News Release

2009 Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival
to feature 5 Delta Music Experience Blues Cruises:
intimate way to enjoy the big festival 

PORTLAND, Ore. (June 29, 2009) – Sit back and relax or get up and boogie. Cruise the beautiful Willamette River and hear the blues in an intimate setting on the three decks of the Portland Spirit.

The 2009 Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival, presented by First Tech Credit Union, offers five Delta Music Experience Blues Cruises: two late-night and three afternoon cruises during festival dates, July 2 to July 5, 2009. To purchase tickets through Tickets Oregon for these popular cruises, visit www.waterfrontbluesfest.com.

Thursday, July 2, (late night): SOLD OUT.

DME Hoodoo Moon Cruise with

Friday, July 3, (afternoon):

DME Blue Bayou Cruise with  (Only a few tickets left)

• the rattlesnake soul of Dave Gonzalez, Mike Barfield and the Stone River Boys,
• Malford Milligan, acclaimed blues-belter from Austin,
• Dallas, Tex., guitar-slinger Jim Suhler & Monkey Beat and
• Gulf Coast boogie-woogie, keyboard master David Vest.

Friday, July 3, (late night):

DME Rock the Boat Dance Cruise with SOLD OUT

Saturday, July 4, (afternoon): SOLD OUT.

DME Driftin’ Blues Cruise w

Sunday, July 5, (afternoon):

DME Backwater Juke Blues Cruise (Only a few tickets left)

• Ryan Shaw, 26-year-old, who is reviving R&B with his stunning voice for a new generation,  
• Louisiana songwriter and roots-rocker Kevin Gordon,
• Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, the last-living practitioner of the celebrated Brentonia, Miss., blues;
• A rare acoustic blues collaboration with Terry Robb and Lauren Sheehan; and
• Seattle’s Lady “A” and the Baby Blues Funk Band.

Afternoon cruises, open to all ages, board at 2 p.m. and return to dock at 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 on site at the festival’s Louisiana Pavilion. Tickets are still available for July 5.

Evening cruises, board at 10:15 p.m. and return to dock at 1:15 a.m.  All evening cruises are SOLD OUT.

The Portland Spirit requires photo identification to board all cruises. The only exception is for children 12-years-old or younger.

All DME Blues Cruise board from the seawall in front of the McCall Fountain at S.W. Salmon and Naito Parkway, just north of the A&E Front Porch Stage.

About Oregon Food Bank: Oregon Food Bank is a nonprofit, charitable organization. It is the hub of a the Oregon Food Bank Network, a statewide network of 20 regional food banks and 915 hunger-relief agencies serving Oregon and Clark County, Wash.

About festival sponsors: The Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival is presented by First Tech Credit Union.  

Major sponsors include FedEx Corporation, iQ Credit Union, The Oregonian A&E, KINK.fm, Good Neighbor Pharmacy, Wildhorse Resort and Casino and Travel Portland.

Supporting sponsors include Mission Foods, Deschutes Brewery, Henry’s, Beringer Wine, Snapple, Earth2o Water, Pepsi, Frito Lay Snacks, Yoshida Sauce, Dave’s Killer Bread, Eggland’s Best, Dreyer’s Ice Cream, Burt’s Bees, NW Natural, The Boeing Company, PacificSource Health Plans, OregonLive.com, Blues Revue, Music Millennium, True Tone Audio, Karolyn March, Lions Foundation, Cascade Blues Association, Oregon State Fair, Winthrop Music Association, Oregon Potters Association, Cascade Zydeco Association, Delta Music Experience, University Place Hotel, Marriott Hotel, RiverPlace Hotel, Hotel Fifty, travelportland.com.

For more information, visit www.waterfrontbluesfest.com.

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Note to reporters and editors: A Blues Blog, music samples by festival artists on our Jukebox, video links and downloadable, high-resolution photos are available at www.waterfrontbluesfest.com.