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Waterfront Blues Festival Alice Stuart blazed the trail for women in Rock and Roll as one of the only females in the country to write her own music, front a male band, and play lead guitar on national and international circuits during the 1970s. Blues Hall of Fame inductee Dick Waterman once remarked, "There would be no Bonnie Raitt without Alice Stuart." According to Taj Mahal, "Alice cut the road that Bonnie traveled." Alice spent the mid-70s, one of the most creative musical periods of the century, making music with some of the greatest artists of that time. She toured the US and Europe with Van Morrison, Commander Cody, Michael Bloomfield and John Prine. She appeared and recorded with such artists as Jerry Garcia, Albert King, Asleep at the Wheel, John Hammond, Richard Greene, Elvin Bishop, Dave Mason, Sonny Terry, Tower of Power, Bread, and Mark Naftalin. During this period, Alice also appeared on The Dick Cavett Show, and won rave reviews from Billboard, Guitar Player, and Rolling Stone magazines. Alice's LPs on Arhoolie (1964) and Fantasy Records (1970 and 1972) are landmark recordings. Her original songs from this period have been recorded by Jackie DeShannon, Irma Thomas, Jimmy Rabbit, and the late Kate Wolf. Alice began performing professionally in Seattle during the early 60's, influenced by the rural blues recordingsof Furry Lewis and Blind Willie McTell. In 1964, she was introduced to California audiences at the Berkeley Folk Festival, then the biggest festival on the West Coast, and was soon touring and performing with Joan Baez, Doc Watson, Jack Elliott, Phil Ochs, Rosalie Sorrells, Jerry Ricks and more. During this period she met and played with blues greats Lightnin' Hopkins, Jesse Fuller and Mississippi John Hurt, as well as The Chambers Brothers. In 1966, Alice joined forces with Frank Zappa during the formation of the Mothers of Invention. In 1970 Alice formed her own band, Snake, which included Bob Jones and Karl Sevareid (currently with Robert Cray) after their band, Southern Comfort, disbanded. After an extended hiatus in the 1980s to raise her family, she returned to recording and performing in 1996. Her first releases after returning to music, "Really Good," and 1999's "Crazy With the Blues," won rave reviews. Her newest CD, "Can't Find No Heaven," was released in 2002 and was nominated for both a Grammy and a Handy Award, and was named Best Northwest Release by the Washington Blues Society. In 2004 the WBS named her Best Songwriter and inducted her into its Hall of Fame. She and her band were awarded Best Seattle Blues Band 2004 by the Seattle Weekly.

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