(HAYWARD, CA) – The Hayward Russell City
Blues Festival is a celebration honoring the vibrant Blues tradition of
the area. July 13-14 will mark the 20th annual and will be held once again at
Hayward City Hall Plaza (77 B Street, Hayward, California).
Russell City always had a rich musical
culture. The blues tradition grew from African Americans whose Southern roots
influenced the music. Saturday nights clubs were filled with the sounds of the
Blues and Sunday mornings the churches were filled with the sounds of Gospel.
Russell City is a landmark on the map of
America’s contributions to world culture giving Hayward a unique musical leg
reflecting the African-American experience.
In 1999 the West Coast Blues Society began
the Hayward Russell City Blues Festival as a joint venture with the City of
Hayward, a celebration honoring the vibrant Blues tradition of the area. 2019
will be the 20th Year of the annual festival, making it one of the
oldest continuous Blues festivals in the West.
This 20th Anniversary
Celebration line-up is absolutely amazing.
Saturday, July 13th includes Oakland Sam,
the Stars of Glory then the Blues Harmonica Explosion featuring Big
Harp George (the only blues artist featuring the chromatic harmonica), Vinnie
Flores, Silver Foxx, Roharpo, and Kyle Rowland closing out the Blues
Harmonica Explosion. Kyle was voted the 2009 West Coast Blues Hall of Fame “Blues Harmonica
Player of the Year” and “Blues New Artist of The Year” and has been dominating
the stage since the tender age of 10 years old.
Next up are Johnie B and Queen Iretta
Sanders, a powerful and strong blues couple; the versatile and soulful Mr.
Alvon Johnson, a true showman; and Johnny Rawls, a soul-blues legend who has
been acknowledged by The Blues Music Awards and W.C Handy Awards, Blues
Blast Awards, Living Blues Critics Poll Awards with multiple awards and
nominations, including “Soul Blues Album of the Year” and “Soul
Blues Male Artist of the Year;” Leon Atkins, better known as Lil’ Jimmy
Reed, will deliver classic Louisiana down-home blues tradition; Lucious Spiller
whose performance is one that you can easily imagine from the 1930’s; Lonnie
Shields from West Helena, AR is genuinely one of the finest of the next
generation of the blues deeply rooted in Gospel, soul, and R&B
Sunday, July 14 kicks off with Guitar
Mac and His Blues Express, pure Mississippi Delta Blues followed by the Gospel
of the Chosen Wonders. The Russell City Memorial Blues
Band features Lee Ashford, Bobby “Hurricane” Spencer, Terrible
Tom Bowden and Filmore Slim; Oakland Blues Divas feature Baby
Bee, DeJean Burkes, Margie Turner, Xymphoni and, Earnestine
Barze. There’s LaQuinta, aka Stevens Daughter; Blind Lemon Peel; Lucky
Lloyd; Sonny Green’s Southern Soul Blues performed with grit, wit, and
sartorial splendor; and Chuck Wallace.
The West Coast Blues Caravan of
All-Stars is a powerhouse revue put together to showcase some of the
unsung heroes of West Coast Blues consisting of Ronnie Stewart lead
guitar; Robert “Hollywood” Jenkins, rhythm guitar; Art Hafen T-Bone,
guitar; Legendary Fillmore Slim, guitar; Jock Shock,
guitar; Dalhart Johnson, bass guitar; Skip Hudson, bass
guitar; David “Stix” Boyette, drums; Danielle Wamsley on
drums; Tovia, drums; Jimmy Jr., drums; Carl Green, Phillip
Reynolds, and the “Sweet Meat Horn Section.” Featured vocalists include Terrible
Tom Bowden, Willie G, Tommy Nunnelly and Karl Bracy.
Southern Soul is the best way to
say, Ira Walker; Stoney B grew up listening to the blues (his father
is Lil’ Howling Wolf) and has strong influences from Muddy Waters, B.B.
King, and Jimmy Reed; Sonny Rhodes continues to be a road warrior with
his virtuosity on lap steel guitar and electric guitar. He has been
nominated fifteen times for the Blues Music Awards and won the “Instrumentalist-Other” category
in 2011; Carl Weathersby is soul-blues singer,
guitarist, and songwriter who has worked with Albert King and Billy Branch,
among others and was nominated for W.C. Handy for Best New Blues Artist in
1997.
The Blues is a condition, Blues Music is the
cure!