“The Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival will prove to be the next great landmark in Chicago music culture” – Herschel Concepcion, Jambase.com

Chicago, IL – September 5th, 2009. The Congress Theater, in conjunction with Chicago independents Kingtello Presents, is proud to announce the second coming of the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival (cbbfestival.com). While rooted in the foot-stomping influences of bluegrass and blues, the festival will transport the concertgoer through the genre-defying evolution of music today. The all-ages one-day event, held on Saturday, December 12th from 11am to midnight, will serve as a tribute to two schools of music that continue to shape and inspire contemporary rock, jamband, funk, folk, roots, Americana, and indie cultures.

Against the backdrop of an official Chicago landmark and one of the last of the classic “movie palaces,” fans will be treated to a party with a purpose, featuring 3 stages and 25 bands for less than the typical price of the headliners alone. Six-time Grammy-winner Béla Fleck and his Flecktones will unite for their first Chicago date together since mid-2007, as Béla has been devoting extended stints to the likes of the Sparrow Quartet, The Africa Project, Edgar Meyer, and Zakir Hussain.

They’ll be joined by Philadelphia’s psych-folk harmonizers, Dr. Dog, who’ve rapidly ascended the public consciousness this year with breakout performances at both Coachella and Camp Bisco. The Emmitt-Nershi Band, uniting Leftover Salmon’s mandolin and vocals (Drew Emmitt) with the songwriting and flat-picking guitar of the String Cheese Incident (Billy Nershi), joins the party as well. And Eddie “The Chief” Clearwater, proudly declared “Chicago’s premier blues entertainer” by the Chicago Tribune, will properly represent the scene that put his city on the international music map.

Tickets for the festival go on sale on Saturday, September 12^th at 9am CST for $35 through the event’s website (cbbfestival.com), ticketmaster.com, and clubtix.net.

The Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival will offer a musical reprieve from the merciless Chicago Winter by adapting elements of a summer music festival to the historic and intimate indoor setting In addition to 13 hours of 3 stages worth of nonstop music, the day’s activities will also include a pickin’ circle, a live-art exhibition and indoor gallery, charitable raffles, film screenings, the original Blues Brothers car, and impromptu marching band performances.

In between main stage sets, an array of performers will treat festival-goers to special “pop-up” sets from the Congress Theater’s historic balcony.

Joing the Headliners on the Main Stage – Last Banjo Standing Contest: Organizers have announced that they will once again hold the “LAST BANJO STANDING,” an online contest that scours Chicagoland to find the top bluegrass or blues inspired artist. The winner, as voted on by fans, family, friends and music lovers around the city will join the headliners on the main stage roster. Sign up and vote at cbbfestival.com/contest.

About the Charities:

And while the festival will serve to break a band or two, festival-goers will get to help children. A portion of ticket proceeds will be donated to two non-profit organizations, the Saving tiny Hearts Society (www.savingtinyhearts.org), and Prevent Child Abuse America (www.preventchildabuse.org)

Lineup:

The complete artist roster includes:

Béla Fleck & the Flecktones

Dr. Dog

Emmitt-Nershi Band

Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater

The Giving Tree Band

Josh Phillips Folk Festival

Van Ghost

Majors Junction

Chicago Farmer

Jaik Willis

Mike Mangione & The Band

Holy Ghost Tent Revival

Tangleweed

Environmental Encroachment

Squeeze-bot

GreenSugar

How Far to Austin

Liberty Bluegrass Band

The Right Now

Cobalt & the Hired Guns

The Shams Band

Goodbyehome

The Junior League Band

· Sample them all at cbbfestival.com

About the Congress Theater:

The Congress Theater (www.congresschicago.com) is an official Chicago City Landmark and one of the largest and most unique entertainment venues in the entire city. Over a quarter-million music fans visit the Congress each year to see acts such as The Shins, Girl Talk, Prince, Tiesto, The Roots, The Killers, Ludacris and Dave Chappelle in one the last of the city’s classic movie ‘palaces.’

Built in 1926 and designed by Friedstein & Co, the 4,000 capacity theatre features a mix of architectural styles, including neo-classical and Italian Baroque, with an elaborate domed auditorium covered with decorations in stone, terra-cotta, and plaster. In addition to the main theater, the venue also features a spacious four-story Entrance Pavilion, Skybox Suites and private meeting rooms and exhibition areas. The theater is located in the burgeoning Logan Square/Bucktown/Wicker Park area, the seat of the artistic and music communities in the Midwest. It sits perfectly situated, in close proximity to the immense variety of ethic and social communities that it serves, just blocks from the 90/94 expressway, Metra and CTA blue line trains.

