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Announcing our fabulous 21st Annual Blues Festival Guide cover and a sneak peek into some of the editorial stories
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 We are so excited to share the brand new cover of our 21st annual Blues Festival Guide print magazine featuring the amazing Ori and Tierinii Naftaly of the multi-award-winning, GRAMMY®-nominated, and critically acclaimed band Southern Avenue. The photo was captured by photographer Jon Naugle at the 2022 San Diego Blues Festival. The soulful, Memphis-based band inked their first record deal with legendary Stax Records in 2016 and have taken the world by storm with their infectious, boundless energy, creativity, and sheer talent. The chemistry is on fire here and the entire band is a righteous, captivating force to be reckoned with indeed.
Order your very own 21st annual copy to be delivered straight to your door!
Blues legend Bobby Rush calls our magazine: "The roadmap to everything blues."
From the desk of our Blues Festival Guide magazine Editor, Irene Johnson:
It’s been a long winter and I know we all can’t wait to hit the festival circuit! Our team is hard at work on the 2023 issue and we’re looking forward to bringing you the latest happenings in the industry, glimpses of blues history and, of course, blues festivals to plan your calendar! Here's an editorial sneak peek. Enjoy!
• Living Legend: Leon Blue / By Dan D. Harrell Everything that Leon Blue is on stage, he is in real life. Meet the man behind the legend in this exclusive interview with Mr. Blue for the Blues Festival Guide.
• Partners in Love & Blues / By Michele Lundeen What would it be like to work with your romantic partner? In this feature, we asked blues couples to give us the inside scoop on how they balance business, love and the blues.
• Capturing Magic & Passion - Blues Photogs at Work / By Mark Thompson Photographers at every blues festival capture moments, creating a visual montage that allows blues fans around the world the opportunity to experience the festival. Get to know some of these unsung heroes!
• Cast Your Vote for the Blues Blast Music Awards - Blues music thrives thanks to its fans, and the Blues Blast Music Awards give fans the opportunity to voice their favorites!
• Eight on the Eighty-Eight / By Reverend Billy C. Wirtz The Rev is back to highlight eight ivory ticklers every blues fan should know!
• Just Like Your Mama Did: Cookin’ Onboard the LRBC with Bobby Rush and Mizz Lowe / By Kaati Gaffney, BFG Publisher Between their comedic dialogue, colorful innuendos and delicious recipe for garlic butter shrimp and cabbage stir fry dish, there’s lots to savor!
• Storytellin’ Blues Dig Deep / By Gaye Adegbalola Gaye schools us on contemporary blues story-songs – always, of course, with a bit of humor!
And more!
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Wrapping up Photo Moments with the 20th BFG Magazine!
Our 21st Annual is coming right up!!
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 Here's the award-winning Alabama singer, guitarist,
songwriter Debbie Bond getting ready to take off in "Big Blue" last weekend to Clarksdale, MS, where she and the Debbie Bond Blues Band, featuring hubby "Radiator" Rick  Asherson (keys and harp, bottom Rt), and Drummer Girl Dee (bottom Lt), performed April 15th at the 20th annual Juke Joint Blues Festival.
The Debbie Bond Band are regulars on the Southern US and European club and festival circuit. You can findout more about Debbie and her recent video release of "Road Song" in the April 6th E-Guide issue here.
Photo Rick Asherton
It's time to ORDER your 2023 Annual Magazine *ONCE YOU GET IT, SEND US A PIC WITH IT! BFG clients, contact your sales rep for your own copy!
Anyone can Order 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 (100 words or less), URL if applicable, and photo credit to e-Guide editor!
The Blues Foundation is official sponsor of the 20th Anniversary Blues Festival Guide!
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The Blues Are On Fire At Gator By The Bay
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 by Wendy Lemlin
San Diego’s Gator By the Bay has proven to be one of the most popular music festivals in Southern California, keeping a strong Blues contingent in the forefront of the compelling roots-based musical lineup. Now celebrating more than 20 years of Louisiana-themed fun, entertainment, and food, the four-day festival, happening May 11-14 at Spanish Landing Park, initially began as a showcase for the highly infectious — and eminently danceable! — Cajun and Zydeco music of Southwest Louisiana, but quickly grew to include renowned Blues headlining artists. This year is no exception!
