2015 Cajun & Blues Festival
Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers - Fantastic!
2015 Cajun & Blues Festival is Announced; @ Location at E2 Family Winery on Highway 12, June 20-21, 2015
(Lodi, CA) Capitalizing on a hugely successful festival last year, The Isleton Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the 2015 Cajun & Blues Festival set for Father's Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday, June 20-21. The Festival location is E2 Family Winery -- the spacious area at 9009 Highway 12, Lodi, CA 95242, offers a pastoral, grassy setting. Parking is Free. Handicap parking is available.
National headliners this year are:
Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers
America’s Hottest Accordion” winner, Dwayne (Dopsie) Rubin, plays a unique, high energy style of zydeco. Dwayne hails from one of the most influential Zydeco families in the world. Although inspired by tradition, he has developed his own high energy style that defies existing stereotypes and blazes a refreshingly distinct path for 21st century Zydeco music. This singer/songwriter and accordionist has performed all over the world since debuting his band, Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers, at age 19. www.dwaynedopsie.com
Lurrie Bell Blues Band
By seventeen Lurrie Bell was playing on stage with Willie Dixon. In 1977, he was a founding member of The Sons of Blues with Freddie Dixon (son of Willie) and Billy Branch. The band recorded three standout tracks for Alligator Records’ Grammy nominated Living Chicago Blues series. In 1978 Bell joined Koko Taylor’s band and stayed for several years, honing his chops and learning the ropes of being a traveling musician. He continued to work with his dad as well, recording the 1984 Rooster Blues album Son Of a Gun and several other titles for UK’s JSP Records. Not only was Bell recognized as an exceptionally talented guitarist and musician, his knowledge of different blues styles, his soulfulness and his musical maturity delivered write-ups in publications such as Rolling Stone and The New York Times. www.lurrie.com
Guitar Shorty
Legendary guitarist/vocalist Guitar Shorty is a giant in the blues world. Credited with influencing both Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Guy, Guitar Shorty has been electrifying audiences for five decades with his supercharged live shows and his incendiary recordings. Like a bare knuckled boxer, Shorty strikes with his blistering, physical guitar playing and his fierce vocals, connecting directly with body and soul. What really sets Shorty apart is his absolutely unpredictable, off-the-wall guitar playing. He reaches for sounds, riffs and licks that other blues players wouldn’t even think of. Amazon.com says his guitar work “sounds like a caged tiger before feeding time. His molten guitar pours his psychedelicized solos like lava over anything in his path.” The Chicago Reader declares, “Guitar Shorty is a battle-scarred hard-ass. He slices off his phrases and notes with homicidal fury. He is among the highest-energy blues entertainers on the scene.” www.guitarshorty.com
John Nemeth
Boise, Idaho is hardly the place anyone would conjure up as a hotbed of soul music. But for John Németh, it’s where his love for the genre began—and the starting point for a journey that’s taken him from his first gigs fronting a teenaged band to five Blues Music Award nominations in 2013 alone.
It’s where this preternaturally talented son of a Hungarian immigrant gained his early chops on the harmonica, building on the style of rootsy heroes like Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson. Németh’s first paid performance came in 1991, when he was hired to perform drinking songs for a pinochle luncheon held by the Catholic Daughters of America before setting his sights on the Boise club scene, where, for nearly a decade, he played seven nights a week at local pubs, taverns, joints, and parties. www.johnnemeth.com
It’s where this preternaturally talented son of a Hungarian immigrant gained his early chops on the harmonica, building on the style of rootsy heroes like Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson. Németh’s first paid performance came in 1991, when he was hired to perform drinking songs for a pinochle luncheon held by the Catholic Daughters of America before setting his sights on the Boise club scene, where, for nearly a decade, he played seven nights a week at local pubs, taverns, joints, and parties. www.johnnemeth.com
Andre’ Thierry
A young lion of Zydeco, and already in the West Coast Blues Hall of Fame, accordionist/ singer/ bandleader, Grammy-nominated Andre Thierry returns to the Cajun & Blues Festival this year as crowd favorites. The California scenes now rival anything back home in Louisiana, and that’s due to players like Andre Thierry, a standard bearer for the new generation. Thierry is among the best of both the West Coast and the Gulf Coast, and he combines youthful vigor with a mature appreciation for his inherited tradition.” www.andrethierry.com
Other artists are:
The Used Blues Band – Derek Abel Blues Band – Motor Dude Zydeco – Deb Ryder – The Zydeco Mudbugs
Over 6,000 pounds of fresh crawdads cooked by the restaurant “Swamp” from San Francisco and festival food (including gumbo, jambalaya, alligator, and more!!) from central and northern CA area vendors will feed the thousands of attendees. There will also be an active Kid Zone with large climbing wall, face painting and crafts. Wines from E2 Family Winery will be featured.
Tickets are available Online $20 per day, $35 for 2 days ($25 at the gate). Ages 12 and under are free. Parking is free. Advance tickets online at the festival website @www.isletoncajunfestival.net. Tickets will also available in person the Isleton Chamber of Commerce office (23 Main Street, Isleton, CA), plus a number of the participating businesses around the Delta.
Official tee shirts, sweatshirts, hats and visors featuring the new design by Dan Harris will also be available at the at the festival.
We will be offering shuttles at certain points in the Delta for those boaters and RVers who do not have vehicle access. The complete music line-up (with links to each band and bio) and the full schedule of events plus maps will be available at www.isletoncajunfestival.net.
For Festival information please contact Suzanne Black or Jean Yokotobi at the Isleton Chamber of Commerce office: (916) 777-4800. Email is Isletonchamber@frontier.com. Website:www.isletoncajunfestival.net
