Line-Up
With one last act to confirm, the line up for the 25th anniversary Edmonton Blues Festival is nearly complete.
Plan to join us in our new space, the newly created Klondike Park at the Edmonton Exhibition Lands August 16-18, 2024. It’s shaping up to be a birthday celebration you won’t want to miss.
Friday
Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne
Friday August 16, 5:30PM
Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne played our first ever festival in 1999 as part of the Brouhaha Revue the Sunday night of that year. An award-winning pianist, consummate entertainer and gifted band leader, Wayne became one of the beacons of the Canadian blues scene a few decades ago. His smooth and robust piano playing and cool and soulful vocals are injected into an array of original tunes that take the audience on a journey filled with a plethora of influences. Multiple blues award winner Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne has been with us on a number of occasions and it only seemed fitting that he get us up and running at our 25th birthday party.
https://kennybluesboss.com 
Vanessa Collier
Friday August 16, 7PM
Vanessa Collier blends blues, soul and rock and is a winner of three Blues Music Awards including a win in 2022 as “Contemporary Blues Female Artist”. This past year Vanessa was busy touring summer festivals highlighted by shows at the Rochester International Jazz Festival, RBC Ottawa Blues Festival, Winthrop Rhythm & Roots Festival and a two-week tour of Europe. Vanessa graduated with a dual degree from the prestigious Berklee College of Music and was invited to play alongside Annie Lennox and Willie Nelson at Berklee’s commencement address. She also worked with Kathy Mattea, Bill Cooley, Patrice Rushen, and many more visiting artists while studying at Berklee. Her influences include among others Bonnie Raitt, Norah Jones and The Wood Brothers. A huge hit who walked the crowd with her sax at the 2019 Edmonton Blues Festival Vanessa returns with her world class band to kick Friday night into high gear!
http://vanessacollier.com 
Booker T Presents:
A Stax Revue and a Journey Thru Soul, Blues and R&B
Friday August 16, 8:30PM
Booker T’s Stax Revue is a presentation of Booker’s hits with the MGs, such as “Green Onions,” “Hang ‘Em High” and “Time is Tight” and of the classics recorded on Stax Records by legendary artists such as “Try a Little Tenderness” by Otis Redding, “When Something is Wrong with my Baby” by Sam and Dave and “Gee Whiz” by Carla Thomas. The Stax Revue features a ten-piece big band with three lead vocalists, a three-piece horn section and Booker’s usual rhythm section and delivers a high energy experience curated to take the audience on a journey through Booker’s eyes. His brief personal anecdotes provide wonderful context for the music and Booker’s legendary history with Stax makes him the perfect artist to present such a revue. Booker T is a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Musicians Hall of Fame inductee, GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and winner of four GRAMMY Awards. It can be argued that it was Booker T. Jones who set the cast for modern soul music and is largely responsible for its rise and enduring popularity. He pushed the music’s boundaries with his hits on Stax, refined it to its essence and then injected it into the nation’s bloodstream.
Not to be missed!… closing Friday August 16
Saturday
The Graham Guest Band
Saturday August 17, 1:40 PM
The Graham Guest Band is a new version of a timeless sound. This version of the band came about out of the transformative time of the great pandemic. As the world came back to life in 2022, Graham decided to gather together the very best band members that he had played with over the years. Graham was inducted into the Edmonton Blues Hall of Fame earlier this year and is also an Edmonton Blues Festival regular, having performed on our stage many times, primarily in a support role as the “First Call” piano player in Edmonton.
Together the band decided to reshape their musical identities both individually and collectively. Happy to be together, whole and alive; The Graham Guest Band is Graham Guest on vocal and piano, Chris Grapel on Bass, J.J. Lisk on drums, Rooster Davis on organ and the godfather of Edmonton blues Rodger Stanley on Guitar. Their combined resumes are too long to list so the new resume starts here. Too experienced to be new and too hip to be categorized; this music is
straight up and full of passion.
