|
|
|
|
|
Photo Moments with the New 19th Annual BFG Magazine!
|
 Here's in-demand drummer Marty Dodson following Kim Wilson's Blues Allstars' performance at the El Casino Ballroom in Tucson, Arizona. Marty has toured with virtually every well known blues harmonica player in the world including: James Cotton, Lazy Lester, Mark Hummel, Snooky Pryor, Kim Wilson, Lee Oskar, James Harman, Charlie Musselwhite, John Mayall, Junior Watson, Rod Piazza, Bob Corritore, and more, plus recorded with many of them as well.
Happy Birthday Marty Jan 13!
Photo: Marilyn Stringer
Want a pic here with the Guide? Order the 19th annual now
*GET THE ANNUAL BFG MAG & SEND US A PIC WITH IT!
If you're a BFG client reach out to your sales person and get yours!
Anyone can also Order one here! Once you receive, have fun, get creative and SNAP A PHOTO of you, your friends, and/or artists, etc. with the BFG magazine and EMAIL photo, caption (120 words or less), URL if applicable, and photo credit to e-Guide editor!
The Blues Foundation is official sponsor of our 2021 Blues Festival Guide!
___________________________________________________________
|
|
|
Buddy Shute & The Motivators :: BAR-B-QUE
|
|
  "Think I'll Give The Blues A Try"
Website
Hot off the grill! Bar-B-Que, a new album by Buddy Shute & the Motivators, features fourteen smokin’ hot tunes recorded by Buddy and his hot little Ozark Mountain blues band. Most are originals, three are covers, and one was written by Buddy’s old friend John Magnie (of New Orleans’ legendary Subdudes), and recorded for the first time.
Buddy's feel-good style comes from the older musicians who would sneak him in to play in hometown Memphis bars when he was sixteen and his ten years in New Orleans playing everywhere with everybody.
Accompanied by veteran musicians Mark McGee (harmonica), Steve Baskin (bass), Randy Reese (drums), and Brenda Baskin (vocals), Buddy’s arrangements, guitar and vocal stylings are in top form here. Keith Hubbard was imported to add his distinctive New Orleans keyboard style.
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Chris Moore at East Hall Recording, the project was a labor of love from start to finish.
Bar-B-Que is a southern thing, and this is a southern flavored CD. Both Buddy and Brenda hail from Memphis, and they bonded over discussions of the best places to get a pulled pork sandwich and a rack of ribs. Besides the perfume of hickory smoke, summers in the south consist of starry nights, steamy days, slow lazy rivers, mason jars filled with sweet tea, and a long musical tradition of blues, soul and rock n’ roll. These are the themes that run throughout this music.
Available for streaming in the usual places.
|
|
|
LA Smith Presents Rare Union …a band born out of the pandemic!
|
 CDs are now available on Rare Union’s website and Blues Music Magazine.
Out of the chaos and isolation of the apocalyptic nightmare, three unique and talented musicians came together to record their debut album, Brother Of Mine.
Brother of Mine is a deeply personal album featuring a daring mix of percussion driven, blues-influenced rock and roll with revealing, soul-baring, heartfelt vocals.
The start of Rare Union began in 2019 with LA Smith, a percussionist from New York. He had been wanting to produce a CD with a lot of percussion to pass on to kids around the world. At the same time, Martin Cage, lead guitarist from Nemesis, was looking to record some of his original compositions on CD. LA, now out of Columbia, MO, and Martin out of Salt Lake, UT, decided to get together.
When the pandemic hit it was a challenge to bring any artists together. The studio added UV lighting and the group slowly started to work on the CD. Martin Cage had played with Fort Meyers, FL vocalist, guitarist Max Soler in the group Nemesis, so when they called Max, he was ready to go. They had Will Reeves on bass and Danny Carrol on drums, both from Columbia, MO, and they played together in several groups.
The songs started to get real, heartfelt lyrics, guitar breaks and solos that bring out the original sound of Rare Union. They didn’t go into the studio trying to produce a particular sound, they just wanted to make good music. What happened was chemistry – five artists, with different backgrounds, from five states, playing together.
…Read more of the story about Rare Union and their recording journey
|
|
|
Winter Blues Jazz Fest Jan 13-16
|
 (WILLIAMSBURG, VA) - The Winter Blues Jazz Fest is back and getting ready to kick off this week. The festival, which is in its eighth year, begins Thursday and includes eight events stretched out over a four-day span.
This year’s event begins with an opening night reception at 7 p.m. Thursday at Williamsburg Winery. Friday, Saturday and Sunday feature two events each, with the majority of those events located in the Virginia Room at The Williamsburg Lodge. Saturday the Lurrie Bell band perform then the festival’s Signature Event will feature a performance by The Blind Boys of Alabama from 7-9 pm.
