It was a good Saturday night for the blues in uptown Butte on Dec. 6, as Elvin Bishop and friends hit the stage at the Mother Lode Theatre for the Mining City’s first annual Winter Blues Festival.

Montana Deluxe got the ball rolling for a nearly packed house at 7:30. Montana Deluxe includes Bill Dwyer on guitar, Bryant McGregory on bass, Mike Babineaux on drums, and special guest Bob Britton joined in on keyboards. Serving as house band that evening, Montana Deluxe first backed up legendary British blues singer Dave Walker (Savoy Brown, Fleetwood Mac), who currently lives in Virginia City, Montana. Walker proved that he could still belt out the blues for the audience, getting them properly primed for the action to come.

Lionel Young, an up-and-coming performer whose blues won’t bring you down, was next up on the Mother Lode stage. Both Lionel and his band (The Lionel Young Band) won top honors in the 2011 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, making Young the first double champion in the Challenge’s history. The sounds Young can make a violin emit will astound you, and the man can sing. By the time Young was done with his set, the crowd was beginning to have a hard time sitting still.

Nashville singer-songwriter Phil Lee hit the stage next. The old roadhouse rocker proved he had a trick or two left up his sleeve as he entertained the crowd with both story and song. Lee had the audience laughing and singing, and setting just the right mood for Elvin Bishop and his band.

After a short break in the ornate 1920s-era Mother Lode Theatre, which offered a full bar to patrons that night, the lights flashed off and on in the lobby to let the crowd know that Elvin and his band were about to rock. Bishop’s band includes Ed Earley on trombone and vocals, Steve Willis on the keyboards accordion and vocals, Ruth Davies on bass, Bob Welsh on guitar, and Bobby Cochrane on drums and vocals. Bishop, also a founding member of the Butterfield Blues Band, performed old favorites as well as material off his new album, “Can’t Even Do Wrong Right” (2014, Alligator Records), as the 71-year-old blues legend demonstrated without a doubt that he still can still sing with the best of them, and also make his guitar do magic. Lionel Young joined Elvin and his band onstage for a few numbers as well, and by the end of the night, everyone present at the Mother Lode Theatre knew that Elvin Bishop can still make the juke joint jump.

At the end of the evening, event organizers were pleased with both the event and the turnout, and expressed hope that the Mining City’s inaugural Winter Blues Festival will become a mainstay of the Christmas season in uptown Butte.