Greeley is the home of a fantastic annual blues event. The 12th annual Greeley Blues Jam is coming up June 10th and 11th at Island Grove Arena and Downtown Greeley. The Friday night "Beale Street" kick-off is free for everyone. Combining a really quality blues lineup with summertime makes this one of the best events in Northern Colorado. This year's headlining acts include amongst others, the North Mississippi Allstars and Charlie Musselwhite.

From the official press release:

2016 Greeley Blues Jam – “Ain’t nothin’ but a PARTY!

The 12th annual Greeley Blues Jam, scheduled for June 10th and 11th, will bring seven of the nation’s best award winning Blues artists to the Island Grove Arena and Downtown Greeley.   This popular festival embraces all the qualities of a great summer music event--- dancing under the stars on the downtown plaza, sitting on the fresh sod in the arena, and continuous music from three stages to provide listening enjoyment for everyone.  Even better, you can bring your camper or tent to Island Grove Park and camp just steps away from the party on Saturday, and pick up a free shuttle to the music in Historic Downtown Greeley on Friday.

Experience Greeley’s own “Beale Street” Friday night, June 10th, when the Greeley Blues Jam kicks off in Historic Downtown Greeley at 5pm, starting with live music outside on the 9th Street Plaza from 5 to 9pm, followed by 18 venues hosting great blues until 12am and it’s all FREE.  Go-Cup service will be available from 5 to 10pm.

Tickets for Saturday’s festival are only $30 in advance and $35 at the gate.  Kids 12 and under are admitted free.  Camping tickets are available in advance at the Greeley Independence Stampede Box Office. For more information and ticket outlets go to greeleybluesjam.com or call 800-449-3866.  The festival is presented by the City of Greeley and the Greeley Chamber of Commerce with the support of many area businesses including The Greeley Tribune, High Country Beverage/Coors Light, KUNC, iHeart Radio, Banner Health, Ehrlich Toyota, Power Services Co of Colorado and Now or Never Trucking.

Headlining this year’s festival are the North Mississippi Allstars.  Formed in 1996, the product of a special time for modern Mississippi country blues, brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson soaked up the music of their father, Memphis legend Jim Dickinson, and absorbed the North Mississippi legacy while playing and 'shaking it down' in the juke joints when their blues ancestors R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Otha Turner and their musical families were at their peak, making classic records and touring the world. Eventually, Luther (guitar, vocals) and Cody (drums, vocals) formed the North Mississippi Allstars and pioneered their own brand of blues-infused rock and roll.  Luther and Cody continually expand the tradition of the Mississippi hill country blues that has inspired them from the beginning, but as Rolling Stone aptly notes, “the Allstars may be children of tradition, but they’re digging deep in undiscovered country”.

Charlie Musselwhite -  With an induction into the Blues Music Hall of Fame, 35 Blues Music Awards (including three wins in 2014) and 11 Grammy nominations, American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader Charlie Musselwhite has truly earned legendary status as one of blues music’s most important artists. Musselwhite has released over 25 albums, as well as guesting on albums by many other notable musicians including Bonnie Raitt, INXS, Tom Waits and The Blind Boys of Alabama, among others. Musselwhite recently teamed up with Ben Harper on "Get Up!" - the collaboration that took home the Grammy for Best Blues Album in 2014.  Charlie first played the Greeley Blues Jam in 2009 and we are very proud to welcome him back.

Tommy Castro and the Painkillers - Night after night, Tommy Castro, fervently delivers his driving, blues-soaked, soul-baring music to fans all over the world. The road is where he honed his guitar playing to a razor’s edge and where he learned how to captivate an audience with his intensely passionate vocals and his memorable songs, licks and grooves. It’s where he learned to turn his band into a dynamic, high-performance engine, able to bring down the house with a soulful ballad and then bring fans to their feet with a blistering blues rocker.  Over the course of his four-decade career, Castro has played thousands of shows to hundreds of thousands of fans, packing dance floors, always leaving them screaming for more. He has released 14 albums filled with original blues, soul and West Coast rock, each one standing alone. Hailing from the San Francisco area, Castro, along with his band, The Painkillers, play music that is guaranteed to fire up fans and leave critics searching for new words of praise.

Rounding out the national acts are Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band from New Orleans—a zydeco act sure to have everyone dancing;  Davy Knowles—a guitar slinger from the Isle of Man; and John Primer-  the “real deal blues man” from Chicago, a recent grammy winner and a former band member of Muddy Waters.  Virtuoso harmonica player Jason Ricci returns to Greeley to headline the Friday night party in Downtown.

 

In addition, some of Colorado’s most beloved bands, including Hazel Miller, Chris Daniels and the Kings, Lionel Young Band, Rex Peoples & XFactr and amazing young guitar player Jaden Carlson will be featured on Saturday as well as many blues favorites playing on the Blues 101 stage where kids “of all ages” can learn to play harmonica. For additional information and schedules, go to www.greeleybluesjam.com.

 

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