The sounds of electric guitar and rhythmic percussion will ring out over the Pocono Mountains as the 25th annual Pennsylvania Blues Festival invades Split Rock Resort for a long weekend of soul.

The award-winning festival will showcase over 17 national acts on two stages Sept. 16-18, including Toronzo Cannon, who takes the stage that Sunday afternoon.The 48-year-old bus driver turned guitarist, vocalist and songwriter will delight the crowd with Hendrix-esque electric riffs on his left-handed Les Paul Gold Top accompanied by a voice reminiscent of the pioneer musicians he grew up listening to."I was born in Chicago and listened to blues my whole life. I didn't know it was blues, I just thought it was music," he said.Cannon recalls hearing his city's soundtrack when his grandfather would fire up the hi-fi record player.The performer has been entertaining crowds for 21 years and has released five albums, including his latest venture, "The Chicago Way."The songs included a singer's look at the city he lives and raises his family in, like in "The Pain Around Me." The track "Bad Contract," is a tongue-in-cheek look at divorce, where Cannon sing-speaks warnings for would-be husbands: "Why do you need a witness, because it's a business. I signed a bad contract."But it's in "Walk It Off" that the tough city swagger shows through: "I pulled a knife/ he pulled a gun/ I pulled my hand grenade and pulled the pin 'cause that's the Chicago Way."According to the seasoned musician, "People go crazy when I sing that line. It's so over the top, like when Muddy Waters was saying, 'I got TNT/dynamite.' It's a throwback to Muddy's outlandishness."Cannon said he learned how to construct lyrics long before ever picking up a guitar."I used to trash talk when I played basketball. This is just a refocus of that."Trying to break into the music world, he got his start in reggae."I learned how to play guitar by watching Bob Marley videos. I'd watch what his hands were doing and try to mimic that."Having a hard time breaking into the genre, he changed gears and found local blues jams around the city."They were everyplace because of being in Chicago. I realized I knew the songs from when my grandfather played the records."It wasn't long after that Cannon was bit by the performance bug and started writing his own music."We all have a song. Of course there's the 'Mojo Working' for the audience participation, but you want people to know your songs and sing along to it. I encourage musicians to write."Cannon says he strives to open people's minds to what the blues can really be and not just the sad tears in your beer songs that are regularly brought to mind."I try to mix it up. I hope people listen to the stories. Sometimes people might not grasp it because of the funk music with it. I try not to do anything too lofty. I write in stories but I try not to be to heavy," he said.Drawing from his own life in "Pain Around Me," he describes the urban living he sees from his driver's window on the streets of Chicago."It's not like I'm living in Beverly Hills. There are serious issues that need to be addressed."He also takes the time to show love to the women in his city, such as in "Fine Seasoned-Woman" where he sings: "Young women leave me be and send your momma here to me.""It's a song for women over 31. I was thinking to myself, 'Why don't I hear songs about the glory of a woman over 30?' I appreciate a woman who can understand the same era as me."Cannon has traveled extensively in Europe over the past few years to promote his music."I've been in France, Germany and Armenia four times. People knew who I was there. I was the first American bluesman to play in Armenia since 1974. That's where I got a glimpse of how the Eric Claptons of the world are treated, it really opened my eyes to some things," he said with a laugh.As his success continues to build, Cannon says he doesn't take it for granted."It hurts to wake up at 4 a.m., and go to work after performing in France. I have a family and things to do and accomplish when I get back. I'm just a regular bus driver again.""I've been playing over 20-something years, and some times it's still a work in progress. Sometimes I pick up the guitar and it seems brand-new."Cannon will perform for the first time in the Poconos at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 18."It'll be like having the circus in town. I'm the guy driving through with the Ferris wheel of songs. People get on the ride for hour and a half, bring your popcorn and cotton candy and enjoy the ride," he said of his upcoming appearance.For tickets to the festival at Split Rock, which is located at 100 Moseywood Road in Lake Harmony, visit

www.pennsylvaniabluesfestival.com or call 800-255-7625.