Fans of bluegrass, Americana, hard-core country and old-time music are being taken care of at the 26th annual Salmon Arm ROOTSandBLUES Festival from August 16 through 19 on the Salmon Arm Fairgrounds.

The Greg Blake Band leads the way on the bluegrass front as this amazing vocalist brings an all-star band to the ROOTSandBLUES site.

Blake was born in the bluegrass cradle of West Virginia. A fine guitarist, Blake is also one of the lead singers with Jeff Scroggins and Colorado. For his solo ROOTSandBLUES appearance Blake will be surrounded by a crew that is as good as any in bluegrass. Grammy-winner Sally Van Meter will be playing dobro. Fiddle ace Blaine Sprouse started with Jimmy Martin and continued with Jim and Jesse, the Osborne Brothers, and Charlie Louvin. What more needs to be said about Blaine? Vancouver's John Reischman brings his mandolin, and bass master Mark Shatz, who has recorded with Bela Fleck and Emmylou Harris rounds out this formidable quintet. Watch out for the Greg Blake Band.

From Ontario come two exceptional acts with decidedly different sounds but intersecting interests.

Multiple Juno and Canadian Country Music Awards winner Russell deCarle returns to ROOTSandBLUES with new material from his critically acclaimed Alone In This Crowd recording. One of the finest vocalists and stylists to have ever called Canada home, deCarle brings an impressive repertoire of tunes from his solo and Prairie Oyster recordings, plus a considerable and broad skill set to the festival, as does his long-time sidekick, guitarist Steve Briggs.

The other Ontario-based act is the Lonesome Ace Stringband, which is currently touring behind a new release titled When The Sun Comes Up. The Lonesome Ace Stringband brings grit, skill, and abandon to old-time, Appalachian folk songs and fiddle/banjo tunes. These are songs for life and all occasions: festivals, dances, wars, parties, and funerals. Its themes of love, loss, hard-work and hardship, faith, and everyday life speak to everyone. The members are Chris Coole on banjo, John Showman on fiddle, and Max Heineman on bass. To quote broadcaster Brad Kolodner of WAMU in Washington D.C., "these are three of the most accomplished Old-Time musicians on the planet."

Canadian guitar master and Nashville resident Steve Dawson is a true renaissance man. Producing albums, creating tour de force projects like the Tribute to The Mississippi Sheiks, operating the Black Hen label while orchestrating tours with his solo show and the Black Hen Roadshow, and playing sessions are all part and parcel of what makes Dawson tick...loudly.

Currently touring behind his new album Lucky Hand, Dawson will hit the Salmon Arm ROOTSandBLUES festival with a smokin' hot band of all-star players, and ROOTSandBLUES intends to utilize Dawson and company in a variety of musical settings as a unit and as individual artists.

Last but not least is the announcement that guitarist and songwriter Nathan Tinkham will be joining the ROOTSandBLUES cast. Over the last forty years he toured and recorded with Ian Tyson, Wilf Carter, Cindy Church, Quartette, Diamond Joe White, and the Great Western Orchestra. This Gabriola Island resident also produced a tribute to Wilf Carter that morphed into a CBC special and touring show.

Complete info on the 26th edition of Salmon Arm ROOTSandBLUES can be found at www.rootsandblues.ca or by calling 250-833-4096.

Go to our official Accommodation page 

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• Meeting with Creative Okanagan Creative Director prior to the festival to do a performance review, go over what to expect at the festival, and to consider performance opportunity details.
• Two 40-minutes performance opportunities on the Wednesday or Thursday night before the ROOTSandBLUES Festival, a Friday night workshops (to be determined by the ROOTSandBLUES Artistic Director) or Saturday morning brunch outreach event.
• Back stage passes to for the festival weekend.
• Meet with ROOTSandBLUES Artistic Director during the festival.
• Assistance connecting with media by Creative Okanagan at the festival (as determined by Creative Okanagan and ROOTSandBLUES).
• $500 honorarium.
• Accommodations for band members (up to two hotel rooms).

Criteria:

• Artist or band must perform music stemming from the roots and/or blues traditions. Music performed may be primarily covers. Quality of performance will be primary selection criteria.
• Members must have been residents of the Okanagan including the Shuswap/North Thompson for one year (same boundaries as the Okanagan Regional Library).
• Artist has not previously been hired to play the ROOTSandBLUES Festival.
• Required to submit a brief statement on goals as a musician and a CV including recent activities as a musician (tours/shows/albums/digital activities/website link).
• Applicant(s) must be a musician capable of playing a forty-minute set in a professional manner, this may be a subset of a larger band, acts of all sizes will be considered.
• Artists must be available to attend Salmon Arm ROOTSandBLUES Festival, August 16 - 19, 2017.