The sixth annual Dutch Mason Blues Festival will take place on August 13th - 15th, 2010 at the Truro Raceway & Exhibition Grounds in the Bible Hill section of Truro, Nova Scotia in Canada. The three-day house-rockin' blow-out draws music lovers from across all of Eastern Canada, particularly motorcycle enthusiasts who come to participate in the custom motorcycle show (and "Best Tattoo" competition!).
For those who like a little food mixed in with their music, there's nothing better than bar-b-que and blues, and the festival includes competitions for both "Best BBQ Ribs" and "Best Sauce" and, of course, there will be lots of great music.
The 6th Annual Dutch Mason Blues Festival
The festival kicks off promptly at 7:00 PM on Friday with a grand opening ceremony, and artists like Charlie A'Court and the Respectables opening for the day's headliners, the legendary Johnny Winter and the Fabulous Thunderbirds, two great blues-rock outfits from the Lone Star State.
Saturday's festivities start at noon with an hour-long acoustic showcase; main stage performers that afternoon include Layla Zoe and Zac Harmon. Saturday night features a strong line-up that includes performances from Chicago blues legend James Cotton and guitarists Robert Cray and Jonny Lang. In between the afternoon and evening performances, an acoustic showcase at 5:30 PM will feature accomplished bluesman John Cambelljohn, and a late-night jam cranks up after the main stage closes down and runs through 3:00 AM in the morning!
Sunday offers an equally strong musical line-up as the first two days, including blues guitarist Ronnie Baker Brooks, and Canadian legend Ronnie Hawkins and his band the Hawks. Sunday also features an acoustic showcase at noon, continuous music through the finale at 7:00 PM that night. Other artists performing at the Dutch Mason Blues Festival include:
- Terry Whalen Band
- The Hupman Brothers
- Garrett Mason
- Darren Arsenault
- James Harmen & Morgan Davis
Headliner Bios
The Fabulous Thunderbirds have been staunch road warriors since they formed in the 1970s, and the current incarnation of the band – featuring founding singer and harpist Kim Wilson, along with guitarist Johnny Moeller – is no exception. The band's inspired mix of blues, R&B, and rock has been satisfying audiences for better than 35 years now.
Blues guitarist Robert Cray is a crowd-pleasing, award-winning artist that has influenced a generation of musicians since launching his career in the early 1970s. Cray's acclaimed 2009 album This Time, his first in four years, brought the talented instrumentalist back into the spotlight while the live CD/DVD set Cookin' In Mobile, released during the summer of 2010, should cement the guitarist's position as one of the most exciting live performers in the blues.
Jonny Lang was part of the mid-1990s blues boom that resulted in such talented fretburners as Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Joe Bonamassa. While Lang has experienced a few bumps and bruises during his career, there's no denying the man's immense talent. Lang's 2010 album Live at the Ryman, the guitarist's first live set, showcases songs from across his four major label studio albums, an inspired mix of blues, rock, soul, and gospel that resonates with audiences.
Ronnie Hawkins is a bona fide musical legend in both the United States and Canada. The Arkansas-born rockabilly star began his career plowing through the Southeast/Southwest U.S. chitlin' circuit during the 1950s, but found Canadian audiences so receptive to his music that he just plum up and moved to the great white north. In the decades since, Hawkins has influenced artists as diverse as Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Leon Russell and many others with his high-octane blend of roots-rock, blues, and R&B while his electric live performances earned him the well-deserved nickname of "Mr. Dynamo."
About The Dutch Mason Blues Festival
The Dutch Mason Blues Festival was launched in 2005 in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The festival is named in tribute to native son Dutch Mason, a blues musician hailing from Halifax that became so popular in his homeland that he would become known as the "Prime Minister of the Blues." Mason spent decades touring Canada, performing his high-energy brew of blues and rockabilly, releasing over a dozen albums, and earning a spot as an inaugural member of the Canadian Jazz and Blues Hall of Fame.
Along with all this great music, the festival includes an on-site campground, concessions and a vendor market, the aforementioned motorcycle show, and an artist "fan fair." Check with the Dutch Mason Blues Festival website for more details, ticket availability, and a performance schedule.
Check out the 2010 Blues Festival Calendar for more events!