The Giving Tree Band is a group of Illinois boys who share not only their music but a love of nature. Described as progressive old time, eco-billy, and indie folk rock, their modern vintage approach is all about doing right by the song. The band is blazing a new artistic path and pioneering some of the most innovative methods to capture the sounds of their simple, time-tested acoustic instruments. The band does its best to support a culture of sustainability, using instruments built from naturally fallen trees and reclaimed woods, producing music with renewable energy, and packaging everything with recycled materials. The group’s upcoming CD has been called the “greenest of albums” by the Chicago Sun-Times. If music is the wine that fills the cup of silence, then The Giving Tree Band is young but mature, robust yet smooth, accessible but rare, and most importantly, organically grown. 

The Giving Tree Band’s music and activities have been highlighted by top Chicago media and beyond including WGN TV, NBC News, ABC News, CBS News, Discovery Channel, New York Newsday, Madison Magazine, Mother Earth News, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Jambase, Satellite Radio, National Public Radio, PBS Television, and more. They have performed alongside some legendary bluegrass artists such as Del McCoury and David Grisman as well as the best of emerging indie folk rockers such as The Avett Brothers and Dr. Dog and plenty of other amazing acts in-between. The band has also appeared with notable non-musical guests such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., African water crisis expert Emmanuel Opong, and US Senator Dick Durbin. 

Life at a Time – The Giving Tree Band

With his reintroduction to the pop world behind him, renowned singer-songwriter Yusuf, the artist known as Cat Stevens, is back and ready to once again strike up an intimate relationship with his audience with his newest release, Roadsinger (to warm you through the night).

“People forget that in our first five months of being together we were playing raves in front of 10,000 people.”

The Prodigy is ”the most pulverizing, pummeling and pleasuring rockers in the land.” They are known for their outstanding live performance and making dance floors come alive more than ever before. With a short  “Invaders Must Die” tour, Chicago is privileged be one of the 9 cities to have these maniacs of electro-dance with a metal twist come and blow our minds.

Check out an entire article in TimeOut about Liam Howlett and their amazing ability to make the crowd go wild. The Prodigy will be playing with Tiga on Saturday night at Congress Theater!

65 Year old, Geoff Ostling donates his body to museum when he after he passes.The 65-year-old tattoo legend plans to be skinned, so that his “flesh canvas,” a celebrated work of art, can be put on display in one of Australia’s most prestigious galleries. He has taken his skin to new heights.

The Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival today announced their support of the RESPECT! CampaignSM – an innovative new campaign to end domestic and sexual violence by starting with respect. The campaign benefits the Family Violence Prevention Fund and encourages everyone to do their part to prevent abuse by giving and teaching respect to the young people in their lives.

In support of the campaign, a variety of performers at the November 22 festival at Chicago’s Congress Theater will be sharing stories about the people they respect most and asking the audience to support the campaign by texting the keyword “respect” to 41010, adding a $5 donation to the Family Violence Prevention Fund to their mobile bill.

To learn more, visit GiveRespect.org

Got questions about what the show will be like, what the rules will be, or what we’ll be wearing? Feel free to e-mail us at Michael.raspatello@gmail.com. Hopefully, however, here are some of the answers you were looking for….

SHOW SCHEDULE

*2 Stages, a Balcony, 18 Acts, and Costumed Marching Band “Environmental Encroachment” parading throughout the venue at impromptu times

MAIN STAGE
12:30-1:15pm – Donnie Biggins
1:15-1:30 – Tangleweed
1:30-2:15 - Dollar Store
2:15-2:45 – Tangleweed/Chicago Sketch Comedy Troupe “Cell Camp”
2:45-3:30 – Billy Childers
3:30-4:00 – Tangleweed/Chicago Sketch Comedy Troupe“Cell Camp”
4:00-4:45 – Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials
4:45-5:15 – Tangleweed/Chicago Sketch Comedy Troupe“Cell Camp”
5:15-6:15 – Majors Junction
6:15-6:45 – Tangleweed/Chicago Sketch Comedy Troupe“Cell Camp”
6:45-7:45 – Ha Ha Tonka
7:45-8:15 – The Giving Tree Band
8:15-9:45 - David Grisman Quintet
9:45-10:15 – The Giving Tree Band
10:15-However Long They Want – The Avett Brothers

