Blues fest brings funk, family, food and fun

The Riverfront Blues Festival can be described using four words; funk, family, food and fun.

“There will be great blues music performed by awesome bands,” Carol Oedewaldt, a coordinator for the event said. “There will be great food served. It’s just a fun family event.”

The seventh annual Riverfront Blues Festival will take place at Riverfront Park in Libby.

“The crowd has grown each year,” Brent Shrum, one of the coordinators of the event said. “It’s a really good time. Blues music is very universal, it’s easy to connect with.”

The Riverfront Blues Festival is a nonprofit event run by the Libby Revitalization Project with the goal of helping out the Libby economy by showcasing the beauty of Libby.

“It’s a good community event,” Oedewaldt said. “But, it attracts people from outside the community, which is good for the city.”

The event will start Friday, August 7, and come to an end Saturday, August 8.

“It’s probably the best lineup we’ve had,” Shrum said. “We get contacted by a lot of bands that want to come and play. Bands are usually banging on our door to come play. They hear about how great of an event and venue it is and they want to be a part of it.”

Three-Eared Dog will kick off the event with a two-hour performance at 6 p.m. Friday.

Three-Eared Dog has been playing together for the past three years in bars in Montana.

“Three-Eared Dog is from Missoula,” Shrum said. “They are a young band. They played at our Taste of the Blues last summer.”

Stacy Jones Band will play from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m. Jones comes from the Seattle area and has been playing piano since she was four years old. She’s an award-winning artist, winning the Washington Blues Society Best Female Vocalist in 2009 and 2014.

The Lionel Young Band will wrap things up on Friday, performing from 10 p.m. until midnight. The Lionel Young band won the International Blues Challenge band competition in 2011.

“The Lionel Young Band will be a real hit,” Shrum said. “He has a strong stage presence and a unique style. He plays a violin, which is not something you see very often.”

Saturday performances will start with Randy McAllister at 1:30 p.m.

“Randy comes from Texas,” Shrum said. “He has a different style. He has the Texas blues style with a country pinch.”

Suze Sims will perform from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. She is the three-time female vocalist for the Washington Blues Society.

Kevin Van Dort will perform from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

“This will be the third appearance at the event for Kevin,” Shrum said. “He’s back by popular demand. He’s out of Kalispell and puts on a strong show.”

James Armstrong will follow Van Dort. Armstrong comes from a musical family. His mother was a blues singer and his father played guitar. He has been touring the country since he was 17 years old.

“Armstrong brings that traditional Chicago Blues music,” Shrum said. “He’s been called the ambassador of the blues. He puts on a great show.”

Dennis Jones Band will perform from 9:30 p.m. until 11:30 p.m.

“The Dennis Jones Band comes from the Los Angeles area,” Shrum said. “They are a very hot band. He has his own style, but it’s got the traditional blues feel. He has high energy when he plays and has a great rapport with the crowd.”

From 11:30 p.m. until 1 a.m. members from every band will perform together in an All-Star Jam.

“It’s going to be a real strong finish,” Shrum said. “With the Dennis Jones Band, James Armstrong and the All-Star Jam.”

There will be a number of food vendors serving up a variety of food to go along with the musical entertainment.

Bubba’s Texas BBQ will be serving smoke house barbecue briskets and ribs with sides of coleslaw and baked beans. They will also be serving pulled pork sandwiches.

The Knights of Columbus will be serving hamburgers, brats, fries and chicken on a stick. For dessert they will be serving chocolate, vanilla and huckleberry shakes and root beer floats.

The Libby Chamber of Commerce will be dishing up vanilla ice cream with a number of topping selections.

Iron Orrkids Concessions will be serving fresh squeezed lemonade. Island Noodles and Whatzup Mexican are two new additions to the Riverfront Blues Festival food vendors. Island Noodles will be serving Yaki-Soba noodles that are made with buckwheat. The noodles are stir-fried with garlic, ginger and a medley of 21 vegetables.

Head south of the border to try Whatzup Mexican’s chicken burritos and their hard and soft-shell tacos.

Oedewaldt said that there will be a selection of beer and wine for those thirsting an adult beverage on a hot summer day.

“There will be a wide variety of beer and wine available,” Oedewaldt said.

There will also be a number of craft vendors at Riverfront Park. The Cabinet Mountain Jewerly & Pottery, Yaak River Creations, Smoke Showin’ BBQ, and Primal Montana will all be in attendance selling their craft goods.

Shrum said that the event is great for the economy of Libby because it brings in people from outside the community.

“We have people that come from all over the Pacific Northwest and Canada,” Shrum said. “Its nice having people come from out of town and stay in Libby and stimulate the economy. It’s always a good event with good music.”