It’s coming up fast!
Just 58 days to the 23rd annual Roots and Blues Festival and a lineup that extends deeply into the world of music.
Added to the slate this week are Tim Chaisson and Devon Coyote, a Kelowna band that rocked the joint during the Doin’ it Right concert in March and will perform with the inimitable Sherman Doucette.
“Originally from the East Coast and managed by the same team that took KD Lang so far, Chaisson is a superb singer-songwriter who had a hit last year with Serena Ryder,” says artistic director Peter North. “He’s also a spectacular Celtic fiddler and just finished a successful tour of Australia.”
Also on the slate, North describes Magpie Ulysses as a wonderful spoken-word artist from Nelson, while singer-songwriter and guitarist James Lamb, also from Nelson, has been described as producing fascinating compositions that command attention.
From farther afield is Tom Westbank.
“Tom Westbank is a bluesman from England, who lives in Phoenix and sounds like he’s from Mississippi,” North says of the guitarist and singer-songwriter he sees partnering well with Geoff Muldaur, Rocky Lawrence, Cat Dancer or other acoustic blues artists in workshops. “He’s a cool young artist with a really gritty Delta blues sound, but he also plays traditional stuff.”
North has booked a young pop folk band called the Hearts that he caught at the Edmonton Folk Festival a few years ago.
Also from Alberta, a veteran Western Canadian jam band,Tacoy Ryde.
“They’re sort of the Western Canadian practitioners of jam band music a la Santana and The Grateful Dead, along with reggae,” North says. “They toured a lot with bands like Third World and Steel Pulse and they will be participating in the Grateful Dead and reggae workshops on the Boogie Barn stage.”
Enthusiastic about this year’s lineup, North says Roots and Blues had its best single-day ticket sales in the history of the festival on the last day of the earlybird pricing.
“We have a long way to go, but those kinds of spikes help elevate the morale and let us know we’re reaching people,” North says, noting ticket sales overall are on par with last year and continue to be strong, where historically they have dropped off after the earlybird deadline. “Another thing that’s encouraging is we have never seen so much action on social media – even the artists seem to be chiming in.”
This year’s Roots and Blues Raffle offers a grand prize of five days and nights in San Francisco for two during the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. It includes airfare, accommodation and $1,000US cash.
Second prize is a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar, third is a Norco mountain bike and accessories and fourth is a 2016 Roots and Blues VIP pass for two.
Tickets are on sale now and are available at the festival office or Acorn Music.
New this year is a Pick The Performer contest, in which participants nominate their preferred performer. The nominated performer with the most “likes” will be invited to perform at the 2016 festival.
This contest comes with small print: Nominations should be within reason! (i.e. We love the Rolling Stones but we cannot afford them. Keep your choices attainable).
The person who nominated the winner will receive a prize package that includes a five-day Twin Anchors Houseboat vacation, four rounds of golf on the Salmon Arm Golf Club championship course, two 2015 Roots and Blues Festival passes and an opportunity to meet the nominated performer.
For the full lineup, information on tickets, contests and more, vistas www.rootsandblues.ca.