   
Isaac Hayes, Charlie Musselwhite, Phoebe Snow, Canned Heat, The Mannish Boys, Joe Bonamassa, Carolyn Wonderland, Elvin Bishop and more ...
PORTLAND, Ore. (April 9, 2008) -- World-class music. Gorgeous setting. Great cause. What could be better?
Join blues fans from throughout the world at the 21st annual Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival, presented by First Tech Credit Union, July 3 to 6, 2008. The 2008 festival will feature more than 100 performances on four stages.
Opening night kicks off with a mind-blowing three-ring circus with a Tribute to Stax Records and Memphis Soul featuring funk and soul icon, singer and songwriter Isaac Hayes, presented by Chinook Winds Casino Resort and Portland Soul Allstars; blazing young guitars with two of the hottest young blues shredders, Joe Bonamassa, and Texan wunderkind Carolyn Wonderland; and on the A&E front porch stage, a battle of the blue bones, featuring two of the finest trombonist on the planet, brass virtuoso Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews and funk legend Fred Wesley & Goovesect.
Boogie-blues-rock pioneers Canned Heat, and Los Angeles-based all-star group The Mannish Boys top the line-up, July 4, with a spectacular fireworks finale.
July 5 headliners include Chicago harmonica ace Charlie Musselwhite, guitarist Elvin Bishop, and New Orleans guitarist Eric Lindell. The lineup includes British blues-rockers Back Door Slam and an amazing Gulf Coast Guitar Summit with Phillip Walker, Sherman Robertson and Andrew Jr. Boy Jones.
Soulful songstress Phoebe Snow will headline the festival's grand finale, July 6, with boogie-blues-rock British neo-soul crooner James Hunter, acclaimed Mississippi bluesman Robert "Wolfman" Belfour, Texas soul and folk singer Ruthie Foster, multiple W.C. Handy Award-winning guitarist-songwriter-vocalist Rory Block, bluesman Arthur Adams and Portland's blue-eyed soul-man Curtis Salgado.
A full-day Zydeco Swamp Romp, July 5, will showcase a spectacular Gulf coast lineup including Rosie Ledet, the "Zydeco Sweetheart" Chris Ardoin and Nu Step Zydeco; Cedryl Ballou and the Zydeco Trendsetters; and Diki Du and the Zydeco Krewe.
San Francisco's Lavay Smith and her Red Hot Skillet Lickers will headline the festival's "Swinging to the Blues" dance, July 6.
Festival performers also include Mississippi troubadour Paul Thorn and many more.
In addition, the festival will offer five DME Blues Cruises, a Louisiana Pavilion, workshops, interviews, Fourth of July fireworks and more.
Peter Dammann, Waterfront Blues Festival's multi-talented talent coordinator, takes you behind the scenes for a fascinating, insiders' view of the "trials, tribulations, late-hour jam sessions, haggling, multi-shot lattes, promo-pak sorting, gig-hopping and concert bringing that goes into putting together the lineup for the West Coast's largest blues festival."
When do DME Blues Cruise tickets and four-day festival passes go on sale?
We expect tickets to go on sale May 15. Check back again next week. We'll also offer four-day festival passes, and a special Blues Buddy pass. To reduce the fees you pay for purchasing tickets, we're working with a new vendor. Thanks for your patience as we set up this exciting, new way to order tickets.
Portland Community Media to broadcast workshops from the 2007 Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival
PORTLAND, Ore. (April 18, 2008)-- Portland Community Media will broadcast workshops from last year's festival's FedEx Freight Workshop Stage. Read more.
View photos from 2007 Blues Festival
Check out photo galleries for 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003 and previous Waterfront Blues Festivals.
What makes the festival so special?
It's an anomaly in the festival world. Here's why ...
Festival merchandise available online
Shop for CDs ... Posters ... T-shirts ... and more. All purchases help Oregon Food Bank fight hunger and its root causes. Read more.
20 years of blues
What year did Junior Wells perform at Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival? Guitar Shorty? Koko Taylor? How often has Charlies Musselwhite graced the stage? The Safeway Waterfront Blues festival has a rich history of bringing blues legends to Portland. Learn more >
 See Festival artwork
Check out artist Gary Houston's official Safeway Waterfront Blues artwork. See artwork>
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