Got the blues?
The cure, if blues music is the cure, arrives this weekend with top acts in the genre coming together at the 37th edition of the Bayfront Blues Festival in Duluth.
Looking for something different? There's bluegrass and jazzy folk-rock in Park Rapids and Laporte.
The Bayfront Blues Festival is this weekend in Duluth with three days of blues music at the Bayfront Festival Park. Gates open at 11 a.m. each day with music beginning at noon. Friday is headlined by Southern Hospitality. Other performers include Eric Johanson, Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials and more. On Saturday, the headliner is The Fabulous Thunderbirds along with Mud Morganfield, John Primer and Ghalia Volt. I'd recommend getting there early Saturday for Johnny Rawls, a soul-blues musician and former bandleader for O. V. Wright in the '70s. Sunday’s headliner is Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble. This year is the 37th edition of the festival.
Over in Laporte, there are two chances to catch Two Hearted this weekend. Two Hearted is John Henningsgaard and Lance Heddan, a guitar and saxophone duo playing folk, blues and jazz. They are playing at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and 12:30 p.m. on Sunday at the Forestedge Winery Art Fair.
One more show for you is Saturday at 4 p.m. at Foxy’s Bar & Grill in Park Rapids. Justice For Stringbean is a progressive bluegrass band from the Fargo-Moorhead area that plays high-energy bluegrass with traditional and modern influences. The quartet features guitar, fiddle, banjo and mandolin.
Saturday, Aug. 15
- Southern Hospitality, Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials, Eric Johanson and more - noon, Bayfront Festival Park, Duluth, $77 (one day), $171 (weekend)
- Two Hearted - 1:30 p.m., Forestedge Winery, Laporte, free
- Justice For Stringbean - 4 p.m., Foxy's Bar & Grill, Park Rapids, free
Saturday, Aug. 15
- The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Mud Morganfield, John Primer and more - noon, Bayfront Festival Park, Duluth, $77 (one day)
- Two Hearted - 1:30 p.m., Forestedge Winery, Laporte, free
- Justice For Stringbean - 4 p.m., Foxy's Bar & Grill, Park Rapids, free
Sunday, Aug. 16
- Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble, Katie Henry, Reverend Raven and more - noon, Bayfront Festival Park, Duluth, $77 (one day)
- Two Hearted - 12:30 p.m., Forestedge Winery, Laporte, free
The weekly live music spotlight is made possible by the citizens of Minnesota through the Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.