For those planning to attend, health and safety requirements depend on the event. The Williamsburg Lodge, which is holding five of the events, requires guests to wear masks in their public areas but not in individual event spaces.
Tickets and the event schedule can be found online. Prices per ticket range from $35 to $55 for individual events, while a four-day festival pass, which includes tickets to all events, is $275. Tickets for the festival chill out, which caps the weekend at 2 p.m. Sunday, are available for free. Some food and drinks are included in each ticket.
|
|
Centers for Arts Bonita Springs has the Blues Jan-Feb
|
 (BONITA SPRINGS, FL) - The Center for Performing Arts Bonita Springs (10150 Bonita Beach Road, Bonita Springs, Florida) has some stellar blues and zydeco coming right up and through February. Showtimes are 7:30pm. Refreshments are available at all performances.
Matt Schofield is this Saturday, January 15.
Schofield is widely regarded as one of the most distinctive and innovative British Blues artists of his generation. Blessed with not only a killer voice, he has been rated in the top ten British Blues Guitarists of all time by Guitar & Bass Magazine.
Ronnie Baker Brooks Friday, January 28
Brooks is the uber-talented, multi-faceted Chicago blues and soul blues guitarist, singer and songwriter of the legendary Lonnie Brooks family.
Tab Benoit performs Saturday, February 5 and Sunday February 6.
Benoit is a Grammy nominated, multi-BMA winner, singer, songwriter and guitarist who delivers gritty and soulful Delta swamp blues. Benoit is also the founder and driving force behind Voice of the Wetlands, an organization working to preserve the coastal waters of his home state of Louisiana.
BeauSoleil Avec Michael Doucet perform Saturday, February 12.
For the past 45 years, this band has been making some of the most potent and popular Cajun music on the planet and they are now back on the road with their farewell tour One Last Time—Au Revoir! Their distinctive sound derives from the distilled spirits of New Orleans jazz, blues rock, folk, swamp pop, Zydeco, country and bluegrass.
Find tickets for these shows here.
|
|
 By Brother Yusef
The blues is healing. The blues is freedom. That is the message I take with me everywhere I perform. As an African American blues artist, I feel it is essential to have a clearer understanding of this music. Sadly, the real knowledge of what this music is about is too often overlooked. Blues began out of a need for African Americans to seek healing and freedom in a society that denied them both. This music allowed black folks a way of expressing their humanity in a world that, for 400 plus years, refused them of their humanity. The blues was a way of saying, “we matter.”
I’ve been a professional blues musician for over 25 years. I started playing guitar in 1982 at the age of 19. At the time, being a blues artist was the furthest thing from my mind. My interest was in jazz, reggae, funk, and rock. I just wanted to be good. But I knew enough history to understand that everything I needed to learn about contemporary American music was rooted in the blues. After nine years of learning to play different musical styles, I decided to devote all my energy to the blues. As I began my exploration into the blues world, I noticed a lack of younger black performers like myself. The older legends like BB King, Buddy Guy, and John Lee Hooker were still going strong, but the new crop of black blues artists were missing from the larger mainstream. Was blues being appropriated by white musicians? It seemed African Americans have all but abandoned the genre. I decided to become a full-time blues artist out of a desire to preserve what I consider my cultural birthright. I take special pride in performing the blues and giving honor to my past.
…Find full story at The African Folklorist
|
|
Blues Music Awards & IBC’s now back-to-back in May 2022
|
(MEMPHIS, TN) – It’s full-on Memphis in May as the new dates for the International Blues Challenge (IBC) will now immediately follow the 2022 Blues Music Awards. The Blues Foundation announced that it will be a full week of blues celebrating the Blues Music Award (BMA) nominees and winners on Thursday, May 5 and then it’s “Back On Beale” with the IBC beginning Friday, May 6 through May 9.
IBC Important Dates
Friday, May 6: Quarterfinals Night 1
Saturday, May 7: Quarterfinals Night 2
Sunday, May 8: KBA Ceremony, Youth Showcases, & Semifinals
Monday, May 9: IBC Finals at The Orpheum
Stay tuned for the updated IBC event schedule that includes workshops, panels, and showcases. All previously purchased passes will be honored for the new dates. Passes will now be mailed out in mid-April.
|
|
|
Which Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise Hits Your Groove?
|
|
|
Bluesin’ is back baby! We're excited to Return to the West Coast in 2022! On Sale Launches Jan 13
|
 We're excited to Return to the West Coast in 2022!LRBC #37 Sea of Cortez: Oct. 29~Nov. 5, 2022 San Diego, CA to Cabo San Lucas, La Paz & Loreto on Holland America’s ms Koningsdam.
