Crossroads Blues Festival

Sunday, September 6, 2015

2015 Festival Draws About 2,000 Fans and Is a Huge Success

The weather very early on Saturday morning was awful. Torrents of rain fell from the sky and the noise woke me hours before I planed to rise. Around 8 AM the torrents became a sprinkle and by 9 AM it was essentially done. The skies remained grey and temperatures only reached the mid 70’s but we took it because the following week temperatures soared. It was comfortable and about 2,000 blues fans made their way to Lyran Park to appreciate the myriad of sounds presented to them.

Albert Castiglia headlined; things were about a half hour late by then and Albert ran until after 10 PM with a superb set. With Matt Shuler on bass and Chris Schnebelen on drums, they are a tight power trio with a ridiculously wonderful sound. The crowd went wild for them, loving each song and filling the dance area on each song.

Dave Specter made his second appearance at a Crossroads outdoor event. Sharon Lewis joined him again and Brother John Kattke was on keys and vocals. The back line was star studded with Harlan Terson on bass and Kenny “Beady Eyes” Smith on drums. Dave had them on the edge of their seats and up dancing, playing stuff from his great 2014 release Message in Blue. He mixed up some classics and some of Sharon’s stuff to create a marvelous set of music that was greatly appreciated by the huge crowd. ]

The Mike Wheeler Band put on a funk filled set of Chicago blues that showcased his fine guitar work. Mike worked the crowd and built things to a frenzy with his stellar axe work.He showed everyone why his band is one of the hottest acts in Chicago!

Stormcellar from Australia is led by the great harp and vocal front man Michael Barry. Joining him on lead vocals was the six foot chanteuse Jo Fitzgerald; she is an imposing figure on stage who sings sweetly and with great emotion. Rosie and Mr. Wizard on dual guitars, Theo on drums and the quiet Bill on bass give their roots blues country rock a savory sound that all enjoyed.

Opening the day was Jimmy Nick and Don’t Tell Mama, setting the bar high for the other bands that followed. Jimmy was great, doing his high energy act for the fans while playing his great blues, rock and rockabilly. Rodney Brown on tenor sax adds a great dimension to Jimmy’s band.

Dan Phelps added his great Delta blues between sets and Justin "Boots" Gate led our harmonica workshop. I think we sold out of harmonicas!

The great logo design made for some fantastic tee shirts once again. The teal guitar logos were a big hit and nearly sold out (which we never do) and the alternate hot pink ones did. We are making a special run of Mardi Gras colored tie dyed shirts to commemorate the event. Hardtimes Cigar Box Guitars and WNIJ were back. Just Goods also came in with Fair Trade Items.

The beer was flowing with a great selection of regular and craft beers, ciders, wines, and more. Food vendors sold out of some items due to the great demand and crowd, but there was plenty of "good eats" to go around! We also raffled off another cigar box guitar.

2016 is already in planning. Mark the date of August 27, 2016 for the 7th Annual Crossroads Blues Festival at Lyran Park. Thank you to everyone who helped make the event a great success!

Steve Jones

President

Crossroads Blues Society

Friday, August 7, 2015

Final Poster with Sponsors

Monday, August 3, 2015

Advanced Ticket Outlets

Advanced tickets are available at these locations:

Rockford
Woodman’s Supermarket (Perryville)
Smokehouse BBQ (S. Main and Harrison)
Culture Shock Records and Clothing (Charles St)
Just Goods Fair Trade Store (7th St and 1st Ave)
Toad Hall Records (Broadway)
CD Source (State St)
Guzzardo Music (Charles St)
Lyran Club (4th Ave, just east of 7th St)

Winnebago
Snyder’s Drugs

Byron
Snyder’s Drugs
Byron Bank
Felker’s Value Fresh Supermarket
Leombruni’s Italian Village

Oregon
Snyder’s Drugs

Beloit, WI
Gary’s Guitars

Madison, WI
The Badger Bowl

Thursday, October 16, 2014

2015 Crossroads Blues Festival at Lyran Park set for Saturday, August 29th!

Our planning for 2015 is underway. Saturday, August 29, 2015 is on the weekend before Labor Day and is our date for our 6th annual Crossroads Blues Festival which will be held again at Lyran Park.

Albert Castiglia has agreed to come play for us. We recently caught up with him at the Blues Blast Music Awards. He's won several Blues Blast Awards over the years. His high energy rocking blues will be a great act to grace our stage!

8 PM

Coming off a hot 2014 Delmark Record with rave reviews and sold out performances is Dave Specter! With him is the great Chicago vocalist Sharon Lewis who always puts on a fantastic show. Brother John Kattke joins the mix on keys and vocals!

6 PM

2014 Chicago Blues Hall of Fame inductee Mike Wheeler and his band will also be playing for us. His Delmark Recordings are all big hits and we think that our blues fans will really love this act!

4 PM

Local young harp great Justin "Boots" Gates is coming to do a harmonica workshop!

3:30 PM

Returning from Down Under will be our great Australian blues friends Stormcellar. Jo Fitzgerald will be joining them again. They will perform new and old music, including the song "Rock River" which they wrote while here earlier this year. You can listen on the link below and download from itunes, CD Baby, and Amazon!

2 PM
"Rock River" Single

Our Blues Challenge Competition winners will also be playing there:

- Band Competition Winner Jimmy Nick and Don't Tell Mama will open the day on the main stage

Noon

- Solo/Duo Competition Winner Dan Phelps will play solo acoustic between acts in the Pavilion

Here's a map- Mapquest and some GPS were really messing up last year but we fixed all that with Google. MapQuest and Bing Maps. The address is 4781 S. Bend Rd., Rockford, IL, 61101 and it's less than a half mile east of where the road ends at Kishwaukee Road. Go west on Baxter from I39 and it becomes South Bend Road. Many GPS units and Mapquest tried to send fans to South Bend and IL-251's intersection. It is a couple of miles further west of that location on South Bend Road.

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Thank You to Everyone Who Came Out to the 5th Annual Crossroads Blues Festival at Lyran Park!

It looked grim early in the day. A slight drizzle began as Stormcellar took the stage to open the festival. About 20-30 minutes into the set the skies opened but there was no lightning or thunder so the show went on. It lasted about 30 minutes as heavy rain and then light rain fell till about 2:30 PM. It was hazy the rest of the day until the sun came out about 6 PM; the weather and park were great as it all drained away at the venue and show were ready to go! Thanks to all who came out and especially to those who braved the entire day! A special thanks to the Lyran Society who were our partners for this great event. Lyran Park was a great location for our festival and we will be planning for 2015 soon!

Here are a few pictures of the festival. For more go to:
2014 Crossroads Blues Festival at Lyran Park Photo Album