Blues festival to fund scholarships

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Blues festival to fund scholarships

MIDDLEBORO — The fourth annual New England Blues Festival, to be held on Saturday, Aug. 29 at Battis Field off Jackson Street in downtown Middleboro, will feature talent from all over the region and will raise money for a good cause.

This year, the blues festival is honoring the memory of Brian McMahon and Joseph DeYoung, two Middleboro High School students who died in an auto accident last year, by contributing partial proceeds to the McMahon-DeYoung Memorial Fund. The fund will award scholarships to deserving area youths.

"We have started a new area tradition, combining blues music and charitable efforts," said organizer Karen Blair. "This is our fourth annual New England Blues Festival, so come on down and help us achieve our goals. The festival is held to promote the blues in Southern New England and to benefit worthy area community funds and groups."

Singing the National Anthem will be Miss South Coast 2009 Alyson Levy.

Featured musician will be Joe Moss. A guitarist since the age of 15, Joe Moss was given his passport into the blues world by Buddy Scott, who noticed Moss at a jam session at Rosa's Blues Lounge on Chicago's west side. "Energetic, a strong guitarist, and always a crowd pleaser," Buddy Guy says of him. "Monster Love is the work of a skilled craftsman," said Jeff Johnson, Chicago Sun Times.

The Walkin' Blues Band is a Chicago style blues band inspired by musicians such as Paul Butterfield, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson II, James Cotton as well as more recent musicians such as The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Eric Clapton and B.B. King. Jason and Mark have over seven years experience playing together and with vocalist, Ramsey, formed the Walkin' Blues. Recently, the permanent addition of guitarist Stefan Iris and drummer Jay Gillies has finalized this band into a true, high-energy Blues experience! The Walkin' Blues infectious fun on stage has entertained a wide variety of audiences and has attracted several local musicians to join the band for live performances. The Walkin' Blues Band has been entertaining local venues for over three years with their mix of tunes from the '50s, '60s, and '70s comprising some of the more "modern" blues, Chicago blues and some scattered tunes from an eclectic mix of musical styles.

Jimmy "Killer" Kane and the Blue FOs are known as a raucous, pull-no-punches working class blues band born and bred in Attleboro. Through the years, the band has been a reliable source for grooves and good times in the form of both original tunes and classic covers.

The Mystix, Boston's critically-acclaimed roots band, currently appear at many of New England's top venues and enjoy airplay across the U.S. and around the world. Their veteran lineup consists of top musicians, who have performed and recorded with some of the country's most respected and well-known artists.

Wolf & The Jam Daddies are "The Band that's not a Band," four friends that love the blues. The band has only rehearsed one time in the four years that it has been together. "We just click and we play what we feel," reads the band's bio. "It seems that we know what the others want to do, and that's to play music, have fun, and make friends not fans. Our music isn't just for us, it's for you, too. Wolf is working on his first CD and hopes to have it done soon with originals and cover blues also. We had a fantastic time last year at the festival, and expect to have a great time this year too."

A life-long New Englander, singer/songwriter Gerry Dekoto worked as a bassist for decades before breaking out on his own and recording his first CD, Dekoto Unplugged. From the seventies through the eighties and nineties, he wrote and recorded hundreds of songs with the likes of 93 North, Nucleus, Pyratt, The Nu, Orion and YamunJam.

A special guest will be Mark T. Small, whose solo show includes many great traditional delta blues numbers with a Chicago blues slant that transforms each tune into a "tour de force."

The Wood Spirit Band hails from the southeastern Mass cranberry bogs. Inspired by the Gong Show's JP Morgan and Jackie Vernon, this four-piece band can draw the crowd to the dance floor with their "catnip" vibe. Members include John "uncle Woodchuck" Crump, Kenn Kassica, Bill Peters, and Walt Turell.

Gates will open at 11 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. No alcohol, coolers or pets will be allowed. General admission tickets are $20 when purchased in advance and $25 to purchase at the festival. V.I.P. tickets are available for $150 and add V.I.P. festival access, preferred seating, and catered food.

A signed Fender Squire Stratocaster will be raffled off at the festival, and commemorative tee shirts will be on sale.

Vendors will include Cabot Cheese, Papa Gino's, Verizon, Kitchen Magic, Captain Rons, Annie B Farms, The Sausage Guys, U S Coast Guard, Bird Song Jewelry Design, Girl Scouts, Lions, Middleboro on the Move, Future of Middleboro Trust.