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| Hebden Bridge in Pennines to host International Blues Festival in May Hebden Bridge in the Yorkshire Pennines will be hosting its first International Blues Festival during the bank holiday weekend of the 27th to 30th of May 2011 Up to 50 acts from across Britain, Europe and the USA will be performing in a variety of venues including the legendary Trades Club, the Hebden Bridge Picture House and in a marquee in the town's main park as well as pubs across the town. As the festival will concentrate on artists performing new material and taking the Blues into the next decade, rather than those who have been on the road playing the same sets for many years, there has been a lot of interest nationally and thousands of visitors are expected to flock to the town over the weekend. One of the organisers, Jason Elliott, said "It's great to have the opportunity to bring so many high-calibre musicians into Hebden Bridge. We've had bands from all over the world, particularly the USA, contacting us in the hope of getting a slot so the quality of the acts is extremely high." Full details have yet to be finalised, but some of the fastest-selling events are likely to be the appearance of American blues star Lance Lopez on his first visit to Britain and supported by Bex Marshall, 24 Pesos and Larry Miller performing in the marquee in the park, Paddy Milner and Marcus Bonfanti performing together at the Trades Club, P-A-U-L headlining the closing party and a "Women of Blues" night at the Picture House, headlined by Chantel McGregor. The hub of the Hebden Bridge Blues Festival will be the Trades Club which, together with hosting the opening and closing night gigs, will be running a special "midnight jamming" hour where some of the artists who have been playing at other venues during the day will get the chance to play together and make a bit of Blues history. The festival's reach will also spread across the town with local pubs and bars also putting on blues bands with free admission. write your comments about the article :: © 2011 Jazz News :: home page |