Lakewood Ranch Blues Festival, Saturday, December 6th, 8:00AM – 8:00PM

Lakewood Ranch Blues Festival, Saturday, December 6th, 8:00AM – 8:00PM

Lakewood Ranch Blues Festival, Saturday, December 6th, 8:00AM – 8:00PM

Lakewood Ranch Blues Festival, Saturday, December 6th, 8:00AM – 8:00PM

          The second annual Lakewood Ranch Blues festival features a nice mix of local and national bands at the picturesque Waterside Place Pavilion, an eight acre island on Kingfisher Lake. Presented by festival promoter Paul Benjamin who’s produced countless festivals and is hands on, running a tight show. This early show kicks off at 9:30am with a showcase of students from the Music Compound with the first band hitting the stage at 10:15am and each of the seven bands receiving at full hour of stage time.

          The Shaelyn Band, a seven piece rockin’ soul group based out of mid Florida powered by Ms. Shaelyn’s vocals with backup vocals and a drivin’ horn section. This tight band has been busy touring and if you’ve seen them you know they set a high standard for this festival.   Eden Brent, a powerhouse piano-pounding Mississippi blues belter who can play it soft or take it straight to the juke joint. She won the International Blues Challenge in 2006 and the Pinetop Perkins award at the 2025 Blues Music awards.

          Albert Castiglia, a Florida native when not on tour with Mike Zito and Bill Murray as the Blood Brothers he dazzles audiences with his self depreciating prowess on guitar and we can hope he does his rampaging rendition of Paul Butterfield’s Lovin’ Cup, it blew us away when we saw him.

          Jonny Rawls, an old school soul blues legend, if you’ve experienced Rawls you know why he’s been around for more than 50 years and still going strong.

          Toronzo Cannon brings a more modern ethic to Chicago blues. The Alligator Records vocalist and guitarist Cannon grew up on the south side of Chicago and until just a few years ago was a full time bus driver in Chicago who played the clubs and festival after work.

          The Chambers DesLauriers band, is true blue love story. Texas based Annika Chambers was a Blues Music Awards winner when she met Paul Deslauriers, an award winning Canadian guitarist/bandleader at the International Blues Challenge where Paul was a runner-up. Instantly connecting they managed a whirlwind romance and marriage while out on the road and quickly merge their lives and music and for the past several years they’ve been on a road trip honeymoon.

          Desoto Tiger Testimony a blend of Louisiana and Florida artists has been called a Blues Roots Super Group. Featuring Tampa bay native Damon Fowler with Louisiana’s Jonathan “Boogie” Long on dueling hot rod guitars, lap steel and vocals, New Orleans harmonica wiz Jason Ricci who first joined the Sun Coast Blues Society 20 years ago, with a rhythm section of Tampa’s Chuck Riley on bass and Louisiana session drummer Ray Hangen. These turbo charged Tigers are all incredible players and letting them loose on a stage anything could happen so you’ll want to catch this tiger’s tail and hang on for the ride.

          The festival will be at the Waterside Place Pavilion, 7301 Island Cove Terrace, Lakewood Ranch, with parking available on site, there is also off-site parking at the Out-Of-Door Academy in Sarasota with complimentary shuttle service that drops you off right at the festival gates between 7:30am and 9:30pm. The park opens at 8:30, and tickets will be available the day of but reserved seating is limited and purchasing tickets at the website before December 3rd will save you money. Things to keep in mind, you can bring chairs, blankets and hand held umbrellas, this open-air park has minimal shade coverage so be sure to include a hat and sunscreen. Items not allowed are coolers, outside food and alcohol, tents, canopies, large backpacks, banners, and pets. Times and the line up are subject to change but being a Paul Benjamin production you know it’s gonna be good.

Roger & Margaret White

 

Nancy & David Bilheimer Capitol Theatre – Joanne Shaw Taylor

Nancy & David Bilheimer Capitol Theatre – Joanne Shaw Taylor

Nancy & David Bilheimer Capitol Theatre – Joanne Shaw Taylor

CLICK HERE
Nancy & David Bilheimer Capitol Theatre – Orianthi

Nancy & David Bilheimer Capitol Theatre – Orianthi

Nancy & David Bilheimer Capitol Theatre – Orianthi

CLICK HERE
Victor Wainwright & The Train

Victor Wainwright & The Train

Victor Wainwright & The Train

CLICK HERE
Suncoast Blues Society members can purchase pre-sales tickets to blues legend Buddy Guy

Suncoast Blues Society members can purchase pre-sales tickets to blues legend Buddy Guy

Suncoast Blues Society members can purchase pre-sales tickets to blues legend Buddy Guy

NOTE: All SBS members in good standing (paid membership) have the right to this offer. Follow instructions below to get access to the SBS discounted tickets! 

Special SBS Members Only Benefit
Tickets are available May 16th 4:00PM

 

Your Suncoast Blues Society board of directors has been working with Ruth Eckerd Hall, and we are proud to announce a special members-only ticket sale benefit.

On May  16th,  Suncoast Blues Society members can purchase pre-sales tickets to blues legend Buddy Guy and his Damn Right Farewell Tour! The tour comes to Ruth Eckerd Hall on September 14th, and Suncoast Blues Society members can purchase their seats before this show goes on sale to the public.

Appearing with Buddy Guy are two standouts in the blues world: Bobby Rush – an 18-time Blues Music Award winner; and musician, producer, songwriter extraordinaire – the 4-time Grammy Award winner Tom Hambridge.

You will want to take advantage of this wonderful offer before the best seats are gone, and the tickets go on sale to the public.

