“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.

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.

A great way to waste dollars. Who needs money when you could have art?

http://www.scottcampbelltattoo.com

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