Guitarist and vocalist Devon Allman to headline Blues Alive. Jana Koubková will celebrate her 80th birthday at a special concert

Also newly added to the program are two groups representing Chicago blues and the local famous festival – Chicago Blues Festival feat. Stephen Hull & Dave Herrero & Sheryl Youngblood and Legends of Chicago Blues feat. Oscar Wilson, Jimi Primetime Smith & Bob Corritore. Other newly confirmed musicians include Alabama singer-songwriter Early James, who mixes elements of blues, folk, rock and classic country, and young talents from the European Blues Challenge – Dutch acoustic trio Robbert Duijf Band, Austrian guitarist and vocalist Jörg Danielsen and American guitarist Ben Prevo. Singer Jana Koubková will celebrate her 80th birthday at a special concert with a number of guests in Šumperk.

As far as the performing artists are concerned, we have managed to put together perhaps the best quality line-up of the festival. The 28th edition of Blues Alive will offer two equal main stages in the House of Culture in Šumperk. This year, we will rename them after the biggest stars in our history, blues legends Hubert Sumlin and James Cotton.

This year’s headliner is sure to please blues-rock fans. The Devon Allman Project consists of, besides the main protagonist, another guitarist, a bass player, a hammond player and two drummers. The band’s repertoire includes classic Allman Brothers songs as well as original compositions by Devon Allman.

Blues Alive audience will experience a project representing the top of the crop of modern Chicago blues scene: Chicago Blues Festival feat. Stephen Hull & Dave Herrero & Sheryl Youngblood. The Stephen Hull Experience is the core band with singer Sheryl Youngblood. Not only is she one of the most frequently seen personalities in Chicago clubs today, but she also won a Grammy with the gospel group The Thompson Community Singers of Chicago. The third is guitarist and singer Dave Herrero, now a fully established figure in Chicago blues.

Under the name Legends of Chicago Blues feat. Oscar Wilson, Jimi Primetime Smith & Bob Corritore, a great grouping of three stars of the contemporary Chicago scene will come to Šumperk. Oscar Wilson is well known to blues fans as the frontman of the popular band The Cashbox Kings. Guitarist Jimi Primetime Smith became a legend in Chicago clubs at a relatively young age, and harmonica phenom Bob Corritore is considered one of the mainstays of the current electric blues scene.

Thirty-year-old singer-songwriter Early James was one of the discoveries of Dan Auerbach, the renowned producer and one half of The Black Keys, on whose label Easy Eye Sound he releases his records. He has gradually developed his own unmistakable style, blending elements of blues, folk, rock and classic country. His signature style, insight and stage presence are often compared to Tom Waits.

A trio of new bands emerged from this year’s Blues Aperitiv talent competition. Kiero Grande dances on the edge of the subtlety of blues and the grittiness of rock music, playing progressive blues-rock according to their own words. The Polish Robert Kordylewski Trio impressed the jury not only with their authentic blues sensibility and excellent interplay, but also with the brilliant playing of their frontman. This year, thanks to the Audience Award, Blues Alive will host for the first time a band from Serbia – The Bad Week. The group takes inspiration from sources in American country blues, but adds their own songwriting elements to it.

Other performers were brought in by the organisers from the European Blues Challenge. Robbert Duijf Band, an acoustic trio from Holland, won the band category there this year. The charismatic Austrian guitarist and singer Jörg Danielsen will perform as part of an intimate afternoon at the Monastery Church, as will American guitarist Ben Prevo.

Jana Koubková, an absolute star of Czech music regardless of genre, celebrates her 80th birthday this October. That is why the Blues Alive dramaturgy decided to organize a birthday celebration for this great lady during the Saturday thematic concert. In addition to the brilliantly played Jana Koubková Quartet, she will sing with three of her longtime friends and colleagues with whom she has never performed live before – pianist Martin Kratochvíl, guitarist Tony Ackerman and saxophonist Joe Kučera.

In total, this year’s program will feature over thirty performers on three stages and a number of other events around town – jam sessions, film screenings, debates and lectures, a photography exhibition and masterclasses. Back in January, the festival announced that American drummer and guitarist and Grammy and multiple Blues Music Awards winner Cedric Burnside, American blues singer-songwriter and multiple Blues Music Awards winner Eric Bibb, Miami’s brilliant guitarist and 2023 Blues Rock Artist of the Year Albert Castiglia, prominent American singer-songwriter and rock singer Chuck Prophet, and many more will play.

Every year we strive to improve our services for visitors. This year, we have streamlined the sales of accommodations, which are traditionally in high demand during the festival. Now, fetival visitors can simply purchase these rooms online directly from the festival’s eshop. Another new feature is special tickets called “Blues Alive All Inclusive”, which include accommodation, transport between the hotel and the festival grounds and also meals and drinks at the festival.

Categorised in: Nezařazené

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