LRBC #38 Eastern Caribbean: Jan. 28~Feb. 4, 2023 Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Ports TBA on Holland America’s ms Nieuw Statendam. PREBOOK NOW!
Visit Reservations Or Call (816) 753-7979 To Reserve Your Cabin! _________________
 The Best Blues Experience on the Planet!
_____________________
LEGENDARY RHYTHM
& BLUES CRUISE 313 Lawrence St., Kansas City, MO | (816) 753-7979 | BluesCruise.com
- More Than A Cruise…
More Than A Festival…
More Than You Can Imagine! -
|
|
|
|
___________________________________________________
|
|
|
Holidays, Birthdays and... Just In Case
|
 • Jan 17 Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Jan 26 Australia Day
Birthdays upcoming of note:
Jan 13-David "Kid" Ramos (1959); Jan 14-Allen Toussaint (1938-2015), Clarence Carter (1936); Jan 15-Earl Hooker (1929-1970), Martin Luther King, Jr (1929-1968), Queen Ida (1929); Jan 16-Barbara Lynn (1942), Lester Davenport (1932-2009), Robert Wilkins (1896-1987); Jan 17-Paul Rishell (1950), Mick Taylor (1949), EG Kight (1966); Jan 19-Henry Gray (1925), Janis Joplin (1943-1970), Willie "Big Eyes" Smith (1936); Jan 20-Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter (1888-1949), Luther Tucker (1936-1993); Jan 21-Snooks Eaglin (1936-2009), Richie Havens (1941-2013), B'nois King (1943), Wolfman Jack (1938-1995 DJ extraordinaire), Zora Young (1948); Jan 22-Hammie Nixon (1908-1984), Sam Cooke (1935-1964), “Blind” Willie Johnson (1897-1945), Teeny Tucker (1958)
Just in case:
 • January 15 is "National Hat Day." If you don't regularly already, have some fun and wear and enjoy a hat of your choice and style. Do your thang!
• Jan 20th is "National DJ Day" to celebrate the work of disc jockeys everywhere. In the 1940s, Sonny Boy Williamson No. 2 (Rice Miller) brought the blues to audiences throughout the Delta via his live broadcasts from KFFA in Helena, Arkansas, and later from WROX in Clarksdale, WAZF in Yazoo City, and other stations. WDIA in Memphis had Maurice “Hot Rod” Hulbert, Riley ”B.B.” King (the "Beale Street Blues Boy"), Rufus Thomas and of course longtime DJ, Sonny Payne. Wolfman Jack was a West Coast favorite playing blues, rock n' roll and, rhythm & blues. Tip of the iceberg!
Soooo many memories with DJ's as a part our entire lives to this day, right?
___________________________
Missed your Weekly e-Guide?
|
|
|
The 19th Annual Blues Festival Guide Magazine!
|
 We're thrilled to have the talented Kevin Burt on our 19th annual cover thanks to the photography of Marilyn Stringer! ORDER one to have and to hold and refer to throughout the year! If you're a festival, venue, blues society, etc., please contact our distribution manager or your sales rep. The magazine is also digital on our website.
Along with our festival, artist and blues related features, here’s some of the the cool editorial:
Keeping the Blues Alive During a Pandemic By Irene Johnson
What’s Cookin’ with Larry Garner
The Lore of the Train By Michele Lundeen
Blues Against Hunger Society ...feeding thousands while supporting, promoting and preserving the blues
Living Legend: Miss Lavelle White By Pam Cosel
The Blues Foundation Welcomes New Leadership... an interview with the new CEO and President
Ladies Sing & Play the Blues By Reverend Billy C. Wirtz
Thanks for digging and supporting the blues!
|
|
|
BFG Twitter-Instagram-Facebook
|
|
|
Join Blues Freaks at our Tweeter feed & on Instagram
|
Hey, come on over and Join 14,100+ Blues Freaks at our TWITTER feed @BluesFestGuide
___________________________________________
  Also Follow us on INSTAGRAM with 9,780+ BluesersSee awesome, bluesy festival photos
from our team and fellow blues lovers!
|
|
|
Get your Face in our Book
|
|
Then please drop on by and "LIKE" us to get
a daily dose of blues related stuff!
|
|
Radio Submit Roots Blues Chart
|
|
|
|
iTunes & Billboard #1 Blues Albums
|
|
|
iTunes/Billboard #1 Blues Albums - as of Jan 13, 2022
|
 #1 iTunes
ROBERT FINLEY
Sharecropper's Son
#1 Billboard
ERIC CLAPTON
The Lady In The Balcony:
Lockdown Sessions
|
|
|
To view entire calendar of festivals & Live Streams, click here!
|
|
ATTENTION:
FESTIVAL PROMOTERS
|
LIST YOUR FESTIVAL ON OUR
WEBSITE FOR FREE HERE
To ensure that your festival also appears here in the e-Guide Festival Calender EMAIL |
Not all upcoming blues festivals/events are listed here at certain times of the year due to space constraints. Unless highlighted, festivals are no longer inked due to increasing spam
For a complete list and links see our comprehensive website.
|
| | |
|
|
|
NOTE: Highlighted/Linked events are paid "Featured" ads.
