16th Annual
New River
Blues Festival
2018

• THEODIS EALEY~ Don't  Miss This Rare Blues Performance By The Chitlin' Circuit  King!

Singer, guitarist,  and king of the Chitlin' Circuit, Theodis Ealey was born in Natchez, Mississippi  in 1947. One of 11 children, he learned guitar when he was four years old, and  his playing has the musical mastery of one who has literally played all his  life. Over time, he joined the bands of giants Little Milton, Charles Brown, and  Johnny Copeland.  Known as a premier sideman, Theodis began stepping out as a  frontman. By the early 1990's he was recording for the renowned label, Ichiban  Records, and scoring hits. Ealey's playfully suggestive self-penned songs,  steeped in soul, have been wildly popular among African-American audiences for  whom he has nearly exclusively performed.  In 2004, he released Stand Up In  It, a humorously raunchy bit of bedroom advice, which became a surprise hit  single, spending 21 weeks on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart and peaking at number  one.  New River Blues Festival is honored that Theodis Ealey's appearance will  be a milestone, a rare performance reaching back to his blues roots, where it  all started. Don't miss it!

• NITRO & SARASOTA  SLIM~  Bedrock  Blues: Old School Harp and Slide

Rollicking Chicago  style harmonica and consumate slide guitar combine to testify that these guys  are real-deal veterans. Everything about their show-- gritty vocals, old-school  sensibilities, impassioned performance--  illustrates a foundation of many  decades of digging deep into the bedrock of blues. Philip "Nitro" Bozeman began  playing harmonica in front of audiences at the age of 7. Sixty-eight years  later, he still blows audiences away with his fervent, fiery harmonica playing.  He was known as "Lil Red" in Chicago - one mean boxer and harp player. Nitro  transplanted to Florida and became the heart of Chicago Blues in the deep heat  of the Sunshine State. Sarasota Slim, aka Gene Hardage has been signed to  international labels over 30 years, honing his guitar craft to a fine edge and  garnering great reviews and fans here and abroad.

"Nitro has been  lauded as a true, Chicago bluesman. He sings and plays harp in the old style —  think Jimmy Reed or Junior Wells — delivering the kind of sizzling shuffles that  prompt shaking all over the dance floor late into the night." Bradenton Herald,  Bradenton, FL

"Sarasota Slim can  evoke Duane Allman with a slide, Hubert Sumlin without one, or he can just do  his own thing and knock you back five steps." Tallahassee Democrat,  Tallahassee,FL

• WANDA JOHNSON~ Joyfully Moving People Through Music

Wanda Johnson sings with a voice steeped in the gospel music she's loved since childhood melded with the blues that has long been her passion. Her career began in the South Carolina upstate, but she's won hearts nationally and internationally. Not only a stunning singer but also an accomplished songsmith,Wanda takes her music to many prestigious festivals worldwide. Wanda has  ignited the stage at The Chicago Blues Festival, Poconos Blues Festival, Cognac Blues Festival (France) and the Eutin Blues Fest (Germany). She's thrilled audiences across China, Poland, Germany, France,and of course, the US.  You'll be spellbound by the powerful magic in Wanda's ability to captivate listeners with her effervescent, joyful performances and her unmistakable love of moving people through music.

• JEFFREY SCOTT~  Carrying On The Legacy Of John Jackson

Jeffrey Scott's  performances are infused with brilliant Piedmont-style guitar and evocative  storytelling. His guitar playing is rooted in the rhythmic,  syncopated finger-style  of the Eastern seaboard. This is the style  that Scott’s uncle, National Folk Heritage Fellow and blues guitar master, John  Jackson, perfected and taught to his nephew. Jeffrey's long association and  friendships with Etta Baker and Doc Watson also inspire and add pungency to his  picking.  Scott lives on a Virginia farm, where he raises cattle and performs  regionally. He was a steady member of the famed Archie Edwards Blues Foundation  sessions. Jeffrfey is a seasoned bluesman with a lifetime of songs and stories  to share on guitar, banjo and autoharp.

• THE KING BEES~CELEBRATING 31 YEARS OF STINGIN' & SWINGIN'

The King Bees, Rob "Hound Dog" Baskerville and  Penny "Queen Bee" Zamagni call Ashe County home, but travel the world with their  Blues and American Roots music. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the band  and also the 15th year of New River Blues Festival which they created and produce. 

In the mid-1980's Baskerville and Zamagni began  traveling the deep-South looking for and mentoring under Blues artists of  historical, cultural, and musical significance. Many blues greats took them  under their wing and nurtured and guided The King Bees toward the sound of  authenticity. With Baskerville on guitar and keys and Zamagni on vocals, bass,  and as song smith, The King Bees honed their art with many Blues masters.  By  1990 they had been touring and recording with some of the most culturally  important of Blues artists. In the early 1990's they were signed to a European  label and began touring internationally.

The King Bees have performed on festival stages in  Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, and London as well as taking their show across numerous  countries. Their love of American Roots music has taken them from Mississippi  jukes joints to several performances at Lincoln Center. They collaborated with  Rock n' Roll Hall-of-Fame member Bo Diddley and were featured on The B.B. King  Birthday Tour. Baskerville and Zamagni are also recognized as Blues historians,  represent and book Blues artists of note, and produce Blues festivals across the  South. They will be joined by long time musical co-conspirators: Saxophone man extraordinaire, Mike Kincaid, has been an integral part  of The King  Bees sound for many years at New River Blues Festivals and we are proud to again have Mike on board; multi-instrumentalist and High Country impresario, David Brewer will again be laying down the big blues beat.

*"Queen Bee Zamagni belts it out with the best,  backed by a superb band highlighted by the burning riffs of Hound Dog  Baskerville." The Charlotte Observer. 
*"Legendary Blues stylists..." The Knoxville  Journal.
*"Excellent...Queen Bee Zamagni has a strong,  swinging, slinky voice used to good effect on every number. Fine straight blues  all the way..Tasty!" Blues & Rhythm,  England

• Donald Ceasar, The Blues  Emperor  

Here comes the Zydeco train back by popular demand! Ceasar is an artist of exceptional versatility, performing on  drums, harmonica, and keyboards while singing lead vocals and laying down  high-spirited dance steps. Ceasar hales from the bayous of Louisiana, in the  heart of Creole and Cajun country where his grandfather, Alphonse “Bois Sec”  Ardoin and other family members were pioneers and founding fathers of Cajun  Zydeco music. Ceasar has been entertaining audiences since childhood with his  Cajun family band and opening for and sharing the stage with legendary artists  such as Rocking Sidney, Fats Domino, Dr. John, The Nevilles, B.B. King, Allen  Toussaint, and James Brown. Ceasar delivers a sizzling musical-gumbo full of the  succulent flavors of Louisiana.  "..possibly the hippest entertainer in the  Carolinas.” Jim Otis, The State, Columbia,SC.