BACKROADS BLUES FESTIVAL Coming to Art Park this Summer

Sat, Aug 10 • 5:30 pm – 10:00 pm

Artpark • 450 S. Fourth St., Lewiston 14092

It’s Festival Season and we’ve got another big one coming up!

Catch Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Bobby Rush & Duane Betts and Palmetto Motel August 10th!

Cirque Kikasse will also provide entertainment throughout the evening.

Cirque Kikasse will open the show as a unique project in North America – it is a mobile circus space in the form of a completely autonomous street truck, which offers beer, fast food and entertainment all year round. Circus – beer truck – food truck!

Kenny Wayne Shepherd:
Five-time Grammy-nominated blues-rock virtuoso is celebrating both the titans and emerging stars of blues and rock, is a must-attend event for enthusiasts of the genre with the “Backroads Blues Festival.”  “I wanted to offer a traditional touring blues festival,” Shepherd commented. One that will give people a chance to see the best of the best all in one place.” Reflecting on the legacy of blues festivals and inspired by the success of similar events, Shepherd aims to fill a void in the contemporary music scene with the Backroads Blues Festival. This commitment to blues music and its community is at the heart of the festival’s mission.

Jimmie Vaughan:
When it comes to the blues today, there are a handful of guiding lights to make sure the music stays true to its powerful source. The sound of pleasure and pain that first sparked musicians to create such a sound is a force that can never be underestimated. The mojo has to be there. For Jimmie Vaughan, he’s dedicated his life to making sure the blues not only stays alive, but remains full of life and an inspiration to all who listen. It’s a spirit he holds close to him, and for over 50 years of holding the blues close inside him, Vaughan isn’t about to stop now.

Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel:
By the time Duane Betts began working on Wild & Precious Life — his triumphant debut solo album — he’d already spent the better part of two decades creating his own version of guitar-slinging, story-driven American rock & roll.  “It felt like the right time to make something that was entirely my own vision,” he says. “This is a record that guitar players will love, but at its core, it’s really a song record. It’s an album about who I am, where I come from, and what I believe in.”  Duane had spent 10 years playing guitar alongside his father, legendary Allman Brothers Band guitarist/vocalist Dickey Betts. He released an EP, Sketches of American Music and co-founded the Allman Betts Band.

Bobby Rush:
Rush is a 2x GRAMMY-winning legend, Blues Hall of Famer, six-time Grammy nominee, and 14-time Blues Music Award winner. During his renowned stage show, Bobby Rush frequently jumps high into the air, arms spread and legs tucked, only to land gracefully and return without a hitch to his dazzling routine. It’s a move you might expect at a contemporary R&B show, but it’s downright shocking when you realize that Rush is in his late 80s.