Headlining the Bourbon Street Stage on Friday, May 12, are Rick Estrin & the Nightcats and Kid Ramos & the 44s. Winners of many awards over the years, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats have been nominated for three Blues Music Awards in 2023 alone. Fabulous Thunderbirds alumni Kid Ramos is a much sought after guitarist, singer and songwriter whose bio also includes work with James Harman, Roomful of Blues, The Mannish Boys and Los Fabulocos. On Saturday May 13, Joanna Connor, aka the “Queen of Blues Rock Guitar,” will set the Mardi Gras Stage on fire, and the Blues supergroup, Greaseland All Stars, featuring Alabama Mike, Kid Andersen, and Tia Carroll, will headline the Festival Stage. Also, on Saturday at the Festival Stage, multiple Blues Music Awards winners Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia will join forces as The Blood Brothers. The multi-award winning Johnny Sansone will be closing out the Bourbon Street Stage with The Fremonts on Sunday, May 14. Sansone is a full-fledged Louisiana artist, combining blues, boogie and the front porch Cajun and Zydeco sounds of the Louisiana bayou country. Also on Sunday, Grammy-nominated blues singer and songwriter Earl Thomas will bring his special blend of gospel and blues to the Gator By the Bay Festival Stage.
This is just a small sampling of the many great blues artists performing at this year’s Gator By The Bay Festival. See the full lineup, including Cajun and Zydeco artists straight from Southwest Louisiana, and get all ticket and festival info at GatorByTheBay.com.
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Benefit Concert for Guitars Over Guns And Keeping The Blues Alive April 21
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 (LOUISVILLE, KY) - Bayou soul singer Marc Broussard will bring his rhythm & blues to Louisville Friday, April 21 at 8pm in the Bomhard Theater at The Kentucky Center (501 W Main St).
Broussard’s newest album S.O.S. 4: Blues For Your Soul will be the highlight of the show with proceeds going to charities like the Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, which is a youth rehabilitation partnership with the non-profit organization Guitars Over Guns. Guitars Over Guns offers students in vulnerable communities a chance to experience music education and mentorship.
S.O.S. 4: Blues For Your Soul contains covers and new interpretations of many well-known songs by musicians such as Little Milton, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, and legends in the blues music scene.
This album is the fourth volume of Broussard’s Save Our Soul benefit album series. In the past his albums have supported charities such as Our Lady of the Lake’s Children Hospital in Baton Rouge and City of Refuge in Atlanta.
For more information on Broussard’s charity work through music, visit his website. Tickets for Friday’s show range from $35 to $46 before fees and are available online at the venue website.
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Baton Rouge Blues Festival this weekend April 21-23
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 (BATON ROUGE, LA) - The Baton Rouge Blues Festival and Foundation proudly brings the annual Baton Rouge Blues Festival live and in-person with music, food, art and activities beginning April 21 thru April 23 located in and around Rhorer Plaza, North Boulevard and Lafayette Streets in Downtown Baton Rouge. Artists will appear on three stages, plus there’s a Blues Backstage Interview area and a Busker Stop. There’s a BluesFest Kids Area and more.
The free-to-the-public (although donations are accepted), family-friendly festival will feature regional and internationally-recognized performers and local blues legends alike. Scheduled performers include Tommy Castro & The Painkillers, Southern Avenue, The Peterson Brothers, Veronica Lewis, and dozens more!
Originating in 1981, the Baton Rouge Blues Festival has become one of the nation’s fastest growing blues festivals of its kind, consistently growing in attendance to more than 50,000 people. Produced by the Baton Rouge Blues Festival & Foundation, the festival - located in Downtown Baton Rouge - is made possible in part by the foundation’s board of directors, a volunteer Blues Festival committee, numerous sponsors, partners and local support. The festival’s mission is to encourage promotion, preservation and advancement of the swamp blues music native to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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The Perfect Setting for a 3-day Legendary Blues Concert
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 Blues fan Marie Brotnitsky shares her weekend experience and some photo moments from the recent Tampa Bay Blues Festival.
“Once again, thousands of music enthusiasts around the globe gathered in the beautiful city of St. Petersburg, Florida for the Tampa Bay Blues Festival. The 3-day event is held at the scenic, waterfront Vinoy Park. The outstanding sounds of Tab Benoit, Tommy Castro, Robert Cray, and Tower of Power, just to name a few, echoed through the park and city all weekend!
The musicians were wonderful, and the stage is amazingly accommodating with large screens and an excellent sound system! The weather was perfect, breezy, and warm, the awesome, diverse and scrumptious food aroma filled the air. I experienced one of the best barbeque ribs I have ever tasted!
As an avid blues lover who has been attending the festival since the early 2000’s, I was once again overly delighted with the hospitality of the Suncoast Blues Society as the host for the festival, and the ease of the entire experience. I had a relaxing and fun weekend as the festival is set around beautiful parks in downtown St. Pete, and everything is within walking distance including my hotel.
When you think of a perfect setting for a 3-day legendary blues concert — Vinoy Park in beautiful St. Petersburg, Florida is it! You will not be disappointed.
I will be back again next year – can’t wait to heat who the legendary artists will be in 2024. Thank you to all the sponsors and volunteers, and the artists for an enjoyable weekend!”
