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29th Annual Carolina Blues Festival, May 16, features Shemekia Copeland and Devon Allman

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Carolina Blues Festival

GREENSBORO, NC – Shemekia Copeland and Devon Allman will be among performers on May 16 at the 29th annual Carolina Blues Festival, which will move from downtown Greensboro to Barber Park Amphitheater, 1500 Dans Road, 3 miles east of downtown.

The festival moved because Price-Bryan Festival Park, its previous downtown location, is under construction as the site for the new Carolyn and Maurice LeBauer Park, said Doug Mokaren of the Piedmont Blues Preservation Society, which organizes the event.

The Carolina Blues Festival has the distinction of being the longest-running blues festival in the Southeastern United States, with the Piedmont Blues Preservation Society having produced blues festivals since 1986. Attendees from all over the East Coast come to Greensboro for this annual event, which has been held under a big tent for over 10 years!

Tickets range from $20 general admission to $50 for a blues bundle, which includes one ticket, preferred parking, a T-shirt, and scrip. Advance tickets are available here. Day of show tickets will be $35 at the gate.

 

Performing will be:

  • Shemekia Copeland, a two-time Grammy Award nominee who has opened for the Rolling Stones, headlined at the Chicago Blues Festival, and even performed at the White House. Shemekia’s last appearance at the Carolina Blues Festival was in 1999 when she was just 19 years old.
  • Devon Allman, the son of Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers Band. Devon Allman took up the guitar on his own and didn’t meet his father until he was 15 years old.
  • Larry McCray, whose savage blues-rock guitar and warm, soulful vocals have drawn attention worldwide.
  • Roy Roberts, the award-winning blues music producer, guitarist, and singer from Greensboro.
  • The Bush League, founded on a front porch in 2007 near Richmond, Va., by vocalist JohnJason “JohnJay” Cecil and self-taught bassist Royce Folks. They are joined by Michael Burgess and Brad Moss on guitar with Wynton Davis on drums.
  • Peter May, who plays original and classic piedmont blues and gospel.

The Piedmont Blues Preservation Society also announced its partnership with The Healing Blues Project and the Interactive Resource Center, a day center for the homeless. Here people experiencing homelessness may get showers, haircuts, laundry, case management, jobs program, emergency shelter, general medical care, phones, mail, photo ID and document recovery, and assistance to return to the mainstream. Learn more about the great work of the Interactive Resource Center by going online here.

Through The Healing Blues Project, musicians created 15 songs from the lives of storytellers experiencing homelessness. They recorded and compiled the works into a CD to raise money for the IRC.

After paying the storyteller, more than $10,000 in proceeds raised by the sale of the CDs and Healing Blues T-shirts has been donated to the Interactive Resource Center. This project is planning to go into Volume 2 of The Healing Blues to continue the momentum of Volume 1, and to continue to bring awareness to the plight of the homeless population. To learn more about The Healing Blues Project, go online here. To hear song samples and/or purchase the CD to help the Interactive Resource Center, go online here.

 

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