Checkout website Festival page!
______________________
|
Winter Blues Jazz Fest
Jan-13-2022 - Jan-16-2022
Williamsburg, Virginia USA
29th Annual MLK Blues Festival Jan-15-2022 - Jan-16-2022
Chester, South Carolina USA
29th Annual MLK Blues Festival Jan-22-2022 - Jan-23-2022
Chester, South Carolina USA
29th Annual MLK Blues Festival Jan-29-2022 - Jan-30-2022
Chester, South Carolina USA
#36 Legendary Rhythm
& Blues Cruise
Jan-29-2022 - Feb-5-2022
Eastern Caribbean
Blues On The Block
Feb-4-2022 - Feb-5-2022
Clearwater, Florida, USA
Ice, Wine, Beer and Blues Fest
Feb-4-2022 - Feb-5-2022
Marshall, Michigan, USA
Cincinnati Winter Blues
Experience III
Feb-12-2022
Mason, Ohio, USA
Baton Rouge Mardi Gras Festival
Feb-26-2022
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
Leeds Blues,
Rhythm & Rock Festival
Feb-27-2022
Leeds, United Kingdom
Bonita Blues Festival
Mar-11-2022 - Mar-13-2022
Bonita Springs, Florida, USA
Walla Walla Guitar Festival 11
Mar-11-2022 - Mar-13-2022
Walla Walla, Washington, USA
Coeur D'Alene Blues Festival
Mar-25-2022 - Mar-27-2022
Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, USA
|
| | For festival-event links
please go to our website
_______________________
|
Tampa Bay Blues Festival
Apr-08-2022 - Apr-10-2022
Tampa Bay, Florida, USA
Florida Blues & Heritage Festival
Apr-09-2022
Immokalee, Florida, USA
29th Lowcountry Cajun Festival
Apr-09-2022, Charleston
South Carolina, USA
Juke Joint Festival
& Related Events
Apr-21-2022 - Apr-24-2022
Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA
16th Annual
Blues By the Sea
Apr-24-2022
Kiawah Island, South Carolina, USA
Gator By The Bay
May-5-2022 - May-8-2022
San Diego, California USA
Flagstaff Blues and Brews
Jun-10-2022 - Jun-11-2022
Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
32nd Annual
Billtown Blues Festival
Jun-10-2022 - Jun-12-2022
Billtown, Pennsylvania, USA
New York State Blues Festival
Jun-16-2022 – Jun-18-2022
Syracuse, New York, USA
Northwoods Blues Festival
Jun-17-2022 - Jun-18-2022
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, USA
21st Annual
Greenwood Blues Cruise
Festival of Discovery
Jul-07-2022 - Jul-09-2022
Greenwood, South Carolina, USA
Vallemaggia Magic Blues
Jul-07-2022 – Aug-07-2022
Vallemaggia, Switzerland
Cincy Blues Fest
Jul-16-2022
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Big Blues Bender
Aug-25-2022 - Aug-28-2022
Las Vegas, Nevada USA
|
|
|
|
We are thinking of you and wishing you good health!
|
|
|
 RBA Publishing/Blues Festival Guide
P.O. Box 920, Arcata, CA 95518
Call 707-630-3304
We welcome e-Guide suggestions and questions. You can reach our E-Guide editor, Michele Lundeen (pictured here) via EMAIL.
Michele is also a singer, songwriter, performer and bandleader based in the San Diego County, California area (click image).
RBA Publishing, Inc. in business since 1993, is a boutique, blues-specific PR and marketing firm based on the West Coast. We help musicians, festivals, labels and music-related brands. Our digital campaigns target fans, industry and influencers. We are masterful at email marketing, social media, fan acquisition and long-term marketing plans. Our media services are supported by people who understand and love the blues genre. Publishers of annual the Blues Festival Guide magazine, our top-ranking website, and e-Guide newsletter with approx. 30,000 weekly subscribers, we have been blues industry leaders for over 18 years. Please contact us at 707-630 3304 or EMAIL to find out how we can help you!
Information both editorial and advertising in the Blues Festival E-Guide is believed to be correct but not guaranteed. Double check info carefully before you attend any event or send money for anything. We do not do CD/DVD reviews nor write the news... we just share and report it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hey blues lovers! Got 
