September 18-20, 2008
Durham, NC- The St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation, Inc. presenters of the 21st annual Bull Durham Blues Festival, embarks on a new date, new location and new decade of the blues, September 18-20 at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, located at 409 Blackwell Street in downtown Durham. Celebrating twenty one years of presenting the best in acoustic, traditional and contemporary blues music, this year’s line up is a mix of blues legends, show-masters, second generation blues artists and regional artists that will surely provide festival attendees three evenings of the best the blues world has to offer.
Thursday night, September 18 at 7:00 PM the festival opens in the historic St. Joseph’s Performance Hall at the Hayti Heritage Center. Actin’ Up: Juke Joint & Holy Blues featuring Scott Ainslie and Ernie Hawkins. In Actin’ Up, Scott Ainslie and Ernie Hawkins bring Delta and Ragtime Blues to the stage in a spirited tour of hot ragtime instrumentals, passionate singing, and slide guitar, stories, and songs. Lifelong students of Ragtime-Piedmont Blues and Mississippi Delta Blues, Ainslie and Hawkins bring more than seven decades of experience with them to the stage. Their long apprenticeships with known and unknown traditional players from all around the country have lined their pockets with music, personal anecdotes, and history - riches that we hear jingle as they tap their feet. Both Ainslie and Hawkins will conduct Blues in the Schools residency activities throughout the week at various public and private schools and community centers.
Performing on the same night will be M.S.G.-The Acoustic Blues Trio from Hampton, Virginia. M.S.G. perform traditional Piedmont blues. Their style of music has been influenced by the likes of Archie Edwards, Etta Baker, and Cephas & Wiggins. This band can raise the roof with some old-fashioned house party tunes, make you laugh with their witty originals and then make you weep with blues ballads! The trio will be performing the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation Band. They have performed at numerous regional festivals including: Blues in the ‘Burg, Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Artscape, and Bayou Boogaloo. They’ve also had the honor of performing on the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage. The group consists of Jackie Merritt - harmonica player, Miles Spicer - guitarist, and Resa Gibbs - lead vocalist and percussionist, known for her warm, soulful and heartfelt sound. M.S.G. will conduct Blues in the Schools residency activities during the festival week.
On Friday and Saturday, September 19 & 20, the BDBF moves to the new Durham Bulls Athletic Park, 409 Blackwell Street, home of the Durham Bulls Baseball Club. Gates open at 5pm and the show starts at 6pm - 11pm. Friday night’s concert features singer/pianist Blues Music Award winner Marcia Ball. Ball knows how to raise roofs and tear down walls with her infectious, intelligent and deeply emotional brand of southern boogie, rollicking, roadhouse blues and heartfelt ballads. Singer Clarence Carter exemplifies the gritty, earthy sounds of Muscle Shoals R&B, fusing the devastating poignancy of blues with a wicked, lascivious wit to create deeply soulful music rooted in the American South of the past and present. Accordionist, singer and songwriter Rosie Ledet provides a unique female presence in the male-dominated zydeco world. She sings both Creole French and in English. Her songs are often shy and lusty and combined with her national good looks and distinctive, bluesy singing voice, she wows audiences wherever she goes. Finally the Triangle Blues Society Blues Challenge winner for 2007, 2008 Beale Street Blues Kings Award and 2008 Charlotte Music Award Winner for Best Blues Band, Contagious Blues Band from Charlotte, North Carolina.
Saturday night the BDBF brings to the stage the legendary musician Taj Mahal who has been playing his own distinctive brand of music- variously described as Afro-Caribbean blues, folk-world-blues, hula blues, folk-funk, and a host of other hyphenations for more than 40 years. A self taught musician, Taj Mahal plays more than 20 instruments, including the National Steel and Dobro guitars. His remarkable voice ranges from gruff and gravelly to smooth and sultry. Denise LaSalle is a seriously talented songwriter. Her soul blues style has strong urban contemporary overtones at times. It is best to think of LaSalle as a modern-day Bessie Smith. Bernard Allison totes the same sookin’ six string shooter that his late father, Luther Allison assaulted the blues with. He is blessed with his father’s soulful voice, spiritual devotion, and a musical freedom which experiments with the blues. As a true “son of the blues” Allison possesses the requisite guitar feel and vocal intonations necessary to push his blurs into the next century. He knows the energy level necessary to hold audiences and combines enough showmanship and spontaneity to push the performance in fresh, innovative directions each night. Finally, the Piedmont Preservation Blues Society Blues Challenge Award winner for 2007, The Big Road Blues Band, a stripped-down three-piece band from Ashville, NC featuring Duane Simpson on Guitar, Peggy Ratusz on Vocals and Percussion, Jill Fromewick on Harmonica or Joshua Singleton on Harmonica and vocals.
At the Festival there is something for the entire family, a Kids Zone with interactive entertainment for youngsters; and a Marketplace where blues lovers can indulge in an eclectic mix of regional and international foods for the soul, arts and crafts by NC artists, and a variety of unique specialty items. The music is sure to make you move, but if you feel a need, lawn chairs and blankets are welcome. Join in the fun on the infield or in the grandstand, rain or shine!! Gates open at 5 PM and show ends at 11PM.
The annual festival pre-sale is scheduled for June 23-27. Tickets will be (2) for $50 for this one week only special, limited number of tickets available. Advance tickets on sale July 1. Tickets per night are $35 advance; $45 after 9/17/08. A three day package will be on sale for $85 each through 9/17/08. Children 12 and under admitted free with a ticketed adult-except on 9/18. Visa/MasterCard/Amex/cash accepted. Tickets can be purchased on line at www.hayti.org or www.bulldurhamblues.org, or drop by the Hayti Heritage Center at 804 Old Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC. Or call (919) 683-1709 ext. 21.
Vendor application forms are available now, call 919-683-1709 ext. 21 or download the application from the website at www.hayti.org.
Volunteer forms will be available June 1st, call 919-683-1709 ext. 33 or download the application from the website at www.hayti.org.
For sponsorship information contact Janella Sellars, Development Director at 919-683-1709 ext 28 or jsellars@hayti.org
This annual festival, produced by St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation, Inc., has been successfully presented since 1988. It is nationally recognized as one of the premier Blues festivals in the country and was honored in 2000 with the “Keeping the Blues Alive Award” by The Blues Foundation in Memphis, TN. This three-day event has become North Carolina’s largest celebration of the Blues, recognizing Durham’s rich musical heritage as an important center of Carolina and Piedmont Blues. The festival has attracted as many as 20,000 Blues lovers and has over a 3 million dollar economic impact on the Durham economy annually.
The St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation, Inc. (SJHF) founded in 1975, is an African American cultural and educational institution deeply rooted in the historic Hayti community of Durham, North Carolina. SJHF is dedicated to advancing cultural understanding through diverse programs that examine the experiences of Americans of African descent - locally, nationally and globally. The Foundation is committed to preserving, restoring and developing the Hayti Heritage Center, the former St. Joseph’s AME Church, a National Historic Landmark, as a cultural and economic anchor to the greater Durham community. Funds raised from the event support the programs and operations of the Foundation and Hayti Heritage Center.
For more information call (919) 683-1709 or info@hayti.org.
The Black Diaspora Film Festival celebrates African American cinema by highlighting established and emerging filmmakers and films while showcasing the contributions and uniqueness of the Black artistic tradition in film. Our film selection embodies the richness of Black culture, recognizing universal themes and the similarities that exist among all cultures- St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation, Inc.
