Ron Edwards and Friends
Reunion and Tribute at the Focal Point
April 27, 2025
Featuring photos from:
Reed Radcliffe, Tecora Morgan, and Lee Howland
Joining Ron Edwards were his friends Jon Erblich, Leroy Jodie Pierson, Bob Case, Tom “Papa” Ray, Brian Curran
In the words of musician Tecora Morgan –
“Celebrating the GENIUS BLUES HISTORIAN,
Mr. Ron Edwards“
Maybe you know Ron Edwards from his ‘Nothing But The Blues’ show – it ran for 38 years w 1,800 shows on the airwaves of KDHX (since the very beginning of KDHX). Maybe you know Ron from the KDHX Blues Band with Art Dwyer, Tom ‘Papa’ Ray, John McHenry, and John Logan. Or, maybe from his 22 years performing with Henry Townsend, a St. Louis’ Blues patriarch!
Ron Edwards is a master of the bottleneck guitar, in the style of the great Tampa Red of the ’20s and ’30s.
*with an encyclopedic
knowledge of pre-war Blues.
Beyond the music of the evening, there was a reunion of many of our favorite former KDHX DJ’s who brought us so much great music over the years. More than a concert, it was a happening!
Lots of love of KDHX was alive in the room,
and Drea shared the latest from
LOVE of KDHX
From Jon Erblich –
“It was a great show. Ron and I talked yesterday, he was overjoyed with the turnout.”
Enjoy these photos from Reed, Tecora and Lee!
Photos of Reed Radcliffe
Photos of Tecora Morgan
Photos of Lee Howland
Honoring Ron Edwards!
Drea-
“I had the pleasure to see Brian Curran and his wife, Sarah put together a show to honor Ron Edwards at the Focal Point. Also on the bill was Jon Erblich, Tom “Papa” Ray, Leroy Jodie Pierson, Bob Case, Brian Curran, and Fred Gumaer. What a treat to see some of the legends of St. Louis blues all together on the stage at once. So much other music has its roots in the blues and to really understand the music, you need to know where it came from.”
East Side Slim –
“Ron Edwards is known to a great many people as an ORIGINAL programmer (DJ) at 88.1 KDHX, back to October 1987 (actually pre-dating that during the planning/building-out stages). However, Ron is also an internationally recognized master of bottleneck blues guitar.
Sunday afternoon arrived as an opportunity to celebrate Ron the musician, as well as Ron the friend and mentor. The show essentially served as the finale to his illustrious live performance career. Far from being a sad occasion, the Focal Point was bursting at the seams with celebrants – family and friends all.
The Focal Point – one of St. Louis’ premiere listening rooms – served as host venue, kindly opening its’ doors for Ron’s party – it truly was a blues party! Brian and Sara Curran programmed the show – radio parlance intended as Brian has donated many recording sessions to KDHX over the years – with the couple travelling from northern Michigan primarily to venerate the good Professor of the Blues – yes, Ron Edwards.
The stage was filled not only with noted blues artists, but with many of Ron’s dearest friends. The evening kicked-off with an introduction from Leroy Pierson, who set the mood in his own inimitable style. Up next, Brian Curran (guitars and vocals), Job Erblich (harmonica and vocals), and THE Ron Edwards (bottleneck slide guitar, of course) took to the stage to rousing applause. This was just the start to a 90 minute first set, which saw a succession of musicians take the stage – accompanied by stories and anecdotes galore (live music really is better).
Those musicians spun a 3-hour blues honorarium, and included Fred Gumaer (snare drum rhythms, former host of KDHX’s Mid-Day Jamboree), Tom ‘Papa’ Ray (harmonica, vocals, former host of KDHX’s Soul Selector program, current host of The Monday Afternoon Blues and Soul Patrol on The Sound 88.7 WSIE), Leroy Pierson (vocals, former host of multiple programs on multiple stations), and Bob Case (bass, band member with J.B. Hutto, and one of Ron’s longest tenured and dearest friends).
Thank you, Focal Point, for hosting Ron’s ‘retirement’ show. While he was a bit nervous to begin with (a perfectionist still) the loving crowd and best-friend musical partners quickly returned him to his glory days – and a glorious time was had by all!“
Ron Edwards w Silvercloud
at Bluesweek 2010!
