J /k ” 'í It) X 1 / jS Queen of Afro-Pop In Loving Memory Portland’s Loveless Wesa brings some special with SPe C healing b a lin g with her music ^er Portland Observer | family mourns the loss o f 7 a beloved beloved brother brother r>/'< See Metro, M etro, page 11 story, page page 17 17 F J O H M S See ee storv’ 3/^R If g 3)Jo r t Ut itb ©bsetlier 43 ^jggft. •City , com m um tv service Committed to to Cultural Cultural ntversttv Diversity V Committed J photo by R ob F isher /H ealth C are for A ll O regon Portland Blues legend Norman Sylvester (right) belts out a tune calling for “Healing the healthcare blues” with his bass player Rob Shoemaker during a Feb. 4 Healthcare for All Oregon rally at the Capitol Building in Salem. D onovan M . S mith T he P ortland O bserver Itis year tw o fo rth e Inner C ity ’s B lues F estiv al’s “H ealing the H ealthcare B lu es” and there is still plenty to sing about. O n S aturday, A pril 13, the M elody B allroom , 615 S.E. A ld er St., w ill again serve as host for the b en efit concert, raising m oney to h elp pay for the m edical ex p en ses o f local m usi- by Voices for universal coverage to sing the blues cians in n eed and p ro m o tin g a cam paign for universal healthcare. ‘ ‘I don ’ t care what party you ’ re in, D em ocratic or Republican, H ealing the H ealth C are Blues, It’s the only w ay we can w in,” local B lues legend N orm an Sylvester belts out in a song he penned for the grassroots m ovem ent to m ake healthcare a right. A t a p ro u d 67 years-old, and dressed in his unavoidable red suit, S ylvester uses the lyrics to m ake a point during a Feb. 4 rally at the S alem C apitol B uilding, an event org an ized by H ealthcare for A ll O regon. Sylvester know s the cam paign for single-payer healthcare, w hich calls for the governm ent to cover healthcare costs for continued on page 5