Bluesfest Bigger and Better Than Ever

July 5, 2013

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THUNDER BAY – The Blues Festival in Thunder Bay is set to go. The three-day outdoor festival is held at Prince Arthurs Landing, where the music will mix with the beauty of Lake Superior, looking out at the Sleeping Giant. B Blues Festival is the result of the cooperative efforts of generous corporate sponsors, individuals and many volunteers. The festival is one of the biggest and most anticipated annual events on the city’s waterfront, and a portion of the proceeds are donated to local non-profits and charities.

Bluesfest Line Up

Friday July 5, 2013
9:30pm – 11:00pm	Collective SoulIn the 1990s, Collective Soul was the crack cocaine of rock. The most played band on radio, their patented 3-guitars power wattage, irresistible turbo-charged energy, well-crafted, catchy songs and thoughtful lyrics appeared to be forged from a telepathic connection.	7:45pm – 9:00pm	The Steepwater Band When it comes to music, young men are always going to be young men. Invariably, they’re never going to be content to interpret their influences at face value for long before whisking them off on a more personal tangent. Need proof? Look nofurther than The Steepwater Band

6:15pm – 7:45pm	Cliff StevensCliff Stevens has been playing guitar professionally for longer than he sometimes cares to admit, around 35 years to be vaguely precise. Like so many blues musicians before him, he spent much of his career displaying his significant talents in relative obscurity.	5:00pm – 6:00pm	Tracy KIn a business where safety nets are non existent and successful female harmonica players are a rarity, you have to admire the plucky and positive spirit of Tracy K. Through shear force of determination and talent, she has stamped her versatility indelibly.
Saturday July 6, 2013
9:30pm – 11:00pm	Los Lobos Dreams can be a wistful indulgence in star gazing and wishful thinking. But for Los Lobos, dreams have been a life-long musical pursuit grounded in culture, hard work and the desire to escape the poverty of the barrio.	7:45pm – 9:00pm	Los Lonely BoysDrawing their name from a song that their father, Enrique sang to them as children, Los Lonely Boys consists of the Garza brothers, Henry (guitar), Jojo (bass) and Ringo (drums).

6:15pm – 7:15pm	Mingo FishtrapSomewhere in northern Texas, near the town of Denton at the isolated intersection of Mingo Road and Fishtrap Road, Roger Blevins, Jr. found help with a flat tire and the name for his band.	5:00pm – 6:00pm	Samantha Fish Sometimes, success gets it right and smiles on a young artist like Samantha Fish who really deserves its blessings. Sharp and intuitive, Fish, 23, is storming the blues world the old fashioned way, with talent, self confidence, a little risk taking and plenty of elbow grease.

3:45pm – 4:45pm	Melvin Taylor“I couldn’t afford a guitar,” recalls Melvin Taylor. “And I wanted one so bad that I started making guitars out of anything – a cigar box, a piece of wood. I’d use fishing string … just anything I could get a tone out of.”	2:30pm – 3:30pm	Quinn SullivanFrom the perspective of someone with grey hair, logic would suggest that you shouldn’t be able to play the blues until you’ve had your heart broken or, at the very least, until you are old enough to drive.

1:15pm – 2:15pm	The Groove MerchantsLive respected, die regretted. Big Walter Smith did not live those words by design. He lived them by nature. When he passed away in July 2012, he was sadly mourned and continues to be sadly missed.	12:00pm – 1:00pm	The Chain The Chain is an explosive and exciting contemporary blues band comprised of experienced musicians who draw inspiration from all genres of music. The Chain performs original material written by Chrissy Ewacha Klaas and Peter Gleeson as well as all your blues favorites.
Sunday July 7, 2013
9:30pm – 11:00pm	Great Big Sea While it was never the intention of Alan Doyle, Bob Hallett and Sean McCann of Great Big Sea (GBS) to become the poster boys for Newfoundland, events over the past 20 years have dictated otherwise. Proud of who they are and where they were born.	7:45pm – 9:00pm	The Family Stone No other group of the 1960s brought together its disparate elements of racial tension, experimental drug use, changing sexual mores and awakening social conscience like Sly and the Family Stone. Comprised of blacks, whites and men and women of different ethnic backgrounds.

6:15pm – 7:15pm	Kim Mitchell Three-time Juno Award winner Kim Mitchell is a defining strand in the DNA of Canadian rock. Among the most influential and imaginative guitarist in the genre, a prolific song writer and one of the country’s favourite radio broadcasters he has sold over 1.5 million albums.	5:00pm – 6:00pm	Davina & the Vagabonds There’s a curious thing about so-called “retro” music. The shifting tastes that would so label the sexy and soulful sound that helped define golden-age Americana are such annoying anachronisms. Placed in nurturing hands and shown a little respect, this music’s appeal is truly huge

3:45pm – 4:45pm	JW-Jones Blues Band Life must take mischievous delight watching our reaction as an innocent event blossoms into a life-defining occasion. What starts as a ripple on a pond surges into a motivational wave that sends us speeding towards new horizons.	2:30pm – 3:30pm	Too Slim and the Taildraggers “When I was about 12 or 13, I started going to concerts and that really sparked my interest. I saw ZZ Top live and that was it! I borrowed my friends guitar, which was an awful guitar but I did not care. Once I started playing guitar I had the bug.

1:15pm – 2:15pm	Doug Deming and the Jewel Tones Bigger and much more influential, it’s easy to understand how Chicago’s blues scene stole most of the thunder and left Detroit in its shadow.	12:00pm – 1:00pm	Rebel Spirit If you believe in the old adage that “Good things are worth waiting for,” then Rebel Spirit stands as proof positive that the saying is true. This five-piece band from Thunder Bay can trace its origins back to 1983, when founding members John Olynick and Ron Fossum started playing together.