Over the winter of 2022/2023 they rehearsed and prepared material which they then brought to star producer Lane Allen at Homestead Recorders in Edmonton who agreed to record them. Together they decided to record exclusively on reel to reel tape and thus was born their debut recording “Tragic Magic”. It’s full of love, despair, honesty and hope. Their first single “The Last Time I left New Orleans” is in fact their first soundcheck at their first recording session. Caught by the engineers as they were still adjusting levels; everything was recorded together “live off the floor”.
Blues superstar Sue Foley says of Graham “I’ve always been amazed at what a natural he is. He is not just a Canadian treasure, he’s a true blues treasure.
“The Graham Guest Band is the real deal”
Paul Pigat and Cousin Harley
Saturday August 17, 2:35PM
You’d never think it to look at Paul Pigat, but behind that unassuming grin and underneath those Doc Watson glasses lurks one of the most restless, combustible musical imaginations ever crammed like so much canned heat into a single body. Blessed with a jazz man’s sheen, a rockabilly heart and a hobo’s soul, there aren’t many genres of music that don’t pull at Pigat’s wayfaring imagination like a magnet. In many ways, it’s a mystery why Paul Pigat isn’t a household name yet. Maybe he’d be a lot easier to pin down if he wasn’t so darn good at so many different things.
One could be forgiven for thinking that up until now Paul Pigat has spent his whole career flying under the radar. Like all those great old Stax records where Steve Cropper stood behind Otis Redding and played his heart out before anyone knew who he was, Pigat has been creating sweet sounds for some of the best artists in the country without getting the attention you’d expect. Still, you’d have to have been hiding under a pretty big rock to have never heard the immediately recognizable sound of his distinctive guitar playing as over the last several years this unassuming Vancouver native has quietly compiled a list of credits that would be the envy of anyone in the music business.
Paul has shared the stage and lent his guitar mastery to some fine musicians over the years such as Jeff Beck, Jackob Dylan, Michael Kaeshammer, Albert Lee, James Burton, Brian Setzer, The Reverend Horton Heat, Neko Case, Jim Byrnes, The Sojourners, Carolyn Mark… this list could go on and on!
Paul Pigat brought the heat to our stage in 2006 with Pete Turland and it’s about time to welcome him back!
https://PaulPigat.com
Braithwaite and Whitleley
Saturday August 17, 4:00PM
Diana Braithwaite and Chris Whiteley have been partners in music (and life) for decades. When Diana sings, you hear passion, with sultry stories of life beautifully expressed through music. Born in Toronto, Braithwaite is a descendant of the Wellington County pioneers in Canada. With roots in the southern United States her ancestors escaped slavery through the Underground Railroad and lived for four generations in Wellington County, the first African-Canadian pioneer settlement in Ontario. Diana Braithwaite combines elements from Dinah
Washington, Koko Taylor, Esther Phillips and others to create her own unique appealing and expressive blues style.
Kansas born multi-instrumentalist Chris Whiteley, (guitar, harmonica, trumpet, steel guitar) has had an illustrious music career spanning some 50 years since his early beginnings with the renowned Sloth Band. A legend on the Canadian music scene, Whiteley’s extensive touring career includes working with many renowned jazz and blues legends such as Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson and countless appearances on television and radio. A multiple award-winning international touring performer, Chris Whiteley has appeared on over 250 recordings. In January 2020 Chris Whiteley won the Maple Blues Award for the top blues horn player in Canada–for the 9th time.
