JazzFest 2014 Performers
2014 Main Stage Line-Up
Thursday, July 17, 2014
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Brandon Sprague Blues Band – 6:00 PM
Blues guitarist and composer Brandon Sprague hails from Deadwood, South Dakota. Brandon performed at JazzFest in 2012 and has released a few albums on the family record label. His sound is reminiscent of Jimmie Vauhgan with a bit of Springsteen tossed in. He’s performed weekly at the Deadwood Tobacco and Cigar Bar for most of the last decade and has a strong Black Hills following. The band just celebrated it’s CD release of original tunes entitled, “Edge of the World.”
Sprague has most notably toured with B.B. King. He has opened for Neville Brothers, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Koko Taylor, Son Seals, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Little Feat, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, Rev. Horton Heat, Joan Jett, Roomful of Blues, Edgar Winter, Doobie Brothers, & many more.
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The Kelly Richey Band – 7:30 PM
Based in Cincinnati, Kelly Richey is one of the hardest working independent musicians out there, to date logging an extraordinary 800,000 miles touring, and at one point in her 25- year professional career, gigging a grueling 275 days out of the year. Richey started playing guitar at the age of 15. Today, at age 48 and a staggering 3,500 gigs later, she more than earns the title of Master guitarist. She has been described as “Stevie Ray Vaughan trapped in a woman’s body with Janis Joplin screaming to get out”. She has been listed as among the top 100 gifted guitarists by the Truefire Commuity (2011), and draws comparisons to blues icons Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Cognizant of the emotionality of the music in her live shows, Richey steamrolls; she hits the audience hard and fast, grabs on and doesn’t let go. Hard rocking, blues-based and guitar driven, she blasts her audiences with jaw-dropping, lightening fast riffs and a muscularity of playing that even many of the best male guitarists don’t possess. Richey has shared the stage with such legends as Lonnie Mack and Albert King, and has opened for Joe Cocker, Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter, Walter Trout, Little Feat, Foghat, REO Speedwagon, George Thorogood, Average White Band, Warren Zevon, and James Brown.
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Here Come the Mummies – 9:30 PM
From these hovering souls, who called themselves Here Come The Mummies, Professor Dumblucke learned of the powerful curse that doomed them to wander the earth, seeking the ultimate riff, the one that may allow their spirits to rest after eons of, as they put it, “banging out solid fly grooves, y’all.”
Without so much as a hot bath, HCTM would open for P–‐Funk and Al Green, rock Super Bowl Village 2012, become regulars at The Bob and Tom Show and massive festivals like Summerfest, and make themselves the darlings of sell-out crowds over wide swaths of North America (and little tiny strips of Eurasia). Eddie Mummy, Java, K.W. Tut, Mummy Cass, Spaz, The Pole, Midnight, Mummy Rah, and The Flu got the remainder of their minds and bandages together and realized that the world was ready for a new HCTM record. The new collection, Cryptic, suits their elusive persona down to the ground.
Friday, July 18, 2014
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Josh Hoyer and the Shadowboxers – 6:00 PM
Josh Hoyer and The Shadowboxers is a project formed in late 2012 in famed blues town Lincoln, Nebraska. For the last 15 years, Hoyer has been very in demand as a performer in his previous bands, as a solo artist behind the piano and as a session musician and arranger. Spending much of his time booking and promoting in Lincoln at the legendary Zoo Bar and beyond, Hoyer is an influential part of the funk, soul and blues youth movement.
His current 9-piece Soul band includes some of the areas most revered and accomplished musicians, many of whom have toured nationally and internationally, teach music and are asked to back up bands live and in the studio. The band’s sound and passion come from their deep respect, knowledge of and passion for blues, Americana, soul, funk, and many other styles of music.
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Samantha Fish – 8:00 PM
Kansas City-based Samantha Fish has been on a major roll ever since she teamed up with Cassie Taylor and Dani Wilde on Ruf’s 2011 release, Girls with Guitars, and fueled by the trio’s Blues Caravan tour of Europe and the U.S., created an international buzz in the blues world. Later that same year she recorded Runaway, her solo debut on Ruf, which mixed gutsy riff-blues rockers like “Down In The Swamp” with the mellow small-hours jazz of “Feelin’ Alright,” while marinating her songwriting in the groove of the Rolling Stones and even tipping a hat to Heart. “It’s all the sounds I grew up with,” she explained at the time, “with my own spin.” Earlier this year Samantha joined labelmate Devon Allman for a sultry duet of the Tom Petty classic, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” that appeared on Devon’s Turquoise CD and accompanying video.
