Blues music will hit the city of Wilmington, Delaware as the Riverfront Blues Festival takes place from Friday, August 8 through Sunday, August 10, 2008 at the Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park. Sponsored by the City of Wilmington Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs along with a handful of commercial sponsors, this year's festival features almost two-dozen performers on two stages, including headliners Koko Taylor, Elvin Bishop, and the Mannish Boys.
Daily Riverfront Blues Festival Headliners
The festival kicks off on Friday at 5:00 PM with the youthful sound of the Homemade Jamz Band, followed by hometown favorites Gary Allegretto and the Delaware All-Stars, and headlining band the Mannish Boys.
Saturday kicks off at noon with a sure-to-be-scorching set from blues music veterans Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets. "Iron Man" Michael Burk is also performing, along with Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials, with the legendary Koko Taylor and Her Blues Machine headlining the night.
Guitarist Jimmy Thackery & the Drivers open the festival at 12:30 pm on Sunday afternoon, followed by electrifying harpist Sugar Blue, and headliner Elvin Bishop. Other blues music artists performing over the weekend include:
- Garry Cogdell Trio
- Nothin' But Trouble
- Sharrie Williams & the Wise Guys
- Larry McCray
- Jill West & the Blues Attack
- Steve Guyger & Richard Ray Farrell
- Kenny Jones & the Jaded Angels
Gary Allegretto will be hosting the Diamond State Blues Society party after the festival on Friday night, to be held at the Sheraton Suites in downtown Wilmington. Featuring guests from the festival in a special jam session, the event also doubles as a CD release party for Allegretto's new album, Many Shades of Blue. The following night, Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials will also host an all-star blues jam at the hotel.
Featured Riverfront Blues Festival Performers
The Homemade Jamz Band is possibly the youngest bunch of blues musicians on the festival circuit these days, the band's three sibling members ranging from nine to fifteen years of age. The youngest (total age) blues band to ever enter the International Blues Challenge; they placed second in the 23rd International Blues Challenge in 2008, competing against 93 adult bands from all over the world.
The Mannish Boys is a veritable "supergroup" of blues music veterans, featuring talents like vocalist Finis Tasby, guitarists Kid Ramos and Frank Goldwasser, harpist Randy Chortkoff, bassist Ronnie James Webber, and drummer Richard "Big Foot" Innes, as well as guest stars like guitarist Kirk Fletcher and vocalist Bobby Jones. The band is currently hitting the festival circuit in support of its recently-released Delta Groove Records album, Lowdown Feelin'.
Veteran blues guitarist Michael Burks is called "Iron Man" for his lengthy live performances, dynamic showmanship, and blistering fretwork. A W.C. Handy Award nominee for Best New Artist 2000, Burks literally grew up with the blues, his father playing alongside Sonny Boy Williamson, and his grandfather a Delta-style bluesman from Arkansas. Burk's latest album, appropriately titled Iron Man, was recently released by Alligator Records.
Although he is best known for his years sitting atop the charts as a Southern Rock artist during the mid-1970s, the truth is that guitarist Elvin Bishop is a seasoned blues musician. A founding member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Bishop's guitar helped propel the band to the top of the mid-60s Chicago blues scene. Over the past quarter-century, Bishop has made a name for himself as a bona fide bluesman with a series of critically-acclaimed albums and fiery live performances. Bishop's next album, titled The Blues Rolls On, is scheduled for September release by Delta Groove Records.
The legendary Koko Taylor needs no introduction. Known worldwide as the "Queen of the Chicago Blues," Taylor began her recording career in the early-1960s and has since garnered two Grammy™ Awards, two dozen W.C. Handy/Blues Music Awards, and a loyal international audience. Although health problems have slowed down the phenomenal blues singer during the last few years, Koko came roaring back in 2007 with her first album in seven years, Old School, which captured the talented vocalist another three Blues Music Awards.
Check with the Riverfront Blues Festival website for ticket available and performance schedules.
