Baton Rouge blues giant James Johnson's scheduled appearance at this year's Ponderosa Stomp is perhaps one of the most highly anticipated performances in recent memory, simply because this amazing guitarist does not often travel outside Baton Rouge to perform. You've undoubtedly heard of that bedrock of the Baton Rouge swamp-blues scene, Slim Harpo, whose harmonica was complemented by the twin-guitar attack of Rudy Richard and James Johnson. It's Johnson's biting guitar that puts the "chicken scratch" into Harpo's 1966 hit, "Baby, Scratch My Back." Don't miss this performance by Johnson, who helped forge the Baton Rouge blues scene along with older titans like Raful Neal, Tabby Thomas, Silas Hogan, and Lightnin' Slim, and has served as a mentor to the younger generations of bluesmen, including Kenny Neal, Lil' Ray Neal, Chris Thomas King, Tab Benoit, and many more.

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