About the show:

BUDDY GUY

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS BOBBY RUSH & TOM HAMBRIDGE

GRAMMY® award winner and Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Famer, Buddy Guy, returns to Ruth Eckerd Hall for the Damn Right Farewell Tour! Buddy Guy is one of the most celebrated blues guitarists of his generation, possessing a sound and style that embodies the traditions of classic Chicago blues while also embracing the fire and flash of rock & roll. Guy began his recording career in 1959 and scored his first hit in 1960 with First Time I Met the Blue. Buddy’s time came in 1991 with the breakthrough of Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues, the first of his many albums to reach the Billboard charts. If his last few decades have proven anything, it’s that a ticket to a Buddy Guy concert isn’t simply a tour through blues history, but an opportunity to see a genre’s foremost practitioner still at the top of his game, with as much to say as ever has. Don’t miss Buddy Guy’s return to Clearwater with special guests Bobby Rush and Tom Hambridge only at Ruth Eckerd Hall!

Buddy Guy at Ruth Eckerd Hall

NOTE: You have to be logged into to get the promotional code. See instructions below.

DETERMINE IF YOU ARE A CURRENT SBS MEMBER

If you not sure if you are a current member, go to the SBS website – www.suncoastblues.org

  • Go to the SHOP option in the Main Menu at the top.
  • Select the MY ACCOUNT option.
  • Fill out the form with your email and your password.
  • If you forgot your password, you can reset it with the LOST YOUR PASSWORD link.
  • You will receive a link to create a new password via email.
  • NOTE: If you do NOT receive your Reset Password email, check your email SPAM folder.

YOU HAVE AN ACCOUNT

  • Once you are able to get in via the MY ACCOUNT option, look on the left side for MY MEMBERSHIP.
  • Click on MANAGE (left side) and you will see the status of your membership (ACTIVE or EXPIRED)
  • If your membership has EXPIRED, you can press the RENEW button.
  • You will see a form which you need to update (as needed).
  • Then you will be asked to use PayPal to do your renewal order (you can use a PayPal account OR your own credit card).

 

AFTER YOU LOG IN – CLICK HERE – TO BE TAKEN TO THE CODE PAGE

Become a Suncoast Blues Society Member

Go to our Membership sign up page and choose your Membership! 

Click Here
Everybody Having a Ball – Billy Price Band

Everybody Having a Ball – Billy Price Band

Everybody Having a Ball – Billy Price Band

Everybody Having a Ball

Billy Price Band @ Cottonmouth southern Soul Kitchen 

On March 29th 2024, Billy Price and his band made their debut in Bradenton’s Village of the Arts and put on one of the best shows seen to date at the venue.

The band set the tone for the evening when kicked off the show playing The Temptation’s classic Can’t Get Next to You, followed by Chuck Berry’s You Never Can Tell. Billy came to the stage and launched a wonderful set of music pulled from this extensive catalogue, and sprinkled in some new material that is forthcoming this fall.

Billy’s band on this tour (Dave Dodd, drums; Tom Valentine, bass; Lenny Smith, guitar; Jim Britton, keyboard; and a horn section with flugelhorn and sax ) expertly backed Billy as he launched into two sets of enjoyable rhythm & blues, blues, and soul. Beginning with I Keep Holding On Billy captured the audience and showed why he is a wonderful entertainer. Billy got the crowd moving by delivering his “signature” song, the Carl Sims classic It Ain’t a Juke Joint Without The Blues.

Billy spoke respectfully about his time touring with Roy Buchannan and performed Nickle and a Nail; and then visited the 2019 recording “Dog Eat Dog” for Lose My Number. What followed next was a highlight. His performance of Mercy from the forthcoming release “Person of Interest” was a powerful, poignant, and memorable performance. This is one beautiful song that touches the heart, and on this night and during this song was Billly at his best.

A standard in Billy’s show is Can I Change My Mind, and tonight was no different. By this time, the audience was beginning to turn Cottonmouth into a dance hall, setting the stage for what to come during the second set. Tyrone Davis songs fit Billy well, and this former number one on Billboards Hot R&B Chart is no exception. The first set concluded with 39 Steps, giving both band and audience a chance to collect their breaths.

Often, between sets in Florida the audience will start to thin out. Tonight, that was not the case. The sold-out show  was packed tight. But that did not deter them – they wanted to dance to Billy Price Band and dance they did.

From the start of the second set  – which featured the band without Billy performing So Sharp, famously recorded by J. Geils Band – the audience was on their feet, moving and swaying to the beat. And they did not retreat to their seats for the remainder of the night. I’ve seen a lot of shows at Cottonmouth, but never have I witnessed the entire audience up and dancing for an entire set.

The songs during set two included: She Checks All The Boxes, Real Time, the wonderful Crying at The Stoplight, and revisiting Roy Buchanan with Can I Make You Change Your Mind. By this time, the kitchen staff joined in the fun and dancing hit a fever pitch to Tyrone Davis’s s Turn Back The Hands of Time and continued with Be Thankful for What You Got. The band wrapped up the set with Expert Witness.

The audience was not ready to release the band, and Billy accommodated with a two-song encore, First, the full band performed Person of Interest. Billy then asked all but keyboardist Jim Britton to leave the stage and the two concluded a wonderful night with a stirring version of Toussaint McAll’s. Nothing Takes The Place of You. A spectacular evening of music by The Billy Price Band.

 

  • Scott Morris, Suncoast Blues Society
  • Photo’s courtesy of Jim Hartzell

 

Become a Suncoast Blues Society Member

Go to our Membership sign up page and choose your Membership! 

Click Here