Many of the performers coming to the
ROOTSandBLUES Festival are enjoying a summer filled with highlights
. H
ere are a few updates regarding some of the gifted artists coming our way.
One of the more prestigious internet gigs in the world of roots music is the NPR showcase known as the Tiny Desk Concert Series. While a terrific forum for emerging artists of considerable talent, acts like John Prine, Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Dave Matthews, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Dan Auerbach have also dropped by the minimalist performance space over the last few months.
ROOTSandBLUES patrons can get a sneak peak at
Rev. Sekou
, who delivered what show hosts called
"
one of the most rousing Tiny Desks we
'
ve ever had.
"
S
ekou and company descended on the space July 10 and served up a
"
baptized in soul music
"
set that clocked in at 20 minutes. Head to
npr.org/event/music/627261617/rev-sekou-and-the-seal-breakers-tiny-desk-concert.
We guarantee you
'
ll love what you hear. Sekou and his troupe will be playing a number of shows and workshops during ROOTSandBLUES and he
'
ll kick off main stage on Sunday night.
A couple of weeks ago the organizers of the Wild Mountain Music Festival in Hinton Alberta were told that their Friday night headliner Eric Burden would not be making the trek to the festival from Los Angeles for his scheduled show on Friday July 13.
Wild Mountain talent buyer Jason Williams gave ROOTSandBLUES a call wondering if he should consider
The Family Stone
as a replacement. As it turned out, the fabled group was available and we
'
re pleased to report that the group delivered
another stellar performance.
"
The Family Stone might be as good an act as we
'
ve ever had at Wild Mountain,
"
gushed Williams the day after their performance. And that is an impressive endorsement given Wild Mountain has hosted the likes of Serena Ryder and Blue Rodeo.
"
The Family Stone are great players and singers, a pleasure to work with, and then they spent all sorts of time mingling with the audience. I wouldn
'
t be surprised if some folks go to Salmon Arm just to hear them again,
"
added Williams.
ROOTSandBLUES also received a note from Brian Schultz who produces the cool, boutique Oats & Notes Festival in central Alberta.
"
Hey folks, The Family Stone slid in to cover for Eric Burden at Wild Mountain fest and were great. Very gracious, complimentary to the crowd and it was a rainy cold night. Folks also enjoyed their interaction after their set. As Marty Stuart says "when you hire me, you hire me for the whole time I'm here"."
You'll enjoy them at ROOTSandBLUES.
"
Along with their Saturday night main stage show, The Family Stone should put a jolt into the Classic R&B and Soul set Saturday afternoon with The Boom Booms, Colleen Brown, Dave Babcock, and Rev. Sekou.
A number of acts playing ROOTSandBLUES 2018 have recently released new albums and on the country side of things,
Pharis and Jason Romero
and
Jimmie Dale Gilmore
are receiving rave reviews from sources that are considered to be authorities on roots music.
The Romero
'
s Sweet Old Religion is an 8 star out of 10 set according to savingcountrymusic.com, while Kim Ruehl of folkalley.com was just as complimentary in her lengthy appraisal of the disc.
Calling the Romero's collaboration
"
fue
l
led by an intangible magic
"
, Ruehl closes out her piece by suggesting she just wants to tell her audience basically
to
put the disc on and leave it on.
Gilmore, who is coming to ROOTSandBLUES with his Austin pal Bill Kirchen, has a few projects on the go. The one that is glowing in the dark is his studio collaboration with Dave Alvin
"
Downey To Lubbock
"
. The title references the California and Texas towns where each man got his start, Gilmore
'
s being Lubbock. Rolling Stone, American Songwriter magazine and Pop Matters all give the disc
"
a thumbs up
"
.
There is still time to get ROOTSandBLUES tickets before Gate prices go into effect on August 11.
For complete information on Salmon Arm ROOTSandBLUES call 250-833-4096.
