The free, all-ages, Baton Rouge Blues Festival (BRBF) will be Saturday, April 13 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Downtown Baton Rouge. The impressive lineup will include Bobby Rush, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Henry Gray, Lavelle White, CC Adcock & the Lafayette Marquis, Bryan Lee, Rudy Richard, Blind Boy Paxton, Baby Bee and Mr. Hinson & the Blisters. As a pre-festival treat, Radio Bar will host a Listening Party with Leah Smith of WBRH. The party is free and will feature bidding on one-of-a-kind portraits by artist TJ Black and drink specials benefiting the Baton Rouge Blues Foundation.
Bobby Rush is responsible for a stack of uniquely gritty and wild blues records, and his “Chicken Heads” rates as one of the greatest treatises on that subject. Sacred steel master Robert Randolph just announced his signing to the Blue Note label, which will release his first studio album in three years.
The festival’s backstage area will feature interviews with Rudy Richard (interviewed by Rob Payer), CC Adcock (interviewed by Alex V. Cook), Lavelle White (interviewed by Maxine Crump), Bobby Rush (interviewed by Karen Henderson) and Blind Boy Paxton (interviewed by Ian Perkins). An after-party will be at Hartley/Vey Studios in the Shaw Center for the Arts at 9 p.m. featuring Baby Bee. The event is free with a suggested donation benefiting the Baton Rouge Blues Foundation. April 14 ends the week-long festivities with the free Sunday in the Park mini-fest featuring Moreland & Arbuckle in Lafayette Park from noon to 2 p.m.
Blues legend Bobby Rush will perform at the Galvez Stage at the 2013 Baton Rouge Blues Festival | Photo: Courtesy Photos
There will be two pre-festival kick-off parties on April 12: First, the family-friendly and open-to-the-public party, “Live After Five,” will be presented by the Downtown Business Association. Host Chris Leblanc and Friends Blues Review will host this free event in downtown Baton Rouge’s Town Square from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Second, The Gaudet Bros. and the Baton Rouge Blues Foundation will host a “Rent Party” at Iron Design at 540 N. 18th Street. The party will include an exclusive performance with Blind Boy Paxton. The concept of the “rent party” began in 1920s Harlem to essentially help pay the rent; in keeping with that tradition the party will benefit the Baton Rouge Blues Foundation. Doors are at 7 p.m. and tickets are $40.
Follow the festival on Twitter at @brbluesfest, on Facebook at facebook.com/brbluesfest or online at batonrougebluesfestival.org.