Hitting a receptive international blues and rock press, Runaway was hailed as a thrilling opening statement, earning a string of rave reviews and radio airplay, climaxed by her winning the Blues Music Award (BMA) for “Best New Artist Debut” in 2012.
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MIDCONTINENT COMMUNICATIONS PRESENTS: George Thorogood and the Destroyers – 9:30 PM
George Thorogood and his longtime band The Destroyers – Jeff Simon (drums, percussion), Bill Blough (bass guitar), Jim Suhler (rhythm guitar) and Buddy Leach (saxophone) – their 40th anniversary is indestructible proof that staying true to yourself and the music can still mean something. And with a catalog of iconic hits that includes “Who Do You Love”, “I Drink Alone”, “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer”, “Move It On Over”, “Bad To The Bone” and more, being able to share it with audiences is what will always matter.
Over the course of sixteen studio albums (including six Gold and two Platinum), they would storm the charts by putting their own stamp on nuggets by Hank Williams, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, John Lee Hooker, Elmore James and more, while simultaneously bashing out smash GT originals that crackle with humor and swagger. “I’ve always balanced one against the other,” George explains. “Back when we were playing clubs before we had original material, I’d say ‘Hey, let’s play that Willie Dixon song.’ We played them our way and audiences loved ‘em.
Saturday, July 19, 2014
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Dakota Jazz Collective – Noon
Dakota Jazz Collective is a Sioux Falls-based ensemble rooted in the classic and contemporary sounds of jazz. Featuring a horn driven ensemble, members of DJC have developed a strong reputation as some of the region’s finest and most recognized jazz musicians. Celebrating the local jazz scene, committed to jazz education, and performing across the region, Dakota Jazz Collective shares their passion for jazz with every performance.
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JazzFest Jazz Camp with guest artist Wycliffe Gordon – 1:30 PM
The top band from JazzFest Jazz Camp will be joining Wycliffe Gordon for a grand performance. Wycliffe Gordon has been named “Trombonist of the Year” by the Jazz Journalists Association nine times since 2000. Gordon, who can play 22 additional instruments, has had an extraordinary career as a performer, conductor, composer, arranger, and educator. He is one of America’s most persuasive and committed music educators, and currently serves on the faculty of the Jazz Arts Program at Manhattan School of Music.
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Kris Lager Band – 3:00 PM
Kris Lager started playing
around the Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska, area as a young teen guitar prodigy
garnering the attention of the regional music scene. Entering into his adult
years, Lager formed a band of friends and equally talented musicians and took his
blues-based sounds to a more funky and modern place. The Kris Lager Band has seen
a lot of success in their non-stop touring, playing over 200 shows each of the
last five years. Kris Lager Band has developed a unique style with a varied mix
of blues, funk, soul, Americana, rock and zydeco.
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Jack Brass Band – 4:30 PM
The Jack Brass Band formed in 1999 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and have been growing strong ever since. This nine piece ensemble embraces the traditions of New Orleans jazz, but at the same time adding old time blues, rock, hip-hop, pop, soul, funk and Reggae. The crack of the snare drum, the blat of the sousaphone, the blaring brass over it all tells you that the Jack Brass Band is an infectious machine, one that drives crowd to their feet and commands them to groove. A truly unique sound and experience, the band has been featured at festivals in Canada, as well as throughout the upper Midwest. If you like your music hot and spicy, the Jack Brass Band is just for you.
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The Jennifer Keith Quintet – 6:00 PM
Vocalist & Las Vegas headliner Jennifer Keith is an American Classic and a descendent of a long line of entertainers that began with her Great Great Grandfather B.F. Keith, the “K” in RKO Pictures, one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
Many have described Jenny as “a pinup doll with a voice reminiscent of Peggy Lee meets Julie London”. Her fabulous quintet is led by Mando Dorame, tenor saxophonist and Co-founder of world renowned Royal Crown Revue; a band who is credited for reviving the swing movement in the 1990’s. Among other credits, Royal Crown Revue has been featured in “Gene Simmons family Jewels”, “The Mask” with Jim Carrey and have toured with Bette Midler. Jennifer Keith also traveled to Egypt as a guest of the US State Department to perform at the Cairo Jazz Festival. Audiences will be thoroughly entertained and transported back to a timeless era of entertainment!
**Artist times and schedule subject to change at any time**
Archive
Take a look at the 2013 JazzFest Performers.
Take a look at the 2012 JazzFest Performers.
Take a look at the 2011 JazzFest Performers.
Take a look at the 2010 JazzFest Performers.
Take a look at the 2009 JazzFest Performers.
