HEADLINING SETS BY 2017 GRAMMY NOMINEE JANIVA MAGNESS,

BLUES-ROCK GUITAR ACE, DENNIS JONES; GRAMMY-NOMINATED HARPIST, JAMES HARMAN; FOURTEEN ADDITIONAL STELLAR ACTS 

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE: A DOZEN GREAT SOCAL BANDS

PERFORM ON THE “GOLDEN GROOVE STAGE” BOTH DAYS

ALSO: ‘6 STRING SHOWDOWN’  SEMI-FINALISTS FACE OFF ON

GOLDEN GROOVE STAGE, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1; FINALISTS

GO HEAD-TO-HEAD ON NBF MAIN STAGE, SUNDAY, SEPT. 2

~In Conjunction with the New Long Beach Blues Society~

(LONG BEACH, CA) – On Labor Day Weekend, Saturday, September 1 and Sunday, September 2, the New Blues Festival V returns to El Dorado Regional Park for its fifth big consecutive year, featuring two full days of the best in Blues, R&B and Soul music from some of today’s biggest acts.7550 E. Spring St., Long Beach. Gates open 9am and music starts at 10am both days. Tickets: $45. (General Admission/Single Day Pass); $75. (Weekend Pass (Saturday/Sunday); Gold Ticket/Single Day Pass, $75; Gold Ticket, Weekend Pass (Saturday/Sunday), $150.; VIP Single Day Pass, $140. VIP/Weekend Pass (Saturday/Sunday), $250. Children 12 and under free with paid adult. Info: (707) 572-5837 orhttp://www.newbluesfestival.com. Direct link for purchasing tickets:http://www.newbluesfestival.com/tickets/.

Once again, this year’s New Blues Festival presented in conjunction with the Long Beach Blues Society “Preserve the Past, Promote the Future.”

Saturday’s stellar lineup includes the triumphant return of Long Beach legends, Lowrider Band. These four Multi-Platinum singer-songwriters (Howard Scott, guitar, Harold Brown, drums, Lee Oskar,  harmonica, BB Dickerson, bass) are joined by Lance Ellis (saxophone,  flute), Pete Cole (keyboard), and Chuck Barber (percussion). Since 1962, members of Lowrider Band have compiled a tapestry of quintessential songs and live performances so musically infectious that its moniker traces from Los Angeles to Mexico City and from London to Copenhagen. The genius of these musicians is captured in the musical medley of Hispanic, African-American, Asian and mainstream cultures, resulting in monster compositions such as “Slippin into Darkness,” “Why Can’t We Be Friends,” “9 to 5 (Ordinary Man),” “All Day Music” and many other chart-toppers. Their signature song “Low Rider” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014.

Also performing on the Main Stage/Saturday: Longtime SoCal blues-rock guitar fave, Dennis Jones Band; eclectic blues/swing ‘show’ band,Boxcar 7; rapidly-rising soulful blues vocalist, Casey Hensley Band; Blind Lemon Peel, fronted by frenetic front-man, David ‘Dot’ Hale; Long Beach mainstays and prime purveyors of the ‘New Blues’ movement, New Blues Revolution; former hip-hop singer turned blues/soul vocal diva, Shyy But Flyy & the Allstarz; Huntington Beach-based, Union Hobos; and Emmy-winning musician/actor/director Tim Russ, whose credits include “Live Free or Die Hard” and “Star Trek Voyager” among many others.

Sunday’s strong Main Stage lineup features the return of Janiva Magness, whose critically-acclaimed album Love Wins Again was a 2017 Grammy nominee in the Best Contemporary Blues category. Magness, widely acknowledged as one of the top female vocalists in the blues genre since arriving on the scene the early ’90s, is a past B.B. King Entertainer of the Year recipient,  twenty-six (!)-time Blues Music Awards nominee, seven-time Blues Music Award winner, and 2015 Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year. Magness’ fourteenth album, Love Is an Army, is a brilliantly-crafted bridge between the past and present, blending the echoes of classic soul and Americana music with timeless themes of love and the very contemporary sound of protest.

Joining Magness on the Main Stage/Sunday: Harpist extraordinaire and Blues Grammy nominee,  James Harman, “Your Full-Service Bluesman Since 1962” who started playing in juke joints and dance clubs throughout the South and at the age of eighteen, subsequently moved to California, and quickly rose to fame for his unique, no-nonsense stage presence and performance. Harman’s acclaimed 2015 release Bonetimereceived an unprecedented five BMA nominations. Also: Southside Slim, recent LA Weekly’s Music Award recipient for Best Contemporary Blues/R&B Artist; the respected ‘Dean of SoCal  traditional blues guitarists’, Bernie Pearl; the Pure-bred roadhouse blues’ of the King Brothers; a ‘mix of jazz with lighter styles of blues’ as presented by theDeb Taren Band; San Diego-based guitar standout, Stoney B Blues; and the Legends of Long Beach Blues Awards.

The New Blues Festival is now in its fifth big year, and was expanded to a two-day event in 2015 due to the overwhelming success of the inaugural NBF, when over 2,000 music lovers of all ages filled POA Park in Long Beach. Yearly attendance has grown exponentially, with a projected attendance of 8,000 for both days this year.

“Los Angeles and Orange Counties have responded very well to the (New Blues Festival) concept. We definitely hit on a pent-up demand for a long-running inter-generational tradition, and we are excited to once again share all this great music with the public”, says William Grisolia, Producer and Founder of the New Blues Festival.

Past headliners at the previous two New Blues Festival events include some of the biggest names in Blues: 2017 Grammy winner, Bobby Rush; one of the biggest female blues guitarists in the business, the sultry Ana Popovic; Stray Cat member gone solo, Lee Rocker; legendary SoCal-based harpist-vocalist, James Harman; The 44’s with Kid Ramos; Brophy Dale Band; Barbara Morrison; Whiteboy James & the Blues Express; Teddy Lee Hooker; 2000 Lbs. of Blues; and Bernie Pearl, plus the best young up-and-coming blues artists, Chase Walker Band and Ray Goren.

Doug Deutsch Publicity Services