12:00 PM – 1:15 PM Big Daddy Lee & The King Bees

Big Daddy Lee & The King Bees is a versatile blues band based in the Roaring Fork Valley.

2:15 PM – 3:30 PM Jimmy Thackery and The Drivers

Whether headlining a festival in South Dakota or jamming for hours in blues bars across the country, Jimmy Thackery’s intense volley of rockin’ blues guitar always leaves crowds emotionally spent. His double-edged guitar dynamics allow him to fire off tracer missiles, bend a note so it fits under a limbo bar, run off dive bomber riffs, and find space within the trembling of one stinging note. “I put all my senses on hold and find the zone and follow what’s inside… electricity from your mind to your heart to your fingers. You just try and remember to breathe.”

Thackery is one of the few blues guitarists who learned firsthand from the masters. Though many remember Jimmy from his 15 years as the co-founder of the Nighthawks, he has been on the road since 1987 as a solo musician performing almost 300 shows a year – proving every night that he remains a blues guitar powerhouse.

4:30 PM – 5:45 PM Otis Taylor Band

With Otis Taylor, it’s best to expect the unexpected. While his music (an amalgamation of roots styles in their rawest form) discusses heavyweight issues like murder, homelessness, tyranny, and injustice, his personality is surprisingly lighthearted. “I’m good at dark, but I’m not a particularly unhappy person,” he says. “I’d just like to make enough money to buy a Porsche.”

These contrasting character traits are part of Taylor’s appeal – an element of surprise making him one of the most compelling artists to emerge in recent years. From his unique instrumentation (fancies banjo and cello) to the sudden sound of a female vocal or a seemingly optimistic song taking a turn for the forlorn, Taylor’s poignant storytelling always remains consistent. “Otis Taylor is arguably the most relevant blues artist of our time” (Guitar Player Magazine).

SUNDAY, AUGUST 29

12:00 PM – 1:15 PM Tempa and the Tantrums

Tempa Singer’s searing, soulful voice brings energy and excitement everywhere she plays. Frequently compared to Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt, Tempa has over 20 years of professional experience and truly knows how to entertain. Before starting her own band, Tempa captured the attention of Denver music lovers as a member of the Flesh Mannequins. Tempa has shared the stage with BB King, Koko Taylor, Tab Benoit, Jimmy Thackery, Bernard Allison, Luther Allison, Lonnie Brooks, Jeff Beck, and many others. She’s performed in venues from Red Rocks Amphitheater to The Sea Of Galilee, always giving fans an unforgettable experience. Tempa and the Tantrums have been nominated for 5 Westword Music Showcase Awards in the last 7 years and they WON “Best Blues Band in Colorado’” at the 2006 Westword Music Showcase Awards. Their latest album, “Voodoo & Angels,’” was named “2007 Blues Album of the Year’” by Hapi Scratch Records. In addition to having released three CDs, their music has been included in numerous national and international blues compilations.

2:15 PM – 3:30 PM Bettye LaVette

Bettye LaVette occupies that space in American music where country meets soul, where blues, folk, pop, jazz, gospel and R&B meld in seamless alchemy and where genre boundaries have no place or meaning. While too rarely accessed in most contemporary recordings, LaVette returns to it again and again on her latest release, “I’ve Got My Own Hell to Raise.’” This majestic record is filled with richness and depth, naked, raw, visceral emotion that will raise the hairs on the back of any fully alive and breathing human being. LaVette lets shine the wisdom and musical acumen she’s acquired over her 43-year career – a song stylist par excellence.

4:30 PM – 5:45 PM Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials

Though small in stature, Lil’ Ed Williams is a true giant of the blues – one of the very last authentic West Side Chicago bluesmen. From smoking slide guitar boogies to raw-boned Chicago shuffles to the deepest slow blues, Lil’ Ed Williams is a master. A gifted guitarist and a remarkably gritty and soulful vocalist, Williams, along with his blistering, road-tested band, The Blues Imperials, has been tearing up clubs and festival stages all over the world for almost 25 years. Not since the heyday of Hound Dog Taylor and The HouseRockers has a Chicago blues band made such a consistently joyous, rollicking noise. Between the band’s wonderfully untamed music and Ed’s flying leaps, his back-bending, his toe-walking through the audience and his sliding across the stage on his knees, it’s no wonder The Boston Globe called Lil’ Ed and The Blues Imperials “the world’s #1 house-rocking band.’”