2008 JazzFest Performers:
Jonny Lang, Joyce Cooling Group, Tab Benoit, Taj Mahal, Blues Bashers, Slim Man, Jonah Smith, Simone, Robben Ford, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, BlueTanes, Soulcrate Music, M80, Jazz Portraits, Victoria Pennock Band, Dakota Jazz Collective, Snakebeard Jackson, Truth & Adapt, Solution, Little Bird Band
2007 JazzFest Performers:
Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks Band, Robert Cray Band, Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers, The Lee Boys, Bonerama, Jeff Golub, Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, Northlanders Jazz Band with Chris Vadala, Doreen’s Jazz New Orleans, Steve Weingart and Mike Miller, Solution, Soulcrate Music, Snakebeard Jackson, Kyle Knutson, Derek Postini, Dakota Jazz Collective, Urban Blues
2006 JazzFest Performers:
Medeski, Martin and Wood, Shemekia Copeland, Mavis Staples, Ticket to Brasil, Albert Cummings, Hubert Sumlin and the G.E. Smith Band, Buckwheat Zydeco, Ana Popovic, Quarter Round, Derek Postini Band, Dan Mahar, South Dakota Jazz Orchestra w/Denis DiBlasio and Steve Wiest, Sioux Falls Municipal Band, Northlanders Jazz, Serenata, The BlueTanes
2005 JazzFest Performers:
Buddy Guy, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Tommy Castro, Joe Bonamassa, Kelley Hunt, Greyhounds, Claudia Acuna, Dotsero, Guitarboy, SD Jazz Orchestra, Stallions, Violet, Hailey Soyland Band, DNR, Dan Mahar, That’s The Time, Jazz Portraits, Red Road, Phil Baker and Jeremy Hegg
2004 JazzFest Performers:
John Hiatt, Little Feat, Chris Botti, the subdudes, Dickey Betts and Great Southern, Roomful of Blues, Shane Henry, The Mezcal Brothers, Standard Time, Reggae Cowboys, P. Skunk Willy and the Antibots, Spooncat!, Sleepeater, Wumpus, Isaiah and Joe, That’s the Time, Grant Manhart/Brian Harding Quintet
2003 JazzFest Performers:
Mighty Sam McClain, Chris Duarte Band, Tower of Power, The Rejivenators, The Mezcal Brothers, SF Big Band with Chris Vadala, Nachito Herrera and Puro Cubano, Tony Monaco Trio, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, The Neville Brothers, Rosie Ledet and Her Zydeco Playboys, Sioux Falls Municipal Band, Dave Moore, The Fabulous Jadesmen, Standard Time, Spooncat!
2002 JazzFest Performers:
Tinsley Ellis, Walter Trout and the Radicals, Delbert McClinton, Third Verse, Harmonious Wail, Billy Music, CJ Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band, Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, Los Hombres Calientes, Sista Monica, Tommy Castro, Jazz Portraits, Deadline, Rochford Jazz Ensemble, Jay Stulo, Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeeans
2001 JazzFest Performers:
Los Lobos, The Neville Brothers, Steel Pulse, Marcia Ball, Debbie Duncan, Kelly Hunt, Nelson Rangell, Omar & The Howlers, Bio Ritmo, Otis Taylor, Hadden Sayers Band, Spooncat!, Reggae Cowboys, Life B4 Color, Violet, North Main Blues Revue, Leghorn, Dr. Hector & The Groove Injectors
2000 JazzFest Performers:
Bo Diddley, Koko Taylor, Liquid Soul, Bernard Allison, Jimmy Thackery & The Drivers, Slim Man, Chubby Carrier & The Bayou Swamp Band, Connie Evingson, Spooncat!, Boom Shaka, Radio X, Little Slim & The Back Alley Blues Band, Blues Exchange, Friends, Standard Time, Bill Gibson Dixieland Band
1999 JazzFest Performers:
The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Terrance Simien, Big John Dickerson & Blue Chamber, Tommy Castro, Luther “Guitar” Johnson, Charlie Musselwhite, Eric Marienthal, Reggae Cowboys, Joanna Connor, Native Vibe, Sioux Falls Big Band
1998 JazzFest Performers:
The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Spyro Gyra, Kevin Mahogany, Johnnie Johnson, The Senders, Radio X, Spooncat!, Bill Gibson/Stephen Fulton Septet
1997 JazzFest Performers:
Nathan & The Zydeco Cha-Cha’s, Indigenous, Phil Perry, The Rippingtons, Dave Koz, Boom Shaka, Left Bank Jazz Society, Greg Koch, Pascal Bokar
1996 JazzFest Performers:
Earl Klugh, David Benoit, Little Scotty & The Spinners, Nebraska Jazz Orchestra, Irie, Native Vibe, Scotty Spenner