The blues couple have recorded 8 previous albums together and have toured all over North America, UK and Europe winning a fistful of Maple Blues Awards, have charted # 1 on B.B. Kings Bluesville XM Sirius satellite radio network, and continue to tour around the world. Welcome Diana Braithwaite and Chris Whiteley back to the Edmonton Blues Fest!
https://hotblues.ca 
The Cash Box Kings
Saturday August 17, 5:30PM
The Cash Box Kings, according to Living Blues magazine, “are one of the best blues bands in the land.” The group, co-led by real-deal Chicago blues vocalist and songwriter Oscar “Mr. 43rd Street” Wilson, and Madison, Wisconsin-based songwriter, harmonica giant and singer Joe Nosek, plays masterfully raw, unvarnished, old-school ensemble blues. Wilson’s huge, emotive vocals and Nosek’s blistering harmonica fuel their razor-sharp original songs and always incisive reinvention of obscure blues classics. Add the true blues guitar work of Billy Flynn and the rollicking piano of Queen Lee Kanehira and you’ve got a recipe for success, old school style! AllMusic says The Cash Box Kings offer up “an enthusiastic celebration of Chicago blues in all of its electric forms...funny and smart...slow grooves and hyper-charged shuffles. The Cash Box Kings don’t merely pay homage to the past, they bring tradition into the present [and deliver] a rollicking good time.”
Their latest recording, “Oscar’s Motel” has spent most of the last 8 months at or near the top of the blues charts, and for good reason, it’s the “stuff”.
Dust off your dancing shoes and head to the dance floor for this one, it’ll be a blast!
More info at:
Selwyn Birchwood
Saturday August 17, 7PM
“Rising blues star Selwyn Birchwood is the real deal. Birchwood puts his own fresh spin on the blues, taking the tradition and making it into something new.” —Guitar World
Although award-winning Florida musician Selwyn Birchwood is firmly rooted in the tradition, the young guitarist, lap steel player, songwriter and vocalist sets a course for the future of the blues with his visionary, original music. Birchwood, whose band features the pulsating interplay of his blistering guitar with Regi Oliver’s driving baritone sax, deploys a singular sound and style all his own. He calls it “Electric Swamp Funkin’ Blues,” an intoxicating mix of deep blues, blistering, psychedelic-tinged rock, booty-shaking funk and sweet Southern soul, played and sung with the fire-and-brimstone fervor of a revival tent preacher with a hellhound on his trail. Tastemaker Americana music magazine No Depression says, “Selwyn Birchwood reaches back in the blues tradition to launch something out of this world.”
Birchwood is a force of nature. With his band feeding off his energy, the 6’3″ musician roams the stage barefoot, ripping out memorable guitar licks with ease, his soulful, rocks-and-gravel vocals firing up his fans. When he sits down to play his lap steel, he takes the crowd to a whole other level, with the music exorcising any bad times and troubles.
Just as a young Birchwood was learning Hendrix’s guitar playing was steeped in blues, legendary bluesman Buddy Guy–a major influence on Hendrix–was scheduled to perform in Orlando. Birchwood was there, front and center. “I was floored,” he recalls. “I completely connected with the blues. I knew this was my path, and I had to make this music and at that point I started trying to absorb as much as I could.”
At 19, Birchwood met and connected with veteran blues guitarist Sonny Rhodes, who was instantly impressed by the enthusiastic young guitar slinger. Within a month, Rhodes asked Birchwood to pack his bags and join him on the road. Rhodes took the young man under his wing, teaching him not only guitar and lap steel, but also how to conduct business, how to run a band, and how to reach an audience. “Sonny always said, ‘Play what’s in your heart.’ I’ve never lost sight of that,” says Birchwood.
The Selwyn Birchwood Band tours virtually non-stop. They have performed at The Chicago Blues Festival, Portland’s Waterfront Blues Festival, The Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, The Tampa Bay Blues Festival, The North Atlantic Blues Festival, The King Biscuit Blues Festival, as well as on The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise and across Europe. Now, they make their Edmonton Blues Festival debut Saturday August 17!
https://www.selwynbirchwood.com/
Bayou Boogie
A 100th birthday celebration of Clifton Chenier, the King of Zydeco, featuring C.J. Chenier, Marcia Ball, Sonny Landreth and the Red Hot Louisiana Band.
