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Rollin' on the River to take center stage Friday
By Steve Dunn/Gate City Managing Editor
Billed as “Iowa's Best Fest By A Dam Site,” the 18th Rollin' on the River blues festival in Keokuk Friday and Saturday will feature local and native Iowa talent as well as a performer with New York City roots.
Iowa native Joe Price will kick off Friday night's schedule in the tent at Victory Park at 5 p.m. A native of Waterloo, Price has performed professionally for 35 years. He was inducted into the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame in 2002. He also was a finalist in the Blues Foundation's International Blues Challenge 2006 in Memphis, Tenn.
Friday's night's stage entertainment starting at 7 p.m. will include Lee County native William Elliott Whitmore, Dr. X featuring Slink Rand and Popa Chubby. Whitmore's new CD, “Song of the Blackbird,” will be released on Tuesday. One reviewer said Whitmore “has developed an intense love and spiritual understanding of the land, which he flawlessly conveys through his second release, ‘Ashes To Dust.'”
Chubby's music “takes blues to the cutting edge, where it highfives its contemporary cousins rock, rap and hip hop,” one reviewer said. His CDs include “Stealing The Devil's Guitar,” “Peace, Love, and Respect” and “The Good, The Bad, and The Chubby.”
Saturday's free tent entertainment will start at 1:30 p.m. with a blues jam, followed by Raeann School of Dance, children's entertainment and local singer/guitarist Chuck Mitchell.
Ron Teamer & “Smokin' Guns” will kick off the night's stage entertainment at 6 p.m. Teamer and “Smokin' Guns” plays many venues around Kansas City and festivals in the Midwest. They took first place in the Kansas City Blues Challenge in 2004 and 2005.
Other performers Saturday night will include Juke Joint Sinners, Watermelon Slim and The Kinsey Report. The Juke Joint Sinners is a newly formed five-piece band of veteran musicians from the Quad Cities area. Their prior projects together have included some of the Quad Cities top bands: John Resch and the Detroit Blues, Shane Johnson's Blues Train and The Mercury Brothers.
Watermelon Slim has spent more than 30 years as a musician. The blues community recognized him as one of the best contemporary international blues artists when he was nominated for the W.C. Handy Award for Best New Artist Debut in 2005. Real Blues Magazine also honored him for having the No. 1 Southern Blues CD of the Year.
The last act, The Kinsey Report, is known for its “brawny, blistering blues, gritty as a Gary steel mill.” Their records have included “Smoke and Steel,” “Edge of the City,” “Midnight Drive,” “Powerhouse” and “Crossing Bridges.”
Advance tickets cost $20 for both nights. Tickets for each night cost $12 apiece. Tickets are available in Keokuk at Hy-Vee, Keasling's and Meister Music.
A special 12-page section on this year's event will be included in Thursday's edition.
Iowa native Joe Price will kick off Friday night's schedule in the tent at Victory Park at 5 p.m. A native of Waterloo, Price has performed professionally for 35 years. He was inducted into the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame in 2002. He also was a finalist in the Blues Foundation's International Blues Challenge 2006 in Memphis, Tenn.
Friday's night's stage entertainment starting at 7 p.m. will include Lee County native William Elliott Whitmore, Dr. X featuring Slink Rand and Popa Chubby. Whitmore's new CD, “Song of the Blackbird,” will be released on Tuesday. One reviewer said Whitmore “has developed an intense love and spiritual understanding of the land, which he flawlessly conveys through his second release, ‘Ashes To Dust.'”
Chubby's music “takes blues to the cutting edge, where it highfives its contemporary cousins rock, rap and hip hop,” one reviewer said. His CDs include “Stealing The Devil's Guitar,” “Peace, Love, and Respect” and “The Good, The Bad, and The Chubby.”
Saturday's free tent entertainment will start at 1:30 p.m. with a blues jam, followed by Raeann School of Dance, children's entertainment and local singer/guitarist Chuck Mitchell.
Ron Teamer & “Smokin' Guns” will kick off the night's stage entertainment at 6 p.m. Teamer and “Smokin' Guns” plays many venues around Kansas City and festivals in the Midwest. They took first place in the Kansas City Blues Challenge in 2004 and 2005.
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Watermelon Slim has spent more than 30 years as a musician. The blues community recognized him as one of the best contemporary international blues artists when he was nominated for the W.C. Handy Award for Best New Artist Debut in 2005. Real Blues Magazine also honored him for having the No. 1 Southern Blues CD of the Year.
The last act, The Kinsey Report, is known for its “brawny, blistering blues, gritty as a Gary steel mill.” Their records have included “Smoke and Steel,” “Edge of the City,” “Midnight Drive,” “Powerhouse” and “Crossing Bridges.”
Advance tickets cost $20 for both nights. Tickets for each night cost $12 apiece. Tickets are available in Keokuk at Hy-Vee, Keasling's and Meister Music.
A special 12-page section on this year's event will be included in Thursday's edition.
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