Billtown Blues Festival announces 2024 lineup
Feb. 6—HUGHESVILLE — The 34th Annual Billtown Blues Festival officially begins Friday, June 21 at 6:00 p.m. The music continues starting noon on Saturday, June 22, offering world class blues music from twelve performances.
The blues celebration returns to the Lycoming County Fairgrounds in Hughesville for summer 2024. Festival, tickets, camping, and accommodation information are available at www.billtownblues.org.
The Billtown Blues Festival was first created in May 1990 by the non-profit organization, the Billtown Blues Association. Their mission is to continue the traditions of blues music. They lead the community in offering live music events, educational opportunities, and artist support for those who value the indigenous American art form.
As has become tradition at Billtown Blues Festival, the Lycoming County festival opens with Uptown Music Collective Blues Band once again setting the vibe for the next two days. The band will deliver an energetic rousing display of blues music showcasing their UMC educational experience.
Next up on Friday is Soulful Femme from Pittsburgh. Although well-known across PA and beyond as a dynamic duo, Soulful Femme will be performing in band format joined by rhythm section Ronnie Biggs and Brice Foster. Stevee Wellons on vocals and Cheryl Rinovato, guitar are the principals, each with individual impressive resumes. The two met at a blues society function, went on to the International Blues Challenge (IBC) in Memphis which has set the stage for their continued success.
Returning to Billtown is Tas Cru from "way up" in New York State. Tas is part of the Billtown family having performed twice before and participating in two Master Classes for the Uptown Music Collective students. Tas is a past "KBA" (Keeping the Blues Award), recipient presented by the Blues Foundation in the education category.
Closing Friday night will be the flamboyant, effervescent, roof-shaking, Annika Chambers and Paul Deslauriers. Annika and Paul look back to Memphis and the International Blues Challenge in 2018 when they first met. Not only did their music click — but they clicked and eventually married.
Annika is a Houston TX native and two-time (2019 and 2022) Blues Music award winner for Female Soul Blues. Her "Kiss My Sass" release garnered a debut on the Billboard Blues chart. Canada native, Paul is a multiple Maple Leaf awarded artist: Entertainer of the year, Electric Band, Solo Artist, Guitarist....to name a few. Paul took 2nd place in 2016 at the IBC's in Memphis.
Saturday's first two performance sets are reserved for the BBA's own IBC local challenge to be held March 9 at the Pajama Factory.
The winners, as judged by a slate of BBA members in the band category and the solo/duo category are guaranteed to perform in the Billtown Blues Festival. Both winners become eligible to compete in the prestigious International Blues Challenge in Memphis in January 2025.
The 2023 IBC winner, Houston-based, Mathias Lattin will follow. Mathias came home from the IBC's not only as the overall band winner, but also honored by the panel of industry professionals with the Gibson Guitar Award. Mathias at just 20 years old, is perhaps the youngest winner in IBC history for both awards. Music was not necessarily a no-brainer for Mathias, being the grandson of NBA Hall of Famer, David, "Big Daddy" Lattin. He instead chose a path of music education at the Kinder High School of Performing and Visual Arts.
Mathias may be one of the youngest and considered an "up and comer" to the Billtown Blues Festival stage, following him is an artist who first began performing in 1967.
Duke Robillard along with Al Copley both drawn to the early "jump blues" sound of the 40's and 50's formed the legendary "Roomful of Blues". Soon they assembled a horn section which created the famous "Roomful Sound". They drew in elder fans already familiar to the heavy horn driven sound, but also exposed their own generation and younger to the "big band" sound which was all about dancing. Quickly becoming New England legends, the Rhode Island based musicians went world-wide in short order.
New Orleans based Jason Ricci returns after just two years to the Billtown Blues Fest stage. Ricci is at the top of his game and at the top of the list of world class masters of the blues harmonica. After hearing the power of his latest release, Beyond the Veil, along with Billtown festival fan requests — another live Billtown festival stage performance was in the making.
Joining Jason on this third trip to Billtown will be Kaitlin Dibble, singer, songwriter, guitarist and Jason's wife.
Jason Ricci is one of the most influential and celebrated harmonica players touring today.
Alligator Records recording artist, Carolyn Wonderland, makes her first trek to Billtown. The Texas guitar-slinger and vocalist has stepped out on her own after three years with John Mayall joining the impressive palette of others who served that coveted role: Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, Peter Green, Walter Trout and Coco Montoya. Carolyn is twice nominated with Blues Music Awards for Song of the Year, "Fragile Peace and Certain War", and Contemporary Blues Female Artist.
As our luck would have it, Greensboro North Carolina's Bob Margolin will be in the Northeast the week before the Billtown Blues Festival while performing with The Weight Band. There are multiple variations to this story, but.... with Muddy Waters in a pinch for an immediate guitar replacement in 1973, someone introduced him to Bob Margolin.
He landed the job and played with Muddy around the world for the next seven years. Bob soaked in every note, every nuance of Muddy's technique. Infused with Bob's own style, Margolin delivers a spirited, heart-felt performance. You can sense the reverence he still holds today for the precious time spent with Muddy Waters 50 years ago. One will hear the closest living sound today of Muddy Water classics as well as Bob's own material.
In 1976, when The Band's Last Waltz was created and Muddy Waters was invited to join, Muddy chose Bob Margolin to be by his side. While there Bob also joined in with The Band and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Today, various incarnations of The Last Waltz tours, world-wide as well as The Last Waltz film feature, Bob Margolin. Bob is proud to say he plays every song on the Gibson archtop guitar he played next to Muddy in the original Last Waltz.
Closing the festival on Saturday is Bywater Call. This seven-piece monster band from Toronto Canada first traveled south of the border in 2022. Relative new-comers to blues audiences, the group formed in 2017 and has made deep waves world-wide, both from their hi-energy performances as well as their stellar recordings. The band's mission is to leave behind an exciting, powerful, and moving experience for all listeners of their music.
Meghan Parnell (vocals) and Dave Barnes (guitar) are the driving force behind what is labeled Southern Soul, Roots Rock. Despite their short tenure the band has multiple Maple Blues and Independent Blues nominations under their belt. During a main-stage performance at the Moulin Blues Festival, word spread throughout Europe with immediate calls for return performances. Various European media tag Meghan as one of the best singers in blues and roots today. Rounding out the band are Bruce McCarthy (drums), Mike Meusel (bass), John Kervin (keys), Stephen Dyte (trumpet) and Julian Nalli (tenor sax).
Gates for campers and music-only attendees open at 5:00 p.m. on Friday at the Lycoming County Fairgrounds, then the music starts at 6:00 p.m. until 10:30 p.m.
On Saturday, the gates open at 11:00 a.m. with music from noon until 10:30 p.m. The festival's host hotel is the Genetti Hotel in downtown Williamsport offering special festival lodging rates. Bus service is also offered between the Genetti to and from the Festival on both days.
Tickets are on sale now with discounted "early bird" pricing until Saturday, March 9. All ticketing, (credit card and by check), general festival and onsite camping information is available at www.billtownblues.org. Local ticket outlets for cash sales open Wednesday, May 1.