Jambase.com’s 312 PAVILION STAGE
Noon-12:45 – Blue Room Hero
1:00-1:45 – Cobalt & the Hired Guns
2:00-2:45 - Lindsey O’Brien Band & Friends
3:00-3:45 - Mike Mangione
4:00-4:45 – Jessica Lee
5:00-5:45 – How Far to Austin
6:00-6:45 – Blue Mother Tupelo
7:00-8:00 – Blackdog

• This show is All Ages, runs from 11am-Midnight-ish, tickets are $31 until day-of, when it increases (if there are any left)

• Unlimited Re-Entry: Can come and go freely to and from the theater until 5pm.  AFTER 5PM YOU CAN STILL ARRIVE.  All this means is that once you’ve left the building after 5pm, you can’t come back in.  As in, if you leave at 4:59 you can still get stamped and come back any time throughout the night.  However a minute later that would not be an option. 

• Smoking lounge access without leaving the theater. Security is about as strong as a one-armed swimmer (as in “weak”)

• Sketch Comedy throughout the day from Chicago Sketch Comedy Group “Cell Camp”

• An open jam session and picking circle from the second the doors open. Musicians are all invited to bring their instruments and participate. There’ll be an “instrument check” along with the coat check so that you don’t have to lug your noisemaker around with you all day.

• Over 50 booths of artists, vendors, and charitable causes. Artists will be creating their art on-site and selling it while the Saving Tiny Hearts Society will be raffling off swag from the artists

• The theater is located at 2135 N. Milwaukee (just north of Armitage). There is street parking available all around the theater, as well as very cheap reserved parking by clicking here

• Traveling to the theater is easy via the CTA, as it is within two blocks of the Blue Line train stations at California (& Milwaukee) and Western (& Milwaukee) which operate twenty four hours a day. The theater is also served by the following bus routes: #52 Kedzie/Calfornia, #56 Milwaukee, #73 Armitage, #49 Western (www.transitchicago.com)

• The theater is also a quick walk or bus ride from the METRA train station at Clybourn & Ashland on the Union Pacific District Northwest line. Exit the station to the south to transfer to the #73 Armitage bus going west on Cortland Ave. to the theater.

• The “Official After-Party” will be held at Chicago’s #1 rock club The Elbo Room immediately following the show. Entry is free with your festival ticket. Check out more details at elboroomchicago.com

•A WARM FUZZY FEELING FOR MAKING THIS EVENT AMAZING AND HELPING PEOPLE AT THE SAME TIME!

by Mike Mering, mikemering@gmail.com, Senior cbbfestival.com correspondent

Starbucks. Burger King. (Insert large cell phone company of your choice): Need NOT apply.

You may have noticed this absence of large corporate involvement and major sponsorship at the inaugural Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival (www.cbbfestival.com)

Besides being the only winter music festival, Chicago Bluegrass & Blue is also the only independent music festival of this scale to hit Chicago in recent memory. The festival boasts major acts such as the Avett Brothers, David Grisman and Ha Ha Tonka alongside a roster of surging local and national talent.

“Major producers and major labels are not needed to throw a major event, just independently minded people looking to invest in a righteous cause” explains festival founder Mike Raspatello.

It’s this sort of resolve that has united festival artists and organizers for what is gearing up to be a groundbreaking event

In fact, nearly all of the artists and producers participating in the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues festival are independent entities.  While the Avett Brothers have recently joined forces with the renowned Rick Rubin and his American Recordings label, they have long been faithful to their Ramseur Records roots.

Check out the stats…

The Labels:
“There is an inherent spirit of independence that resonates with all parties involved in the event from sponsors to the artists and their record labels,” says Raspatello.

Alligator Records and Bloodshot Records, both Chicago-based labels, along with David Grisman’s Acoustic Disc Records, have been nurturing indie artists for decades and will spotlight artists of its own at the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues festival. Grisman’s Acoustic Disc Records is best known for its collaborations with Jerry Garcia who, in 1990, decided to record with Grisman’s independent label for his first acoustic-only disc.

The Venue:
Providing the platform for the festival is the legendary Congress Theater, a successfully run concert hall that operates free of overriding corporate ownership or partnership. This is a rarity today as most existing concert halls with large capacities and prime locales have succumb to the lure of corporate takeover.

Jam Production and Live Nation have a stranglehold on all large concert production, even with C3 Presents recently entering the market with Lollapalooza and a limited partnership with the Congress Theater.

