Realizes Bradenton’s
“Blues Bar Buzz”
Promotes 2015 Bradenton Blues Festival Season With
Rick Estrin & The Nightcats
September 4 < Ace’s Live Music
This event builds buzz for the Bradenton Blues Festival on December 5 at the Bradenton Riverwalk.
(Bradenton, FL) Are you ready for the blues? To help gear up for the fourth annual Bradenton Blues Festival, Realize Bradenton has re-launched the “Blues Bar Buzz,” a concert series showcasing top blues artists performing at local music venues. The second “buzz” event, starring Rick Estrin & The Nightcats, is at Ace’s Live Music, 4343 Palma Sola Blvd. in Bradenton on Friday, September 4, 9 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance; $18 at the door. To purchase tickets in advance, visit www.aceslivemusic.com. At each “buzz” event, festival tickets will be available for $5 off the advance ticket price of $30 (for a cost of $25) and festival hats, t-shirts and limited-edition posters will be for sale. In addition, free raffles will take place between sets for general admission tickets and t-shirts.
According to Johnette Isham, executive director of Realize Bradenton, the organizing force behind the festival, the Blues Bar Buzz, “helps shine a light on our region’s celebrated blues venues and artists. Sarasota-Manatee is home to a host of award-winning artists and clubs, offering up inspired, soulful blues every night of every week. We’re proud to show our solidarity with them.” The Blues Bar Buzz promotion is held at venues that are sponsors of the 2015 festival.
The Blues Bar Buzz second concert showcases Rick Estrin & The Nightcats, a group that’s participating in this year’s Bradenton Blues Festival. According to The San Francisco Chronicle, Estrin “is an amazing harmonica player, a soulful lead vocalist and a brilliant songwriter.” Along with The Nightcats’ jaw-dropping guitarist Chris “Kid” Andersen, singing drummer J. Hansen (who plays standing up) and dynamic, multi-instrumentalist Lorenzo Farrell (electric and acoustic bass, organ and piano), Estrin serves up fresh original blues injected with a dose of gritty roadhouse rock and roll. Since the release of their Alligator Records debut, “Twisted,” the band has toured non-stop, honing their creative synergy to a razor’s edge. Night after night, the band blazes their own innovative musical path while still remaining true to the blues.
For more info about this concert, call Realize Bradenton at 941-621-6471 or visit www.RealizeBradenton.com/Buzz.
The 2015 Bradenton Blues Festival returns to downtown Bradenton’s Riverwalk, December 5, 2015, 11 a.m.-8 p.m., with an all-star lineup that includes Janiva Magness, hailed by critics as one of the premier blues and R&B singers in the world today; harmonicist and songwriter Rick Estrin with his band, The Nightcats, thrilling audiences and critics alike with their fresh, original blues injected with a solid dose of gritty roadhouse rock and roll; guitarist and vocalist Joanna Connor, who is being called the most exciting new talent on the blues scene; multi-Blues Music Award-winner Mike Zito and his acclaimed band, The Wheel; Bluesman of the Year, guitarist-songwriter Larry Garner; the celebrated Mississippi vocalist and guitarist, James “Super Chikan” Johnson; “Girls With Guitars,” three electrifying musicians who are quickly conquering the blues world; and the teen brother-and-sister duo, Cole and Logan Layman, collectively known as In Layman Terms.
Gates open at 10 a.m. The music starts at 11 a.m. and ends at 8 p.m. Last year’s festival was at capacity, so organizers are stressing the importance of buying tickets in advance. Tickets for the 2015 Bradenton Blues Festival are the same as 2014: $30 in advance; $40 at the gate, cash only; $25 per person for groups of 10 or more; $20 for students; and $10 for children, ages 5-12. Children four and under will be admitted free. A limited number of reserved front-of-stage seats are available for $75 per person. Tickets are available online and at Keeton’s Office & Art Supply, 817 Manatee Ave. West, in Bradenton. For more information and to buy tickets online, visit www.BradentonBluesFestival.org.
About Realize Bradenton
Realize Bradenton is a nonprofit organization that brings people together to create a vibrant and prosperous Bradenton area. For more information, visit: www.RealizeBradenton.com.
