitar, an upright bass, and vocalists from all around, including Iowa, Missouri, and Massachusetts, as well as France.

To Garrett, this year’s Piano Stomp has a special meaning.

“This year is all about the future of boogie-woogie,” he said. “We have two boogie-woogie prodigies performing with us this year, an 18-year-old from Cincinnati and a 14-year-old from Paris.”

Garrett is no stranger to the boogie-woogie scene. At 16, he met Ricky Nye of Cincinnati, who inspired him to get into the genre.

“At 17, Ricky [Nye] invited me to the Cincinnati Blues Festival, which changed my life forever,” he said. “I was overwhelmed with boogie-woogie.”

With the death of his mother in 2009, Garrett came up with the idea for the Piano Stomp festival in November 2010, at 20 Garrett held the first festival.

“I really wanted to give back to the community I love,” he said.

Txgx

Eighth-Annual Blues and Boogie-Woogie Piano Stomp

When: Friday @ 7 p.m.

Where: Englert, 221 E. Washington

Cost: $30