Submitted by Mark Pofelski
UPDATE: Volunteers are needed to help with the festival and vendor tables are available. To get involved, contact event director Mary Howze who is coordinating Blues Weekend. Mary can be reached directly at 870-654-2173 or by email at crescentactivities@gmail.com .
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Greetings BLUES-lovers! Here’s an event that you don’t want to miss out on.
Starting Thursday, June 1st and ending
on Sunday, June 4th, Eureka Springs
will be the place to be to hear all the BLUES YOU CAN USE!
When I retired and relocated to Eureka Springs 10 years ago from Chicago’s south side, I was more than pleased to find out there was an annual Blues Festival. Many fine bands were featured like The Robert Cray Band, The Nighthawks, Chicago Blues Review, Cedric Burnside, Victor Wainwright & the Train, J.P. Soars and many others. Also I discovered many local talents and of course, The Ozark Blues Society. Then came the pandemic. Just about everything was cancelled or delayed. But now, the BLUES are BACK for the first time in three years! On Thursday the 1st, Los Roscoes gets things started at the Gravel Bar. They are a relatively undiscovered band with their own personal style of BLUES and have just released their first CD. Consisting of guitarist David Blankenship, bassist Adam “Gordo” Moraga and drummer Wes Bowlin, there is no doubt they will get you into party mode with their combination of original tunes and innovative interpretations of classic blues compositions. They will play from 5pm to 8pm and then it’s time to dash over to the Barefoot Ballroom at the Basin Park Hotel for Red Oak Ruse & the Lucas Parker Band. Lucas has been tearing it up lately
all over the region with his aggressive guitar presentation. That begins at 8pm. After that, it’s over to Chelsea’s to hear Hector Anchondo beginning at 10pm. How’s that for a start of the Party!
On Friday the 2nd, Free Live Music
in Basin Park (band TBA) at 2pm. Local legends Earl & Them with Jesse Dean
will perform at the Basin Park Hotel Game Room at 6pm. The Gravel Bar features
96 Miles at 7pm. One of the weekend’s highlights begin at 7:30pm at The Auditorium. Performances by Oklahoma native Ray Wylie Hubbard, who has recorded for both Warner Bros. and Rounder Records beginning in the mid ’60’s with his combination of Americana, Blues and Rock styles and also Queen of the New Orleans blues piano and Texas native Marcia Ball with her energetic style. You are liable to hear zydeco, swamp blues, Louisiana blues and boogie during her set. She was awarded "Contemporary Blues Album of the Year" for her albums Presumed Innocent (2002) and So Many Rivers (2004). The same year she also won "Contemporary Blues Artist of the Year-Female." She won the "Best Blues Instrumentalist-Keyboards" again in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009. The BMA for Keyboards has since been renamed the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player Award and Ball has won it in 2012 and 2015. Her 2003 Alligator release, So Many Rivers, was nominated for a Grammy as were Live! Down The Road (2005) and Peace, Love & BBQ (2008). She was inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame in 2018. Finally to wrap it up for Friday will be the Funk Factory at the Basin Park Barefoot Ballroom beginning at 10pm. Quoting the description from their web site, “The Funk Factory has been funking up the Midwest since 2017 delivering their unique take on psychedelic rock, funk, reggae, blues, country, and more! They have made a name for themselves with strong female and male lead vocals, saucy keyboards, soaring guitar leads, and a groovy backbeat plus a ridiculously fun live energy! The band focuses on mostly original music and is constantly introducing new material. 2020 saw the band release 2 EPs and another will be on the way soon!” On Saturday the 3rd, Free Live Music in Basin Park at 2pm and also the Basin Park Hotel Game room at 4pm (bands TBA). Local celebrity band Brick Fields with their Brick Fields Duo along with VIP Wine Tasting at 5pm and again at 7pm. At 6pm it’s Los Roscoes (who began it all on Thursday) will perform at the Basin Park Barefoot Ballroom. An 8pm show after Los Roscoes at the Barefoot Ballroom will feature a show (band TBA) then10pm brings The King Cabbage Brass Band to the Barefoot Ballroom. To quote from their web site, “Coming out of Covid in June of 2021, King Cabbage Brass Band is a New Orleans inspired
brass band finding its own sound in Tulsa. Since arriving on the music scene, KCBB has taken the city by storm with its infectious blend of classic brass band tunes, along with plenty of modern covers.
Their sound fuses the popular
New Orleans brass band style with
an eclectic blend of pop, R&B, hip-hop, and funk. KCBB is on a mission to bring people together, party, and forget
their problems through joyful music!”
On both Saturday night and Sunday the 4th, live music will be featured in venues all over Eureka Springs including The Gravel Bar and Chelsea’s.
So get ready, BLUES LOVERS, the first four days of June will be ALL THE BLUES (and FUNK) YOU CAN USE at the EUREKA SPRINGS BLUES PARTY!! For tickets, further information and updates, go to EurekaSpringsBluesParty.com.
visiting family and hosting part of my crew while here. Got out and about a bit, but doing the beachy thing was the hands down winning activity. 
As always, you can check out our calendar below to find a compilation of community calendar listings for our artists and venue partners. And 
include blues guitarist Albert Collins, blues pianist Abie Boogaloo Ames, and Chuck Berry.
