The Bilbao band Mississippi Queen and The Wet Dogs will open the fourth edition of the Bilbao Blues Festival on Friday 25th July, an event that will also feature performances by The Kings of Blues, Blackburn Brothers, Delanie Pickering, Terrence Simien, Vanessa Collier, Ray Collin’s Hot Club and Chicago Blues Summer Tour. All of them will take to the main stage, located in the Arenal. The great international blues festival, totally free of charge, will take place from 25 to 27 July.
These extraordinary artists join blues legend Jimmie Vaughan (Texas, 1951), who will receive the competition’s lifetime achievement award and who will give his only concert in the Villa in the state.
MISSISSIPPI QUEEN AND THE WET DOGS
This young band, made up of Inés Goñi, Aitor Zorriketa, Mikel Núñez, Ander Alonso and Jon Carranza, offers energetic live performances that mix their own songs with covers of classic and current artists in an amalgam of styles: blues, soul, funk and rock. Recently, six years after their debut, they have released their second album, ‘Phoenix’.
THE KINGS OF BLUES
TKOB is made up of five artists with long and successful careers behind them (Tony Coleman, Russell B. Jackson, Vasti Jackson, Kenny ‘Blue Boss’ Wayne and Waldo Weathers) who have decided to unite their talent and musical passion in a high voltage project that draws from blues, funk and groove to ensure spectacular live performances.
BLACKBURN BROTHERS
Blackburn Brothers, who will offer their only concert in Spain during the Bilbao festival, is a multi-award winning Canadian band that combines a blues base with funk, jazz and soul rhythms to create a distinctive and uplifting sound influenced by legends such as BB King, Ray Charles, Eddie Harris, Miles Davis, James Brown and Stevie Wonder.
DELANIE PICKERING
Delanie Pickering (Concord, New Hampshire) is a twenty-something guitarist and singer who reclaims the blues styles originating in Chicago and Texas, combining them brilliantly with doses of swing and New Orleans rhythms. She is currently a member of the blues & roots band Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish, performs on her own at international festivals and plays in three other bands: Rosie’s Ritzy Revue, Black Eyed Susans and Outskirts.
TERRENCE SIMIEN
Terrance Simien & Zydeco Experience are among the brightest and most globally recognised representatives of Zydeco music, the traditional roots genre of Louisiana’s black and multi-racial French-speaking Creoles. This multi-generational and multi-cultural band, winner of two Grammys, is a true institution in this style and its legendary leader has a musical career spanning more than 40 years. A real party to close Saturday’s concerts.
VANESSA COLLIER
Texan singer, saxophonist (and guitarist) and songwriter Vanessa Collier is one of the biggest sensations on the world blues scene today. Her unmistakable style combined with a sensual voice and immense talent on the saxophone has won over audiences and most critics. The spectacular nature of his live performances rounds off his attractive approach.
CHICAGO BLUES SUMMER TOUR
The highly anticipated first annual Chicago Blues Festival tour becomes a reality this summer. Based on the same principle as its 1969 predecessor, the Chicago Blues Summer Tour will feature an all-star line-up of musicians from the electric blues capital (Mike Wheeler – guitar/vocals; Larry Williams – bass; Cleo Cole – drums; Jesse Lockridge – keyboards; Russ Green – harmonica; and Faye ‘Peaches’ Staten – vocals). This constellation of Chicago blues stars will thrill the audience on the last day of the event.
RAY COLLIN’S HOT CLUB
A Big Band that handles all variations of Rhythm n’ Blues with enormous energy. Nine virtuoso musicians will present their new album ‘The Book of the Golden Age’. Swing, rock’n’roll, country breeze in a musical journey through the landscape of the 50’s. A well-oiled machine of superb veteran artists led by the enigmatic Ray Collins (Tilmann Schneider -guitar-, Eddie Renne -piano-, Doc Puky -saxo-, Tom Schlomi Pospiech -saxo-, Lars Kuklinski -trumpet-, Tin Tin Tinious -saxo-, Sascha Haack -contrabass- and Tommy Greed -drums-).
FIRST CONFIRMATIONS AT THE ARENAL KIOSK: SWEET MARTA AND MARTÍN BURGUEZ
The second stage of the festival, located in the Arenal Kiosk, already has its first confirmed artists: Delanie Pickering, Martín Burguez and Sweet Marta. The sextet Martín Burguez & His Rhythm Combo, led by the Uruguayan singer and guitarist, is characterised by its electrifying show in which it revives Rhythm & Blues classics and original songs with an attractive heritage of the music of the 40s and 50s.
For her part, Marta Suñé leads the quartet Sweet Marta & The Blues Shakers, a group formed in 2013 in which the only harmonica player on the Spanish blues scene is accompanied by musicians of recognised prestige: guitarist Johnny Bigstone, bassist Little Jordi and drummer Homero Tolosa.
AN ORGANISATION WITH INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
BBSA Award for best promoter (Blues Behind the Scenes Award), awarded by the European Blues Union in the Azores in 2019 and the K.B.A. Award for best international festival organisation (Keeping the Blues Alive) in 2015, the highest worldwide recognition, awarded by the Blues Foundation in Memphis.