Nat Bolden is still going strong at 97.
Just ask the people who catch the bluesman at any of his regular performance spots – including Eli’s Mile High Club, Continental Club, Everett & Jones BBQ and Lakeside Lounge.
“I asked him, ‘Nat, how do you do it?’” recalls West Coast Blues Society founder Ronnie Stewart. “He said, ‘I’m just blessed.’ I don’t know how he does it. I’m 75 and I can’t keep up with him. He is truly blessed.”
That’s truly how Bolden sees it. The accomplished blues vocalist — who recently celebrated his 97th birthday at a well-attended show at the Continental Club — says that his motivation to still perform comes from a power much greater than himself.
“It comes from God above. It comes from the Almighty,” says Bolden, a longtime member of the East Bay blues music community. “Whether I want to or didn’t want to (perform), it all comes down to God leaving me here for whatever His reason is. And I am not asking Him what His reason is.
“My only thing is — ‘Thank you, Jesus.’”
Nat Bolden receives a $50 dollar bill as he performs with Jay Jay Sax, left, and T. Patrick Farmer, right, at his 97th birthday party at the Continental Club in West Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Born in 1928 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Bolden worked on a farm into his early 20s. At that point, Bolden — who had been making a $100 a month overseeing the farm in Arkansas — made the decision to move to California.
“I was trying to better my living condition,” he says of the move.
He settled in Berkeley, where he found that the racism that existed in the South could also be found in the Bay Area.
“That’s the way it was,” Bolden remembers. “I walked into a café – I don’t remember the name – and a waitress came over to serve me. There was a white couple already eating and one yelled out to the waitress, ‘Are you going to serve him?’ She said yes and then they threw their forks down and walked out.”
Related Articles
North Bay concert series is set for its biggest year ever in 2025
Bay Area acts unite in the name of restoring Oakland blues ‘Walk of Fame’
Mountain Winery unleashes terrific concert lineup for 2025 season
His nickname is ‘Terrible,’ but bluesman’s life story is anything but
Historic Bay Area music club faces financial woes and could close down
Arriving in the Bay Area in 1950, Bolden would start a long career as a welder. A couple of decades later, he’d pursue his interest in nightclubs and buy the ‘Til Two Lounge in Oakland.
It was there that Bolden’s performance career really took off — although, as he recalls it, not immediately. At first, he was just booking other artists to perform, but later started joining them on the stage and taking his turn on the microphone. The other musicians, however, weren’t initially thrilled with this turn of events.
Nat Bolden poses for a photo with friend Sarah Patterson while performing during his 97th birthday party at the Continental Club in West Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
“I went to the stage and they tried to put me off,” recalls Bolden, who now calls Stockton home. “But I said, ‘Hey, wait a minute, man, I hired you. You can’t put me off.’ And I started singing. When I did, it helped bring customers and allowed me to stay in business.”
He’d keep that club for 20 years, which allowed him ample time to hone his skills as a blues vocalist. Those lessons are still paying dividends all these years later, as Bolden maintains a reputation as a very magnetic performer.
“When I think of Nat Bolden, I say to myself, ‘That man’s got more moves than a chess piece,’” says San Jose blues vocalist-guitarist JC Smith. “And at his age, he still keeps the ladies intrigued with his gyrating hips, stylish clothes and overall persona.”
Those ‘Til Two days were a busy time period for the club performer/owner, who also kept right on working as a welder until his mid-60s. Yet, Bolden says he was just doing what was necessary to provide for his large family.
“I’m welding in the daytime and running the club at night — to survive,” Bolden says. “My wife and I were married for 68 years and we had eight kids and we never were on welfare. (Our kids) knew nothing about welfare, because if I had one job and it wasn’t taking care of them, I got two. If that didn’t take care of them, I got three. I did everything I could to hustle a dollar to keep my kids from asking for help.”
Nat Bolden is greeted by vocalist Fillmore Slim during his 97th birthday party at the Continental Club in West Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
As soon as he retired from owning a club himself, Bolden began to get calls from other club/bar owners who wanted him to perform at their establishments. And, yes, they were willing to pay — a fact that Bolden sees as really taking his blues career to the next level.
“When you get paid for what you’re doing, you become a pro,” he says. “But if you don’t get paid for what you’re doing, you’re not a pro — you’re just out there doing.”
Three decades after the ‘Til Two Lounge era ended – and at 97 years old — Bolden remains a very active presence on the Bay Area blues scene. And he has only one explanation for his longevity:
“I am blessed,” Bolden says.
