Each week, the Fort Wayne Blues Society takes over the stage at Billy's. At least a dozen musicians, some professional, some just starting out, come here to play the blues along with guys like Richards. Richards says he's been personally influenced by the Chicago blues, and he's the kind of player who'll keep plugging away at a song even if the chemistry isn't there. He plays for the people, he says. Tonight, about 40 patrons, ages 21 to 61, mingle around the bar.
People also sit at tables, sip beers and smoke cigarettes.
Some shoot pool while listening. More figures come in out of the rain carrying beat-up guitar cases. Each Tuesday, anyone who wants to play the blues can show up and put his name on the board. Musicians are thrown together in various combinations. Pepper, Broadway and Big Head.