Artsquest Announces Blast Furnace Blues Festival Line-up

Artsquest announced their lineup for their annual Blast Furnace Blues Festival today.  The festival runs from September 14th to September 16th and features 25+ acts on three stages.

The festival will showcase modern and traditional blues as well as subgenres like gospel, soul, and zydeco.  Headlining the festival will be James “Superharp” Cotton, The Alexis P. Suter Band, and Marcia Ball.  Cotton is a Grammy Award-winning artist and a member of the Blues Hall of Fame.  He performed with Muddy Waters and his band for 12 years.  Suter is a nationally-recognized blues artist from Brooklyn who has performed at Blues festivals all over the country.  Ball, who has been nominated for four Grammy Awards and won eight Blues Music Awards, will finish out the festival on the 16th.  Her latest album, Roadside Attractions, was released last year and enjoyed time in the top 5 slots on the Billboard blues chart. 

Three day passes for the festival are $70 through September 13th and $99 at the doors.  Single day passes for Friday are $29 through September 13th and $39 at the doors.  Single day passes for Saturday and Sunday are $39 through September 13th and $49 at the doors. 

The full line-up:

Friday, Sept. 14
Alexis P. Suter Band
Lurrie Bell
Watermelon Slim
Todd Wolfe
James Supra
Mike Dugan 
Plus a late-night jam led by Craig Thatcher Band

Saturday, Sept. 15
James Cotton
Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials
C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band
Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne
Catherine Russell
Lurrie Bell
Watermelon Slim
Lazy Lester
Sarah Ayers
Donovan Roberts
Friar’s Point 

Sunday, Sept. 16
Marcia Ball
The Campbell Brothers
Nathan Williams & the Zydeco Cha Chas
Smokin’ Joe Kubek & Bnois King
Sugar Ray & the Bluetones
Samantha Fish
Craig Thatcher Band
Craig Thatcher (Solo Acoustic)
Bev Conklin
The Lesson Center
Maria Woford