Blues Weekend:Music comes to the River City
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The 31st River City Blues Festival, presented by the Blues, Jazz & Folk Music Society of Marietta, will bring a variety of blues acts to the Lafayette Hotel on March 15-16.
Formed in 1987, the BJFMS is an all-volunteer non-profit music society promoting blues, jazz and folk music in the Mid-Ohio Valley.
The society provides cultural information and presents dance and music workshops, and blues, jazz and folk shows that the public would not likely hear live in the local area.
Admission will be $35 for Friday night, $35 for Saturday afternoon and $40 for Saturday night. A weekend pass is $100.
Among this year's performers will be Billy The Kid and The Regulators, Eden Brent, Rory Block, Halo Rider and Jason Ricci and The Bad Kind.
This year's Saturday night headliners are Tom Holland and the Shuffle Kings and Mike Zito Band.
Specializing in Chicago blues, Tom Holland and the Shuffle Kings have been playing the blues worldwide for over 25 years, regularly appearing at clubs and festivals worldwide. The group has performed blues legends such as John Primer, Eddy Clearwater, and James Cotton.
Zito is considered by many one of the most lauded artists in the contemporary blues arena today. He began playing guitar at 5 and by the time he reached his late teens, he was already a fixture on the local St. Louis music scene.
He has received a variety of accolades and recognition since first signing with a music label in 2008.
From 2010 to 2014, Zito also played an integral role in the super group of sorts, Royal Southern Brotherhood. The group released two albums and a DVD. He also made his mark behind the boards by producing albums for Samantha Fish, Albert Castiglia, Ally Venable,
In 2019, Zito released a tribute album of fellow St. Louis native and rock 'n' roll legend, Chuck Berry, and featured an array of guest guitarists ranging from Joe Bonamassa, Walter Trout and Eric Gales, to Robben Ford, Luther Dickinson and Sonny Landreth, as well as
The entertainment schedule includes:
Friday, March 15
≤5 p.m. – High Schools That Rock (Free and open to the public0
≤7:30 p.m. – doors open
≤8-9:30 p.m. – Billy The Kid and The Regulators
≤9:45-11:15 p.m. – Eden Brent
Saturday afternoon, March 16
≤12:30 p.m. – doors open
≤1-2:15 p.m. – Rory Block
≤2:30-3:45 p.m. – Halo Rider (Anne Harris and Markus James)
≤4-5:30 p.m. – Jason Ricci and The Bad Kind
Saturday evening, March 16
≤7:30 p.m. – doors open
≤8-9:30 p.m. – Tom Holland and the Shuffle Kings
≤9:45-11:15 p.m. – Mike Zito Band