The 17th annual Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival returns to the Blues Ranch in Winthrop, WA on the third weekend of July.
Weekend Pass: Advance $55, at gate $65
One Day Ticket: Saturday $40, Sunday $30
Camping $35 for the weekend
For full information including buying your tickets online, camping and other lodging, artists and more go to the festival website at:
http://winthropbluesfestival.com/
The street dance returns to Friday night, July 16th and offers up a tantalyzing taste of some festival acts in the heart of downtown Winthrop from 7 to 11 pm. Nicole Fournier and her 3lb Universe (with Polly O'Keary) opens the festivities, followed by The Howlers, and The Duffy Bishop Band. Then it's off to the Blues Ranch, the actual Winthrop Rhythm and Blues Festival site, for an Acoustic Jam in the beer garden until 2 am.
Hopefully you'll have caught up on your sleep hours before the blues festival because you'll want to be up bright and early Saturday, July 17th to catch hot slide man Nick Vigarino performing solo acoustic blues from 11-11:45 am. If you've never heard him without Meantown Blues, you're in for a real treat. Personally, I've always preferred Vigarino's solo acoustic polyrhythmic blues madness to seeing him in a band format. It's got all the fire, frenzy and soul with none of the clutter. He's one of our regions top blues artists, with or without the band, and you'll want to be sure to catch his set.
The first two Saturday bands combine blues with surf-a-billy. At noon Oregon's Strangetones and Guitar Julie take the stage with their electric celebration of American roots music. At 2 pm it's Too Slim and the Taildraggers, one of my personal favorites. Kick off your shoes and prepare to dance to their groovin' music.
The Duffy Bishop Band hits the stage at 4 pm. Duffy is one of the top entertainers of the Northwest, a dynamic and powerful show woman who has the ability to jump genres and get to the heart of each song. Always great in a club setting, Duffy really rules the realm of festivals and arenas. The slender blues vocalist is larger than life and her overwhelming energy is at home in front of the the larger audiences that dwarf lesser performers.
Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne with The Russell Jackson Band has the 6 pm Winthrop Rhythm & Blues festival slot. Wayne's traditional boogie-woogie rocks, calling to mind Fats Domino or Amos Milburn, displaying the influence of the Louisiana parents of this northern piano player.
Recording artist Toni Lynn Washington (scheduled at 8 pm Saturday) has definitely traveled the long and hard road to reach the level of blues sucess she enjoys today. She is the recipent of the 1999 Boston Blues Festival Lifetime Achievement Award, twice nominated for the W.C.Handy Award, and has appeared at the prestigious Lionel Hampton Jazz Club at Le Meridien Etoile in Paris. Good things do come to those who wait.
Walter Wolfman Washington and The Roadmasters are the final act on Saturday's Winthrop Rhythm and Blues festival stage from 10 to 11:30 pm. Expect funky rhythm and blues from these Crescent City icons. The core players of the Roadmasters have been a tight unit for a decade, recording on Rounder Records (and later on Rounder's Bullseye Blues label) and honing their sound on the club circuit. Washington's deep vocals and choked guitar style is right out of the after hours scene in New Orleans, and has been lent over the years to the bands of Lee Dorsey, Irma Thomas' Toronados and the legendary Lastie brothers.
Midnight to 2 am is the Locals Jam in the Festival Beer Garden, it's for all you attending local musicians inspired to create your own blues music.
Sunday, July 18th at the Winthrop festival begins with an acoustic set from Nick Vigarino from 11:30 to noon followed by The Howlers (Chicago electric blues from the Columbia Basin) at 12:25 pm.
Nicole Fournier and her 3lb Universe take over at 1:30pm. Originally a Bay Area performer, Fournier has been delighting Northwest audiences since the early 1992 when she sat in with John Lee Hooker at the Moore Theatre in Seattle. She has recieved several Best of Blues nominations from the Washington Blues Society and is available on several CD's.
John Nemeth and the Jacks share their traditional rhythm and blues with the Winthrop audience at 3pm. Nemuth's combination of hot harmonica and vocals has earned this double threat performer numerous festival appearances and a Scandinavian Tour in 2003 as the featured artist with the Junior Watson Band.
Alligator Records Texas shuffle guru, Long John Hunter, brings his 40 years of roadhouse experience to the Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival stage at 4:30pm Sunday. Though his playing took off like a rocket in his early twenties, it's only been since his Alligator releases in the late 1990's that the entire USA has been let in on one of Texas Blues' best kept secrets and wildman Hunter's career has taken off.
The last scheduled performers on the Blues Ranch stage from 6:30-8 pm are The Original Lowriders with harmonica man Lee Oskar, Howard Scott, B.B.Dickerson and Harold Brown. Who? Well we can only hint because the groups former name is owned by someone else and nobody wants a big legal hassle. They'll be playing some of their favorites hits like Low Rider, Why Can't We Be Friends, Cisco Kid, Slippin' Into Darkness, Spill The Wine, The World Is A Ghetto. What a wonderful way to end the 2004 festival, but in fact, there's actually more. You won't want to miss the All Star Festival Jam held in the festival beer garden from 8:30pm to 2am. Nothing could be more fun than listening to the blues artists described above mixing it up together.
Buy those Winthrop Rhythm and Blues tickets early for some real savings, board your dog at the kennel, gas up the rig and join the blues fun over in Eastern Washington July 16-18th. For official details on the Winthrop Blues Festival go to http://winthropbluesfestival.com/
R & B Festival.
