The 2011 Garvin Gate Blues Festival

Sept. 15, 2011 - PRLog -- The 2011 Garvin Gate Blues Festival will feature award winning, internationally acclaimed blues artists. The free festival is planned for Friday, October 7, from 6:30-11:15 pm, and Saturday, October 8, 3-11:15 pm, at the Gate on Garvin Place and Oak Street in Old Louisville. A celebration of the blues, The Garvin Gate Blues Festival attracts a multi-racial, intergenerational audience to the cozy Old Louisville neighborhood of Garvin Place.

The event is presented by the Garvin Gate Neighborhood Association, with sponsorship by Louisville Metro Government District 6 Councilman David James, Franklin Gray & White, South Fourth Street Association, St. James Court Association, Mike Suttles, Kentuckiana Blues Society, Four Roses Bourbon, Budweiser, and Kentucky State Representative Reginald Meeks. Proceeds from sponsorships and vendor sales benefit The Garvin Gate Neighborhood Association.

“We are extremely grateful to the Kentuckiana Blues Society for their support, including President Gary Sampson and a huge thank you to Mike Suttles for help with this year’s musical lineup, and to Ken and Sheila Pyle at The Rudyard Kipling for adding the Block Party Expansion again in 2011!” said Howard Rosenberg, Chairperson.

Friday’s headliner sizzling hot singer Karen Lovely and her stellar band will play a blistering mix of contemporary & old school blues for the crowd. From Ashland, Oregon, Karen Lovely captured 2nd Place Band prize at the 2010 International Blues Challenge followed by 2011 Blues Music Awards nominations for Best Song "Still The Rain", Best Contemporary Blues Album, and Best Contemporary Blues Female Artist this May; and the KoKo Taylor Award for Best Female Singer, Best Song, and Best Record.

Canton, Mississippi based singer and harpist Grady Champion headlines Saturday night. He was the 2010 International Blues Competition winner, and 2011 Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album of the year, and the 36th Annual Jackson Music Award (Mississippi) for Local Blues Artist of the Year.

Legendary blues musicians that have performed at the festival through the years include Lurrie Bell, Jimmy Burns, H-Bomb Ferguson, Eddy Clearwater, Fenton Robinson, James ‘Thunderbird’ Davis, Roosevelt ‘Booba’ Barnes, Phil Guy, Lefty Dizz, Paul Black & the Flip Kings, Jelly Roll Kings, Professor’s Blues Review (Eddie Lusk), Maurice John Vaughn, Rocky Amaretto, Winston Hardy, James “Yank” Rachel, Lamont Gillispie and the Home Wreckers featuring Sam Myers, Kent Duchaine, Junior Kimbrough, Willie Kent & The Gents with Bonnie Lee, Magic Slim & The Teardrops, Mississippi Heat with Dietra Farr, Deborah Coleman, Chubby Carrier & The Bayou Swamp Band, and Jimmy Dawkins.

2011 Garvin Gate Blues Festival Schedule

Friday, October 7, 2011
Main Stage
6:30 – 7:00 Jimi V & Screamin’ John
7:15 – 8:00 da Mudcats
8:30 – 9:15 Walnut Street Blues Band
9:45-11:15 Karen Lovely
Ear X-tacy Stage on Garvin Place
8:00 and 9:15 Jimmy Davis playing 20 minute sets

Saturday, October 8, 2011
Main Stage
2:00-2:45 The KingBees
3:15-4:00 The Travelin’ Mojos
4:30-5:15 Nick Stump’s Blues All-Stars
5:45-6:30 Lamont Gillispie & 100 Proof
7:00-7:45 Hellfish
8:15 – 9:15 Tullie Brae & The Medicine Man Revue
9:45– 11:15 Grady Champion
Ear X-tacy Stage on Garvin Place
5:20, 6:35 and 7:50 Mississippi Adam Riggle playing 20 minute sets

Visit www.garvingatebluesfestival.com for more information.

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The Garvin Gate Blues Festival started out as a 1988 Rudyard Kipling parking lot blues jam in Old Louisville that outgrew the parking lot.