Rock out with Mavis Staples, Holmes Brothers, Eddie Taylor Jr., and more...

Whole lotta sunshine and blues on tap this weekend in Rockland

Fri, 07/12/2013 - 4:00pm

Story Location:
275 Main Street
Rockland, ME 04841
United States

    ROCKLAND — The stage is set for a glorious weekend of great weather, which will be made that much sweeter when the amplifier swtiches are flipped on and blues music fills the air in Rockland.

    This weekend is the 20th anniversary of the North Atlantic Blues Festival, with 12 singers/bands scheduled to perform on the main stage over two days at Harbor Park on Rockland's waterfront. In addition to the live entertainment, the festival has vendors selling a wide array of food, drinks and crafts.

    This year's NABF lineup includes Mavis Staples; The Holmes Brothers; Eddie Taylor Jr.; True Blues featuring Corey Harris, Guy Davis and Alvin Youngblood Hart; Samantha Fish; Sugar Ray & The Blue Tones; The Lee Boys; The Blues Broads-Dorothy Morrison, Tracy Nelson, Angela Strelini and Annie Sampson; Pop Chubby; Ben Prestage; Matt Andersen; and Selwyn Birchwood Band.

    Ready for some blues tonight? A Club Crawl downtown kicks off at 9 p.m., with 11 venues rocking to live music by The Sensations, Blue Steel Express, Lebish and Grinnell, Juke Rockets, Brave New Blues, Poke Chop, DW Gill Blues Band with Steve Arvey, Blind Albert Blue Band, Eric Green, Pat Pepin, Matt and the Barnburners and Downeast Soul Coalition.

    And in case you don't get enough blues during the festival Saturday, there is another Club Crawl Saturday night with free music along Main Street. Saturday night's performers include Bonnie Edwards & The Practical Cats, Matt and the Barnburners, Juke Rockets, Rock City Blues, Sideways Highways, The Sensations, Blue Steel Express, Roger Hurricane Wilson, Lebish and Grinnell, Blind Albert Blues Band, Brave New Blues, Poke Chop, DW Gill Blues Band with Steve Arvey, Eric Green, Pat Pepin, Mark Guitar Miller, Downeast Soul Coalition and Wicked-Blues Band.

    More information about the Club Crawls can be found online here.

    For a complete schedule and links to the headliner musician bios, visit northatlanticbluesfestival.com. NABF tickets are $35/day and $70/weekend pass; children 6-12 are $5, under 5 years old are free. The NABF hotline is 691-2248 and tickets are available on the grounds at the gate and at Houston Tuttle in Rockland and HAV II in Camden, as well as in Bangor, Brunswick, Portland, Fairfield and Augusta.

    Bring a lawn chair or blanket, leave the sun umbrella, tent, canopy, pet and cooler at home. A large tent will be available for those seeking shelter from the sun. Ticket gates open at 9 a.m. and music starts at 11 a.m. both days. On street parking is available throughout downtown, with civic organizations offering paid parking at some nearby lots.