Beverly “Guitar”  Watkins always says her musical talent is a gift from God and there’s no doubt that she is a miracle.

It has been 10 years since I first saw her. But that is nothing to the 50+ years Ms/ Beverly has been performing. She is 79 years old now and while she may not move around much on stage anymore, she can still wow an audience with her singing and playing!

At Darwin’s, she let her group  The Meter-Tones, carry some of the show, which is fine because not only are they professional, well-paced and talented, but two of them introduced themselves as Watkins’ sons. If they really are her sons, they have inherited her charm and showmanship. And after about an hour, they were joined by the son I already knew she had, Stan “The Man” Watkins. Glittering literally from head to toes, Stan had rhinestones on his hatband, his tunic, and his boots. He only performed a short set while we were there, a fast-paced medley of soul songs from the 60’s and 70’s and a marvelous rendition of “You Send Me” dedicated to his mother.

While The Meter-Tones were great and the lead guitarist ha the best guitar I’ve ever seen, which lit up with multicolored lights while he played, still, there was no doubt Beverly Watkins was the star. When she did “Right String But The Wrong YoYo,” harking back to her days with Piano Re, even people in that audience who never heard of Piano Red were thrilled. They loved her hot licks on songs like “The Blues Are All eight” and “I’ll Play the Blues For You.” Thoe who were seeing her for the first time were just as enthusiastic as those who were old fans.

We are blessed in Atlanta to have living legends like ms. Beverly, Eddie Tigner, Abert White and Roy Lee Johnson, who have all worked together at various times. They are not novelties but real, talented performers who perform because they love it and still give the audience a great show.

Thanks to Darwin’s for giving us the chance to see this great lady of the blues and her band again!