Shediac Blues Festival grows to three-day event
Published Thursday June 18th, 2009
SHEDIAC - Local blues legends along with an infusion of international jazz performers promise to fill Shediac with smooth sounds over the New Brunswick Day long weekend in August.
Billed as an affordable alternative to Moncton's summer of big shows, the Shediac Blues Festival is expanding this year to three nights of live music.
Headliner Wes Mackey from the southern United States has played with such legends as Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed and Stevie Wonder.
As well, the Glamour Puss Blues Band will reunite to perform at the festival, which is proving that there's a growing audience for jazz and blues east of Fredericton.
"There is a new, decent-sized youth crowd grasping this music," said Nick Cormier, lead singer and guitarist of the Eric and the Blues Band, a Moncton-area group which will play the festival.
Alex Saunders, another member of the band, said the province's young people are growing into new sounds.
"In Moncton, there is a big metal band scene. But it's slowly leaving metal and rock into what we believe is something like this."
Last year, the Fredericton festival's 18th year, it brought in Grammy winner Buddy Guy from Chicago, British pop act Bloc Party, Georgia guitar wizard Derek Trucks and U.K. jazz vocalist Sarah Jane Morris.
"It can't be done in one night anymore," Bill Vance, organizer of the Shediac event, said in an interview. "We have fought in the past with some of the major concerts that have come to Moncton, but this year we don't have to.
"And we know we can grow."
Last year, the Shediac Jazz Festival had to compete with a Magnetic Hill megaconcert featuring the Eagles.
But turnout was above expectation, despite the competition.
Attendance is free at the festival's first night of music featuring five local jazz and blues bands in a battle-of-the-bands-style competition for a $2,000 prize.
After that, a $10 ticket will get all concertgoers into the Festival Tent in downtown Shediac to see two, three-hour nights of jazz music.
Festival returnee Keith Hallet and local blues legend Theresa Malenfant will anchor the August 1 show.
The Glamour Puss Blues Band and Wes Mackey will close out performances on August 2.
For tickets or more information call 506-532-5333.
Disabled
Search Articles
More CE Network Sites & Partners:
Comments (1)
All comments are subject to the site Terms of Use. For a full commenting tutorial click here.
Our editorial team relies on filtering technology and our visitor community to identify inappropriate comments. In the event that a site user has submitted offensive content that has evaded our filter, please select the option to Flag As Inappropriate presented within the comment. Thank you for helping to keep this site clean.