March 28, 2024
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Preliminary line up announced for the 20th Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival

Chesapeake Bay Events has announced  a partial lineup for the 2018 Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival (CBBF), being held at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis Maryland.  ” I believe that we have assembled some of the finest blues musicians touring today to celebrate our 20th year!” states Don Hooker, festival promoter.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band
Kenny Wayne Shepherd taught himself to play guitar at the age of seven, learning classic blues tunes by meticulously studying his dad’s record collection. Since then, his albums have sold millions of copies worldwide and received five Grammy® nominations and two Billboard Music Awards, as well as a pair of Orville H. Gibson awards, the Blues Foundation’s Keeping The Blues Alive award and two Blues Music awards. He’s also scored six #1 blues albums and a string of #1 mainstream rock singles. Shepherd was just 16 when he burst onto the national scene with the release of his 1995 debut album Ledbetter Heights. This will be his 3rd appearance at CBBF.
 
 
 
 
Delbert McClinton
Delbert grew up around Lubbock and Fort Worth, and spent his early career in the desegregating roadhouses of Fort Worth’s Jacksboro Highway, leading the house bands for Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, and others.  Later, Delbert traveled to England where he headlined shows with Bruce Channel (“Hey Baby”) with a little-known Liverpool band [The Beatles] as the opening act. Delbert appeared in the very 1st CBBF in 1998.
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Keb’ Mo’ Band
Grammy Nominee, Keb’ Mo’, is making his 2nd appearance at CBBF.  He has recently completed a successful tour with Taj Mahal.  Keb’ Mo’ (Kevin Moore) has received 3 Grammy Awards and an additional 8 nominations.  Keb’ has also been awarded 11 Blues Foundation Awards and 6 BMI Awards, 5 of which are from his theme song for the television show Mike and Molly. Keb’ is considered to be a true Blues Industry Icon.
 
 
 
 
Doyle Bramhall II
Doyle Bramhall II is one of the most distinctive vocalists, guitarists, composers and producers in contemporary music. Indeed, none other than Eric Clapton, with whom Bramhall has worked for more than a decade, lauds him as one of the most gifted guitarists he has ever encountered.  As the son of the late Texas musiclegend Doyle Bramhall, he was raised in a home filled with the blues and rock ‘n’ roll styles indigenous to Texas.”
Shemekia Copeland
Shemekia Copeland was born in Harlem, New York on April 10, 1979, and came to her singing career naturally. Her bluesman father, Johnny Clyde Copeland, recognized his daughter’s talent early on. Shemekia stepped out of her father’s shadow in 1998 with her groundbreaking debut CD, Turn The Heat Up, recorded when she was only 18. This will be Shemekia’s 10th appearance at CBBF, first appearing in 1999.  She has always been a CBBF favorite.
Mike Zito 
Appeared at Chesapeake Bay Events’ Southern Maryland Blues Festival in 2014 with The Royal Southern Brotherhood Band, a band that founded with Cyril Neville and Devon Allman.  He has one multiple Blues Music Awards over the last 10 years.  We are looking forward to his 1st appearance at CBBF.
Mr. Sipp
Mr. Sipp (a.k.a.  Coleman Castro) is the 2014 International Blues Challenge Winner as well as The 2014 Gibson Best Guitarist Award Winner and 2014 Jus’ Blues Bobby Rush Entertainers Award Recipient. Mr. Sipp was also cast in the recently released James Brown movie, “Get on Up”. Mr. Sipp, the Mississippi Blues Child, was a crowd favorite at the 2017 CBBF.
Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band
A high energy, swamp funky, Zydeco sound, Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band  joins CBBF for the first time. Once the accordion-playing virtuoso grabs the mic and takes to the stage with his band mates, audiences are treated to a show like no other. Chubby’s sound is infectious – a concoction of blues, 70s funk, rock and roll, and good ‘ole Zydeco flavor – and makes even the most timid individuals get their feet a movin’.
Heather Gillis Band
Heather Gillis is the TOTAL package as a guitar player, lap steel player, singer, songwriter, and arranger.  In 2015 Heather was recruited by legendary Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks to be a member of his touring outfit, Butch Trucks and the Freight Train Band  (2015-2017). During this time people saw that Butch had a secret weapon in his band and Heather’s name began to get talked about by those in the know.  We anticipate that Heather will steal the crowd at the 2018 CBBF.
Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton
Although only in his 20s, Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton has earned a reputation for transporting audiences back to the 1920’s.  One of the “purest blues” artists out there today.  It will be his 1st CBBF appearance.
Brandon “Taz” Niederauer
Fourteen-year old Brandon Niederauer is making his 1st appearance at CBBF having played on the Ellen DeGeneres show at age 10 and later on the Late Show with Steven Colbert, Good Morning America and The View. At age 12, he played the principle role of guitarist “Zack Mooneyham” in Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Broadway production of School of Rock the Musical.
Festival information:
The Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival will be held on May 19th and 20th, 2018 at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis, MD.
Tickets:
Ticket will go on sale December 1, 2017.  Please visit  www.bayblues.org for updated details very soon.

 

The Chesapeake Bay Events (CBE) held its first festival in 1998.  It has quickly gained national notoriety as one of the premier Blues Festivals in the world.  Outside of providing top caliber entertainment, the festival also gives ALL net proceeds to charity.
This year’s recipients are: We Care and Friends, which is an organization providing a wide variety of services to the needy of Annapolis, and CAMP FANTASTIC, a camp for children with cancer which is operated by Special Love, Inc.
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