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Which Cruise Hits Your Groove?
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#39 Mexican Riviera: Book Now! 95% Sold!
#40 Western Caribbean: Soldout - Join Waitlist
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 LRBC #39
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on Holland America’s ms Nieuw Statendam from Ft. Lauderdale to Grand Cayman, Roatán, Honduras & Costa Maya, Mexico.
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Our Headliners Stay & Play They Don’t Hit & Run!
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Featured Video of the Week
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Marc Broussard "I've Got To Use My Imagination"
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Phil Filipowicz :: PIER 43
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 Fifty years of one-nighters and 10 albums. What does a bluesman do next? How about “Old Time Superstition” with slide guitar and voodoo drums? How about a gut-bucket Howlin’ Wolf-style shuffle called “Angel Face?” How about a little old and a little new? Find all that and more on Phil Filipowicz’s 11th album, Pier 43.
The title track is a moody guitar instrumental that harkens back to Filipowicz’s stint tossin’ bags and pullin’ hides on the Milwaukee longshore docks in the early 1970s. A take on the timeless waterfront sound. Nine fresh soulful blues tracks and a Mississippi Hill Country track called “When I Get To Town” that is bone rattlin’ enough to make you wanna boogie and dance all night long, or at least till the cops come.
But wait! Why not throw in a couple of songs featuring Paul’s hard-driving band from a live 1979 radio show featuring the one and only Clyde Stubbelfield (James Brown) on drums and Fat Richard Drake on alto sax? You won’t be getting that anywhere but here. Pier 43 proves that blues with soul is alive and well in the good old USA.
“If Robert Johnson lost his battle with the devil, you get the feeling that Paul might be a tougher opponent.” - George P. Seedorff, Big City Blues Magazine
“Paul captures the ragged intensity of Hound Dog Taylor one minute and the dexterous beauty of Magic Sam the next.” - Steven Sharp, Living Blues
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• Memphis Blues Society Thursday Jams
• Buck Co
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(LEVITTOWN, PA) - The Bucks County Blues Society (BCBS) Spring Fever Footstomper will feature Slam Allen & Dave Keller on Sun, April 30, 2-6p at Terchon VFW Post 5542, 1513 Hardy St., Levittown, Pennsylvania. DoOrs open 1:30pm. The two veteran virtuoso guitarists and deeply soulful vocalists perform an electrifying mix of blues, funk, soul, and rock and are perfect for dancing.
$25 in advance (includes pizza, soft pretzels, and munchies). Cash Bar Only; No BYOB. Must be 21 or older Parking free but limited; venue is wheelchair accessible. Tickets are limited. Advance tickets are available via the Venmo QR code on the ad here or Venmo@buckscountyblues online, or send a check or M.O. + SASE to BCBS, POB 482, Levittown, PA 19058-0482, or purchase in Levittown at Hong Luck Restaurant (215 943-3566), Positively Records (215 945-8063) or Music Forte (215 945-9205).
This event is dedicated to the memory of Joe Field, a longtime member of BCBS stage crew and loyal member of Terchon VFW).
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(MEMPHIS, TN) - Every Thursdays 7:30-11pm, the Memphis Blues Society Jam, hosted by Jacki Flora & Friends, happens at RockHouse Live- Memphis, 5709 Raleigh-LaGrange Rd. (Jammers bring your instruments, drum sticks & mics).
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Just In Case... plus Holidays & Birthdays
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 • April: "International Guitar Month"
• April 22 is Earth Day
Birthdays upcoming of note:
April 21-Clara Ward (1924-1973); April 22-George "Harmonica" Smith (1924-1983), Bullmoose Jackson (1919-1989); April 23-Charles "Cow Cow" Davenport (1894-1955); April 25-Albert King (1923 –1992); April 26-Gertrude "Ma" Rainey (1886-1939), Johnny" Shines (1915-1992), J. B. Hutto (1926-1983), Mike Finnegan (1945-2022); April 27-Ann Peebles (1947), Michael Ledbetter (1985-2019); April 29-Big Jay McNeely (1927-2018), Otis Rush (1935), Frankie Lee (1941), April 30-Rev. Gary Davis (1896-1972), Mabel Scott (1915-2000), Frankie Lee Sims (1917-1970), Jimmie Lee Robinson (1931-2002)May 1-Big Maybelle Smith (1924-1972), Little Walter Jacobs (1930-1968), Ada Brown (1890-1950), Carlton Armstrong; May 3 Homesick James (1914), James Brown (1933 ); May 5 Blind Willie McTell (1901), Johnnie Taylor (1934-2000); May 6-Shaun Murphy; May 8 Joe Bonamassa (1977), Robert Johnson (1911-1938); May 9 Bob Margolin (1949), A.C. Reed (1926–2004)
 Just in Case: April 23 is "Movie Theater Day." Think of all the great movies you've seen on the big screen in a theater. No matter the signs of the times these days, there still seems something magical about going to the movie theater.
