Edmonton Blues Festival
August 16, 4:30 pm - 11:30 pm
Tonight’s line up
Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne
Friday August 16, 5:30PM
Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne played our first ever festival in 1999 as part of the Brouhaha Revue the Sunday night of that year. An award-winning pianist, consummate entertainer and gifted band leader, Wayne became one of the beacons of the Canadian blues scene a few decades ago. His smooth and robust piano playing and cool and soulful vocals are injected into an array of original tunes that take the audience on a journey filled with a plethora of influences. Multiple blues award winner Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne has been with us on a number of occasions and it only seemed fitting that he get us up and running at our 25th birthday party.
–
Vanessa Collier
Friday August 16, 7PM
Vanessa Collier blends blues, soul and rock and is a winner of three Blues Music Awards including a win in 2022 as “Contemporary Blues Female Artist”. This past year Vanessa was busy touring summer festivals highlighted by shows at the Rochester International Jazz Festival, RBC Ottawa Blues Festival, Winthrop Rhythm & Roots Festival and a two-week tour of Europe. Vanessa graduated with a dual degree from the prestigious Berklee College of Music and was invited to play alongside Annie Lennox and Willie Nelson at Berklee’s commencement address. She also worked with Kathy Mattea, Bill Cooley, Patrice Rushen, and many more visiting artists while studying at Berklee. Her influences include among others Bonnie Raitt, Norah Jones and The Wood Brothers. A huge hit who walked the crowd with her sax at the 2019 Edmonton Blues Festival Vanessa returns with her world class band to kick Friday night into high gear!
–
Booker T Presents:
A Stax Revue and a Journey Thru Soul, Blues and R&B
Friday August 16, 8:30PM
Booker T’s Stax Revue is a presentation of Booker’s hits with the MGs, such as “Green Onions,” “Hang ‘Em High” and “Time is Tight” and of the classics recorded on Stax Records by legendary artists such as “Try a Little Tenderness” by Otis Redding, “When Something is Wrong with my Baby” by Sam and Dave and “Gee Whiz” by Carla Thomas. The Stax Revue features a ten-piece big band with three lead vocalists, a three-piece horn section and Booker’s usual rhythm section and delivers a high energy experience curated to take the audience on a journey through Booker’s eyes. His brief personal anecdotes provide wonderful context for the music and Booker’s legendary history with Stax makes him the perfect artist to present such a revue. Booker T is a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Musicians Hall of Fame inductee, GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and winner of four GRAMMY Awards. It can be argued that it was Booker T. Jones who set the cast for modern soul music and is largely responsible for its rise and enduring popularity. He pushed the music’s boundaries with his hits on Stax, refined it to its essence and then injected it into the nation’s bloodstream.
Not to be missed!… closing Friday August 16
Map