Saturday August 17 8:30PM
Clifton Chenier (June 25, 1925 – December 12, 1987), was an American Creole musician known as a pioneer of zydeco, a style of music which arose from Creole music, with R&B, blues, and Cajun influences. He sang and played the accordion and was the first Creole musician to win a Grammy Award in 1983 and in 2014 was a recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He was known as the King of Zydeco, and also billed as the King of the South. Chenier was a recipient of a 1984 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States government's highest honour in the folk and traditional arts. In 2015, the Library of Congress deemed Chenier's album Bogalusa Boogie to be "culturally, historically, or artistically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Recording Registry.
Clayton Joseph "C.J." Chenier (vocals, accordion, saxophone) Raised in this indigenous American culture with its own distinctive language, cuisine and music, C.J. delivers soulful vocals along with jaw-dropping masterful accordion-driven Rock, Zydeco and Blues. After spending his childhood in the tough tenement housing projects of Port Arthur, Texas, C.J. joined his Father Clifton's band on his 21st birthday. On the road his father showed him how to front a world class touring band, teaching C.J., a multiinstrumentalist, how to run the family business and how to develop his lifelong passion for music into a career. When Clifton died in 1987, C.J., adopted the Red Hot Louisiana Band and recorded his debut album for the great American independent label Arhoolie Records. Chenier (along with Ringo Starr) was hand-picked by Paul Simon for his 1990 Rhythm of the Saints album which was nominated for Album of the Year and Producer of the Year. He was then invited to go with Simon for his sell out “Born at the Right Time Tour”.
Sonny Landreth (guitar) Landreth is known as "the King of Slydeco" and plays guitar with a strong zydeco influence. Guitarist Eric Clapton has said that Landreth is one of the most advanced guitarists in the world and one of the most under-appreciated. Landreth first played in Clifton Chenier's Red Hot Louisiana Band at 17 years old, as the only white member of the band.
Marcia Ball (vocals, piano) Marcia Ball, the 2018 Texas State Musician Of The Year, has won worldwide fame and countless fans for her ability to ignite a full-scale roadhouse rhythm and blues party every time she takes the stage. Her rollicking Texas boogies, swampy New Orleans ballads and groove-laden Gulf Coast blues have made her a one-of-a-kind favorite with music lovers all over the world. Ball grew up in the small town of Vinton, Louisiana, right across the border from Texas. Marcia was influenced by Clifton Chenier and titled her 1985 album Hot Tamale Baby after the song of the same name, written by Mr. Chenier.
http://officialcjchenier.com https://marciaball.comhttps://sonnylandreth.com Sunday
TBA
Sunday August 17 – 1:45PM
This performance opportunity will, as always, feature a great local talent.
Secondhand Dreamcar
Sunday August 17, 2:35PM
Secondhand Dreamcar is a nine-piece soul and roots band fronted by Canadian Folk Music Award-nominee Dana Wylie and featuring notable producer Harry Gregg on bass; Jamie Cooper (Up and Over Trio, Obsessions Octet) on drums, Kyle Mosiuk (The Hello Darlin’s) and Chad Murphy (Dallas Smith) on guitar, Rooster Davis on organ, and a horn section led by Dave Babcock. This group of Alberta heavies is crafting a distinct, funky, and lyrically driven sound that journalist and programmer Peter North has deemed “the most exciting thing to come out of Edmonton since KD Lang and The Reclines”.
Please welcome Secondhand Dreamcar as they make their Edmonton Blues Festival debut!
Blue Moon Marquee
Sunday August 18, 4:00PM
Blue Moon Marquee were originally scheduled to perform at the 2023 Edmonton Blues Festival but transportation issues made that impossible.
Blue Moon Marquee is a swing blues, stomp jazz band born of the wild rose country. They currently make their home in an island shack on the coast of the Salish Sea. A.W. Cardinal (vocals/guitar) and Jasmine Colette a.k.a. Badlands Jass (vocals/bass/drums) write and perform original compositions influenced by anything that swings, jumps or grooves. Artists such as Lonnie Johnson, Louis Armstrong, Blind Willie Jonson, Charley Patton, Howlin' Wolf, Screaming Jay Hawkins, Tom Waits, Memphis Minnie, and Django Reinhardt are deeply infused in the soul of their music.
