March 28, 2024
Annapolis, US 49 F

Local favorites Sweet Leda and Swampcandy to open Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival this weekend

Before the national acts take the stage at the 2017 Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival, the crowd will be jamming to the tunes of two of Annapolis’ best kept secrets— Swampcandy and Sweet Leda!

Sweet Leda

Powered by Julie Cymek’s sultry, commanding vocals and electrifying stage presence, Sweet Leda is taking the diverse mid-Atlantic music scene by storm as one of the most exciting and accomplished live acts on the rise. In fact, Lou Plaia (co-founder of Reverbnation) describes them as “the highlight of every festival they play.” With its rich blend of new school funk, psychedelic rock, soul and pop, Sweet Leda’s heartfelt original music can best be described as a female-fronted, soul-based, Zeppelin meets Chili Peppers! The hard, yet soft sounds of Sweet Leda will be kicking off the 2017 Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival at 11am on Saturday, May 20th.

Swampcandy

Swampcandy is an internationally touring primitive blues influenced Americana duo. Ruben Dobbs’ aggressive finger-picking and rhythmic style (which often adds up to sounding like more than one guitar) combined with Joey Mitchell’s bass playing, pounding kick drum and percussive bass throttling (representing the presence of a full drum kit) easily fill up the sonic space normally created by a trio or even a four-piece group. Dobbs’ soulful, passionate vocals are the glue that holds it all together and makes this band tick.  The crowd at Sandy Point State Park will be on their feet as Swampcandy takes the stage at 11am on Sunday, May 21st!

Chesapeake Bay Events, Inc. is pleased to announce that THE MAVERICKS will be the closer for Saturday, May 20th, 2017.

The Mavericks are an eclectic American band, combining country music, Latin, and rockabilly influences. The Mavericks were founded in 1989 in Miami, Florida. Between 1991 and 2003, the band recorded six studio albums. Their highest-peaking American single was 1996’s “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down“. They are best known in the UK for their 1998 single “Dance the Night Away,” which spent 18 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 4. In 1996, The Mavericks won a Grammy Award for the song “Here Comes the Rain

Don Hooker, festival promoter stated that, “Normally, the festival doesn’t repeat from year to year, but The Mavericks were so well received last year, despite the lousy weather and smaller than normal crowd, I felt that having them back made sense.  They also filled the crossover band slot that we normally book each year.”

Also, recently added to the Sunday bill was Robert Randolph and the Family Band, who have a new album due out in February.  The band has performed at such festivals as Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

Randolph’s unprecedented prowess on his instrument garnered him a spot on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” list, and also attracted the attention of such giants as Eric Clapton and Carlos Santana, who have collaborated with him on stage and in the studio.
The final lineup is as follows:

Saturday – May 20th

  • The Mavericks
  • Walter Trout
  • Samantha Fish
  • Toronzo Cannon
  • Frank Bang and the Cook County Kings
  • Sweet Leda

Sunday – May 21st

  • Jonny Lang
  • Robert Randolph and the Family Band
  • Ana Popvic
  • The William Bell Band
  • Mississippi Blues Child Mr. Sipp
  • The Apocalypse Blues Revue
  • Swamp Candy

Tickets:

Prices are:  One Day Pass $52  Two Day Pass $92

See Website www.bayblues.org for details.

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