It was a big treat for this blues loving AgriBlogger to hear Watermelon Slim tonight at the 2012 Conservation in Action Tour opening reception. He told us before playing that he had farmed and felt a special connection to the audience he had tonight.

Bill “Watermelon Slim” Homans has built a remarkable reputation with his raw, impassioned intensity. HARP Magazine wrote “From sizzling slide guitar…to nitty-gritty harp blowing…to a gruff, resonating Okie twang, Slim delivers acutely personal workingman blues with both hands on the wheel of life, a bottle of hooch in his pocket, and the Bible on the passenger seat.” Paste Magazine writes “He’s one hell of a bottleneck guitarist, and he’s got that cry in his voice that only the greatest singers in the genre have had before him.”

I recorded one of his songs for you and when time allows have one on video to share later. His special style is fascinating. At one point he was using an empty Woodford Reserve mini bottle for his slide!

Listen to my Watermelon Slim here: A Taste of Watermelon Slim

2012 Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album