With a fistful of Maple Blues Awards to their names, a great attitude and a passion for making great, heartfelt music and restoring vintage motorcycles it’s a huge pleasure to finally welcome Blue Moon Marquee to the Edmonton Blues Festival stage.
https://bluemoonmarquee.com 
D.K. Harrell
Sunday August 18, 5:30PM
D.K. Harrell is a young man about to make some big impressions in the blues world…apparently very quiet as an infant, rarely crying or making any sound at all. So the day his mother heard something coming from the backseat of her car as she drove down a northern Louisiana highway, she turned down the CD she was listening to only to find her 18-month-old son, D.K. trying to sing along to B.B. King. Turns out that was just a precursor of things to come.
Now 25, the Ruston, La., native is carving out a career as a blues singer, guitarist and songwriter of note. He may owe a debt of gratitude to B.B. King for inspiration, but clearly, he has his own ideas of blues in today’s world and hopes to honor The King’s legacy through his own music.
His debut CD, The Right Man was recorded at Greaseland Studios in San Jose, Calif, for The Little Village Label, and produced by Christoffer “Kid” Andersen.
It was just a handful of years ago, in 2019, that he got his first paying gig as a musician at a symposium at the B.B. King Museum in Indianola, Miss., where he even got to play The King’s cherished Gibson guitar “Lucille.” Two years later he was back in Indianola, featured as the youngest musician on a show that included Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, Bobby Rush, Gary Clark Jr, and Mr. Sipp to name a few.
He followed that up in 2022 with a third place finish at The International Blues Challenge in Memphis and hasn’t looked back since. DK kicked off 2023 with a month long tour of Brazil as well as playing high profile, prestigious Festivals such as The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, The King Biscuit Blues Festival and Portland’s Waterfront Festival. The Sky is the limit for this kid.
He's wowed audiences around the world and now makes his Edmonton debut at the Edmonton Blues Festival, Sunday August 18!
https://dkblues.com
The Blackburn Brothers
Sunday August 18, 7PM
As of this writing, The Blackburn Brothers had been nominated for a record 9! Maple Blues Awards for their incredible album SoulFunkn’ BLUES… but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The indelible mark this musical family has made on the Toronto and Canadian music scene goes back to the patriarch of the family Bobby Dean Blackburn, who was nominated for the “Blues with a Feeling” award at the Maple Blues Awards this year to complement the 9 awards his younger family members earned.
The Blackburn name is tied to the history of the underground railroad and there is a direct connection to the musical talents that we hear today; a thread of soul that goes back well over a century and a half and expresses itself every time this band hits the stage. Make sure you catch them Sunday evening!
http://blackburnbrothersmusic.com 
Matt Andersen & the Big Bottle of Joy
Sunday August 18, 8:30PM
The closer at the 25th Edmonton Blues Festival this year is an act that we have been chasing for a few years and have finally managed to bring to you.
Matt Andersen & the Big Bottle of Joy!
Matt Andersen is a powerhouse performer with a giant, soul-filled voice and commanding stage presence. He’s built a formidable following the old-fashioned way: touring worldwide and letting his stunned audiences and new devotees spread the word of his righteous tunes all over. The world has indeed woken up and discovered him, helping him amass over 18 million YouTube views in addition to headlining major festivals, clubs, and theatres throughout North America. He’s shared the stage with Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy, Greg Allman, Tedeschi Trucks Band and many more. Multiple Maple Blues Awards first place in solo/duo category at the International Blues Challenge and a Juno nomination have deservedly come his way in the past few years.
A new project called the Matt Andersen & the Big Bottle of Joy, a 9-piece band and recent recording that earned him 4, 2024 Maple Blues Award nominations have taken the Canadian roots music landscape by storm.
This musical tour-de-force has been amazing audiences for the past year and we are incredibly happy to be able to have Matt Andersen and the Big Bottle of Joy close the 25th Edmonton Blues Festival!
https://stubbyfingers.ca