NORWICH – “Talk about a diverse day of music,” said Chenango Blues Association President Eric Larsen discussing the lineup for the free show on Friday that will kick-off the 21st annual Chenango Blues Festival weekend. “This is going to be very entertaining.”

The tunes for Frontier Communications’ Free Friday begin at 6 p.m. at the tent stage of the Chenango County Fairgrounds.

This year’s Friday night entertainment features three performances; Pinecone Fletcher, Tinsley Ellis, and Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers.

Pinecone Fletcher is known as the king of the hobo blues, having spent many years of his life homeless by choice and hopping freight trains illegally to get from place to place. Brad Morrison - most well known for his work with Phish, and who is now working with the locally known Woodshed Prophets - discovered a man asleep and trespassing on his upstate NY farm. According to reports, Morrison invited the stranger inside for breakfast where Pinecone played “Mmm Mmm Good” in exchange for his meal and Morrison then offered to record what became Pinecone’s debut album, Hoboin’.

Since that time, Pinecone has performed with the likes of Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Pete Anderson, Honeyboy Edwards, Donnie Sumner, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

“He came to our attention through one of our committee members who had seen him,” Larsen said, adding that Fletcher owns a music shop in the Southern Tier - Hobo King Guitars - selling handmade cigar box guitars.

Said Larsen, “When you hear him play one (cigar box guitar), it is amazing. Really amazing.” Larsen added the cigar box guitars have three strings and a unique sound, and Pinecone is the luthier, or builder, of each cigar box guitar.

Pinecone occupies the tent stage at the fairgrounds from 6 to 6:45 p.m. and will be followed by Tinsley Ellis, who takes to the stage at 7:15 p.m.

“Tinsley Ellis will be great,” said Larsen. “He is more of a blues-rock guy and it will be a completely different sound from Pinecone.”

Ellis is well known for his intense and powerful performances. He found blues through bands such as The Yardbirds, Cream and The Rolling Stones, but according to reports truly fell in love when – at a B.B. King show at the age of fourteen – King broke a string, changed it without missing a beat, and handed off the broken string to Ellis – a string Ellis still has to this day.