Local Vibe

Today is the day that everything kicks off for this years Kitchener Blues Festival. With multiple stages and a plethora of talent performing over several days, you are going to need to plan carefully to make sure you don’t miss out on all the wonderful entertainment. To make it easier for you to complete this planning, we have refined the schedule of entertainers and re-posted it here for your easy access.

Kitchener Blues Festival

Tonight you will find a FREE event taking place at the Downtown Business Tent at the corner of King and Frederick Streets. The gaters will be open at 6 PM and at 7:30 Matt Anderson will start things up before the Mel Brown Award Presentation takes place at 8:30. Steve Strongman will finish the night off when he takes over around 9 o’clock.

FRIDAY

Tent Stage @ King & Frederick St.
12:00 PM Morgan Davis
1:30 PM Alex Tintinalli Band
3:00 PM Tarbox Ramblers
4:30 PM Lee Rocker
6:30 PM JW Jones
7:30 PM Swing Dance Demonstration
8:00 PM Elliott Brood

Waterloo Region Record Matt Osborne Stage @ the Kitchener Market
12:00 PM Julian Fauth
1:20 PM Soulstack
2:40 PM Elliott Brood
4:00 PM Grand River Blues Camp

Main Stage @ Kitchener City Hall
6:00 PM Shawn Kellerman Band
7:30 PM Michelle Malone
9:15 PM Rhinoceros (reunion)

Workshop Stage @ The Boathouse in Victoria Park
7:00 PM WAITING FOR THE TRAIN TO VICKSBURG:
featuring Douglas Watson, Sean Pinchin, Dave Mowatt, Alex Tintinalli

SATURDAY

Tent Stage @ King & Frederick St.
12:00 PM Run Away Slide
1:45 PM Jordan John and The Blue Angels
3:30 PM Ellen McIlwaine
5:30 PM Maria Muldaur
7:30 PM Leon Redbone

Waterloo Region Record Matt Osborne Stage @ the Kitchener Market
10:00 AM The Weber Brothers
11:20 AM Tarbox Ramblers
12:40 PM Colin White and The Blue Ribbon Players
2:00 PM Mason Rack Band

Main Stage @ Kitchener City Hall
12:00 PM Legacy Band-Samantha Testa
12:50 PM Big Gilson
2:00 PM Canned Heat
3:40 PM Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks
5:20 PM Derek Miller
6:40 PM Studebaker John & The Hawks
8:00 PM Tab Benoit
9:20 PM Elvin Bishop

Children’s Stage @ The Children’s Museum
11:00 AM John McKinley
1:00 PM John McKinley

Workshop Stage @ The Boathouse in Victoria Park
1:00 PM CLASSIC WOMAN BLUES
featuring Maria Muldaur, Miss Angel, Silvia DiDonato
2:45 PM SWAMP BOOGIE
featuring Studebaker John, Morgan Davis, Big Gilson, Jon Knight, Dave Mowatt
4:30 PM KID ROCK
featuring Alex Tintinalli, Runaway Slide, Colin White
7:00 PM COUNTRY BLUES
featuring Dave Mowatt, Junior Malleck, Sean Pinchin

SUNDAY

Tent Stage @ King & Frederick St.
10:30 AM Gospel Breakfast with Calvin Cooke
12:30 PM Douglas Watson and The R&B Revue
2:15 PM Caught Away with George Olliver
4:00 PM Guitar Shorty

Main Stage @ Kitchener City Hall
12:00 PM LMT Connection
1:20 PM Deborah Coleman
2:40 PM Ronnie Baker Brooks
4:10 PM David Clayton-Thomas
6:00 PM Homewreckers-Mel Brown Tribute featuring Miss Angel

Children’s Stage @ The Children’s Museum
11:00 AM John McKinley
2:00 PM John McKinley

Workshop Stage @ The Boathouse in Victoria Park
1:00 PM BLUES DOWN UNDER
featuring Mason Rack, The Re-Mains
2:45 PM WEBER BROTHERS
featuring The Weber Brothers
4:30 PM SLIDE ON OVER
featuring Debra Coleman, Michelle Malone, Ellen McIlwaine

On top of all of these fantastic performances, there is even more planned entertainment as several of the local establishments are joining in the fun by participating in the 12 Bar Blues. This is an excellent opportunity to get up close and personal with some of these artists as they play in smaller, more intimate settings. The complete listings of who is playing where can be found on our events calendar. I would encourage you to visit all or most of these places, but something to note is that The Hive has 2 performers each night which is going to make it a crowd favourite for sure.

For any more information on this event, please check out the Kitchener Blues Festival Website.