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20 Years . . . .  still got the Blues

20th Anniversary of the Great British R & B Festival

Colne in East Lancashire will once again be the centre of the Blues Universe this August Bank Holiday weekend with The Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival now celebrating its 20th year.

Presented by Pendle Leisure Trust, once again there will be 4 days of live music across 8 official venues throughout Colne between Friday 28th to Monday 31st August 2009.

This year’s International Stage will spotlight the finest musicians from across the world, some who have never performed at the Festival before and some of the original bands who graced the stages at the very first Festival back in 1990

The line-up for this very special 20th Anniversary is phenomenal and truly International:

From the USA, ALVIN YOUNGBLOOD HARTs’ MUSCLE THEORY; WILKO JOHNSON BAND; Queen of The Blues CONNIE LUSH & BLUES SHOUTER; and from our very first year – KING PLEASURE & THE BISCUIT BOYS.

Harmonica king PAUL LAMB & THE KING SNAKES are one of the guaranteed crowd-pleasers; blues-rock at its finest hits the stage with the DEBORAH BONHAM BAND; ZOOT MONEYS BIG ROLL BAND bring their goodtime rock n roll; and LOUISIANA RED & THE MICHAEL MESSER BAND (USA/UK) bridge the gap between the Delta and Good ol’ Blighty. THE BLUES BAND will have the sweat running down the Municipal Hall walls (again); long-time John Mayall guitar-slinger, COCO MONTOYA is without doubt one of the most hotly-anticipated sets of the festival and the very special talent of JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR has tongues wagging already. Former Keef Hartley, T.Rex and British Blues Qunitet guitarist MILLER ANDERSON presents his own very fine band.

Elton John Band member and Hellecaster JOHN JORGENSEN brings his BLUES QUINTET from the USA and from Australia, the remarkable HARPER. Golden-voiced ERIC BIBB will charm and stun in equal amounts whilst former FOCUS guitarist JAN AKKERMAN (Holland) will have surprises at every turn. THE ANIMALS return, with Special Guest SPENCER DAVIS and there’s an eagerly-anticipated performance from THE ALAN PRICE SET.

Finally, welcome to Colne, New Blues Revolutionary STEPHEN DALE PETIT, whose recent tour included the legendary MICK TAYLOR as his Special Guest. Mick – the former Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and John Mayall guitarist brings his own band to the festival for the first time and is already possibly the most talked-about show of the festival.

In addition to celebrating the last 20 years of the Blues, the Festival will also showcase new up and coming blues talent to take us into the next 20 years, which will be gracing the British Stage on the Saturday evening of the event. Full details soon

The Acoustic Stage always produces surprises and this year is unlikely to disappoint, looking at some of the names: DAVE SHARP (THE ALARM); DEL BROMHAM of STRAY – who had the audience in the palm of his hand last year; North-Easterners PAUL LAMB & JOHNNY DICKINSON; THE BLUES BANDS’ GARY FLETCHER AND DAVE KELLY – playing their own separate, acoustic sets; TOM HINGLEY of INSPIRAL CARPETS: JOHN JORGENSEN PLAYS DJANGO REINHARDT; EMILY DRUCE & STEVE JONES; DAVE ACARI and the wonderful dry humour, syrup n gravy voice and remarkable guitar style of TOM DOUGHTY.

In partnership with East Lancs. Community Rail Partnership and Northern Rail, the Festival’s Official Blues Train with live music and real ale will also be heading into Colne from Preston on Friday 28th  Our official website is now live so please check online for the latest updates and line-ups.

Tickets can be purchased by phone on 01282 661234 or online at www.bluesfestival.co.uk

Paul Lamb picture (C) www.bluesimages.co.uk