| Wilmington,
NC – July 2015 / Newsmaker Alert / On July 24-26 the Cape
Fear Blues Festival will celebrate 20 years of bringing authentic blues
to Wilmington, North Carolina
and its island beaches. In 1996, the Cape Fear Blues Society hosted
the inaugural blues festival that rocked Wilmington’s riverfront. Each
July, the Cape Fear Blues Festival continues to offer a full weekend of
soulful blues performances in a variety of genres, and this year’s festival
is no exception. The 20th Annual Cape Fear Blues Festival will mark two
decades of memorable performances with touring blues artists from New York
City, noted regional performers from South Carolina and Tennessee, and
talented local blues musicians. Wilmington’s premier blues music venues—Rusty
Nail Saloon, Ted’s Fun on the River (an official WoodSongs Coffeehouse),
and the Henrietta III Riverboat—will host the 2015
Cape Fear Blues Festival. The three-day all-blues celebration also
features a blues workshop, an all-day blues jam, and the popular Blues
Cruise on the Cape Fear River.
Here’s a Preview of the
20th Annual Cape Fear Blues Festival:
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 Friday,
July 24:
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The ever-popular Cape Fear
Blues Cruise (boards at 6:30pm; departs at 7:30pm) features 3 bands,
3 decks and 3 cash bars, with tasty eats and a blues-filled sunset. Get
ready for some gritty Chicago boogie, swampy Delta blues, and West Coast
jumpin’ tunes when Elliott & The Untouchables headline this
one-of-a-kind blues experience on the riverboat’s main deck. Above the
main deck, The Rusted Nails will belt out Rockabilly and retro-blues
tunes. The current International Blues Challenge Solo Champion Randy
McQuay II will entertain with acoustic and harmonica selections on
the atrium level. Advance cruise tickets are $55 each and can be purchased
online at www.capefearblues.org/cruise.html,
or call 910-343-1611.
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The Post-Cruise Party
grooves on until the wee hours at The Rusty Nail Saloon (1310 South 5th
Street, 910-251-1888), beginning at 9:30pm with fatback and boogie master
Rickey Godfrey ($5 cover at the door).
Saturday, July 25:
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A free Acoustic Blues Workshop
will take place at Ted’s Fun on the River,
a welcoming listening room (2 Castle Street, Wilmington), starting at 11:00am.
This year’s featured workshop musician is roots artist and Raleigh native
Tad
Walters, who has performed with Billy Boy Arnold, Pinetop Perkins and
Hubert Sumlin. A member of the Music Maker Foundation’s Next Generation
Artists program, Walters will demonstrate the tools of his trade: guitar,
harp and voice. Limited seating; call 910-231-3379 for details.
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At 4:00pm, the Saturday Blues
Concert & Beer Tent at The Rusty Nail gets the party started when
local R&B ensemble Nelson & The Rock-A-Fellas and soul-blues
diva Rose Lucas & Band open for this year’s headliner, New York
Blues Hall of Famer Dave Fields. So bring a lawn chair, but leave
coolers at home because onsite vendors will sell food and beer. Tickets
($15 in advance/ $20 at door) are available at www.capefearblues.org
or 910-251-1888.
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Beginning at 9:30pm, The Rusty
Nail brings the party indoors for the Saturday Night Blues Party.
Discover just how hot the blues can get when the up-and-coming The Marcus
King Band takes the stage. Cover $5.
Sunday, July 26:
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The free All-Day Blues Jam
begins at 12 noon under the tent at The Rusty Nail. Hosted by the Cape
Fear Blues Society, this is a veritable Nirvana for blues listeners and
musicians. Bring a lawn chair. No coolers; no pets allowed. Beverages and
food available for sale.
Weekly jams, live performances,
an active blues society, and signature blues festivals provide a steady
dose of blues music, year-round, in Wilmington, North Carolina. For more
details about the Cape Fear Blues Society and the Cape Fear Blues Festival,
visit the festival website at www.capefearblues.org
or call 910-350-8822.
For a free Official Visitors
Guide for Wilmington, North Carolina’s historic river district and the
island beaches of Carolina
Beach,
Kure Beach and Wrightsville
Beach, call 866-266-9690, visit www.GoWilmingtonAndBeaches.com,
or email visit@wilmingtonandbeaches.com.
Media
Contact:
Wilmington
and Beaches Convention & Visitors Bureau
Connie
Nelson
Communications/PR
Director
910-332-8751
866-266-9690
ext. 120
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The
New Hanover County Tourism Development Authority d/b/a Wilmington and Beaches
Convention and Visitors Bureau is the official destination marketing organization
of New Hanover County, North Carolina that stimulates economic development
through the promotion of travel and tourism.
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