Sponsors:
Take one look at the festival’s “Partners” page and you will see an assortment of independent-minded businesses (www.cbbfestival.com/partners)

Producers:
Just a couple of guys, such as independent producers Michael Raspatello, Lucas King, Max Wagner, Jeff Callahan, and Will Lambert, with great support from the Congress Theater

What does all this mean to the concertgoer?
Saturday November 22, you will be a part of history in the making. Creativity will be tapped in many forms. There will be no restraint from those corporations more concerned with squeezing money from your pockets than producing a quality, free-flowing, energized assembly of music and art.

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve had a handful of our artists featured on podcasts around the land, including the Chicago staple that is Michael Teach’s Chicago Acoustic Underground , In Search of a Song, and Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour.

Throw these on in your new fancy earbuds and enjoy the sweet stylings of The Giving Tree Band, How Far to Austin, Majors Junction, and Eli Jones (who played our official pre-party at Fitzgerald’s last week)

Radio Relics Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival Special from WRLR: http://www.mypodcast.com/cached/radiorelics_20081118_0903-332937-159989-2-25.mp3

Green Arrow Radio’s Preview: http://www.greenarrowradio.com/2008/11/18/chicago-bluegrass-blues/

The Giving Tree Band: http://www.woodsongs.com/showlist.asp

The Giving Tree Band: http://isoas.wordpress.com/category/1-americana/the-giving-tree-band/

David Grisman Quintet: http://isoas.wordpress.com/category/1-americana/david-grisman/

Eli Jones: http://chicagoacoustic.net/podcasts/episode-167—eli-jones.html

How Far to Austin: http://chicagoacoustic.net/podcasts/episode-166—how-far-to-austin.html

Majors Junction: http://chicagoacoustic.net/podcasts/episode-169—majors-junction.html

And for the greatest acappella performance in the history of anything:

CHICAGO’S MOST SOUGHT-AFTER ROCKUMENTARIANS POISED TO FILM A FIRST FOR CHARITY: WIGGLE PUPPY PRODUCTIONS ON BOARD TO CAPTURE INAUGURAL CHICAGO BLUEGRASS & BLUES FESTIVAL

An event boasting such a diverse bill piled into such a historic building couldn’t go unrecorded.  Wiggle Puppy Productions, the enigmatic filmmakers behind popular High Definition concert films of icons like Phish,, The Flaming Lips, Umphrey’s McGee, Matisyahu, and the Secret Machines, have offered their services to ensure that it won’t.

From WPP's "Umphrey's McGee: Wrapped Around Chicago"

While David Grisman, The Avett Brothers, The Giving Tree Band, Ha Ha Tonka, Lil ‘Ed and the rest of the artists lead the foot-stomping on-stage at the inaugural Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival (www.cbbfestival.com), director Mark Krieglstein and producer Sara Yule will coordinate the filming of 18 sets and 24 hours of music. The duo will use their footage to create a live album and concert documentary of Chicago’s historic winter music festival, available for digital download in return for a donation to the Saving Tiny Heats Society’s (www.savingtinyhearts.org) research efforts.

In addition to helping a righteous and homegrown cause, the production will mark the first performance to be filmed inside the historic Chicago City Landmark.

Upon completion of the feature length documentary, Wiggle Puppy’s cinematic tribute to this needed addition to the city’s winter concert calendar will be available on cbbfestival.com and leading download destinations.  All profits from the sales of these HD video downloads will go to support the Saving Tiny Hearts Society’s mission to find cures for America’s #1 birth defect.

ABOUT WIGGLE PUPPY PRODUCTIONS:

WPP has cut out a small niche making films and videos working with an eclectic group of organizations and bands including but definitely not limited to: Phish, The Flaming Lips, Super Furry Animals, Dios (Malos), Ingrid Michaelson, Candylion (w/ Gruff Rhys of SFA), The Benevento Russo Duo, Dead Meadow, Preface 73, Califone, Dan Wilson, Meiko, Natalie Walker, Bustle in Your Hedgerow, Grace Potter, The Benevento Russo Duo, Addison Groove Project, The North Mississippi AllStars, Taj Mahal, Los Lobos, moe, Matisyahu, The Mink Lungs, Burning Spear, Jennifer Hartswick Band, Big Frog (”Japan’s only Jamband”), Chris Berry & Panjea, The Violent Femmes, Raq, Joshua Radin, Panavision, The Hotel Café Tour 2008, The Art of Being, etc. as well as local Chicago talents such as: Umphrey’s McGee, Ultra Sonic Edukators, Gio, The Giving Tree Band, Future Rock, Todd Carey, Dearborn, Andreas Kapsalis Trio, Oucho Sparks, Treologic, Wicker Park Festival, Silver Wrapper Presents, Triple Dat Mas, amongst many many other