As far as Blues-type movies, did anyone see Who Do You Love in 2008 which was about the Chess records saga? Born To Be Blue (2015), is a semi-biographical drama about Chet Baker — a jazzy film streaked with blues. Honeydripper (2007) is about an elusive blind guitarist (played by Keb' Mo') shrouded in mystery. Ray (2004), about the most famous blind bluesman Ray Charles, bagged Jamie Foxx an Oscar. Crossroads (1986), is the Robert Johnson-inspired movie starring Ralph Macchio. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020) is about the "Mother of the Blues" starring Viola Davis. Cadillac Records (2008) apparently stole thunder from Who Do You Love since it came out the same year and was about the same topic. I suppose great minds think alike? The eye-opening movie Leadbelly came out in 1976. Of course The Blues Brothers (1980) was a big hit. The short, Jammin' the Blues (1944), was basically the first-ever blues movie and a crucial part of the genre's cinematic history. There are countless other films about blues and roots... get out of your living room when one comes around and see it in a theater... yep, before theaters themselves slip into obscurity.
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Missed your Weekly e-Guide?
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Billboard #1 Blues Albums
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Billboard & iTunes #1 Blues Album - as of April 20, 2023
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 #1 Billboard
ALLY VENABLE
Real Gone
#1 iTunes
JOE BONAMASSA
Tales of Time
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BFG Twitter-Instagram-Facebook
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Join Blues Freaks at our Tweeter feed & on Instagram
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Hey, come on over and Join 14.3k+ Blues Freaks at our TWITTER feed @BluesFestGuide
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Radio Submit Roots Blues Chart
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To view entire calendar of festivals & Live Streams, click here!
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ATTENTION:
FESTIVAL PROMOTERS
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LIST YOUR FESTIVAL ON OUR
WEBSITE FOR FREE HERE
To highlight your festival on our web and here in the e-Guide Festival Calendar please EMAIL for ad rates
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Due to space constraints
Not all upcoming Blues festivals/events are listed here
For a complete list & links see our comprehensive website.
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NOTE: Highlighted/Linked events
are paid "Featured" ads.
Checkout our website Festival page!
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Buffalo Blues & Roots Festival
Apr-22-2023
Buffalo , New York, USA
Baton Rouge Blues Festival
April-22-2023 – April-23-2023
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
Bob Sykes BBQ & Blues Festival
Apr-29-2023
Bessemer, Alabama, USA
Kwadendamme Bluesfestival
May-04-2023 - May-07-2023
Oost-Souburg, Netherlands
Moulin Blues Festival in Ospel
May-05-2023 - May-06-2023
Stenenbrug, Netherlands
Topanga Blues Festival
May-06-2023
Topanga, California, USA
DC Blues Festival
May-07-2023
DC, Washington, USA
Lincoln Blues, Rhythm
& Rock Festival
May-6-2023
Lincoln, United Kingdom
Gator by the Bay
May-11-2023 – May-14-2023
San Diego, California, USA
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| | For more festivals &
events plus tons of links
please checkout our website
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Carolina Blues Festival
May-20-2023
Greensboro, North Carolina USA
Simply Texas Blues Festival
May-20-2023
San Angelo, Texas USA
10th Annual Big Island
Jazz & Blues Festival
Jun-01-2023 – Jun-03-2023
Kailua Kona, Hawaii, USA
Orangeville Blues
& Jazz Festival
June 2-4
Orangeville, Ontario, Canada
Billtown Blues Festival
Jun-09-2023 – Jun-10-2023
Hughesville, Pennsylvania, USA
Central Virginia Blues Festival
Jun-10-2023
Afton, Virginia USA
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Are you missing us at times?
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 Hi blues peeps...Sometimes your weekly e-Guide newsletter may arrive a little late due to us, but other times some end up as soft bounces (ones that are temporarily undeliverable). We send to the soft bounces addresses after the first initial batch has completed sending, but some may still end up as soft bounces.
*As a friendly reminder, and to hopefully help this situation, please remember to set up your spam filters to allow mail from the info@BluesFestivalGuide.com and eguide+bluesfestivalguide.com@mnb.email to ensure delivery.
We hate if you don't get your newsletter that often includes time-sensitive events and special interest bluesy content we know you don't want to miss.
Here's to a music and sunshine filled week ahead.
Yours in the blues,
Team BFG
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We're thinking of you... here's to good health & good music!
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 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 and nicknamed the "Queen of Steam" for her high energy and passionate style.
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 the annual 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 20 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.
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Fair Use Act statement and disclaimer
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Hey blues lovers! Got 
