Meet the Riverfront Blues Festival 2013 Bands!

Check out the lineup that performed at the 2013 Riverfront Blues Festival.

Friday, August 9th

Saturday, August 10th

Friday, August 9th Performers

6:00PM-8:00PM: RED HOT BLUE CHIPS

“The Red Hot Blue Chips”, was created 2007 to headline the Somers Cajun Street Dance. The band was so well received they went on to tour the state that year, playing concerts and festivals, and have been featured headliners ever since. They play a mix of Cajun, Zydeco and “Bludeco”, (a blues zydeco highbred) that is high energy party dance music.
This is truly an all-star band, comprised of artists who are in demand as studio musicians and featured performers. The core is comprised of members of Montana legends Big Daddy and the Blue Notes. To that solid rhythm section Steve “Big Daddy”Kelley added Connie Deeble on accordion/vocals, and singer/songwriter Kate McLoughlin. Marshall Noice, long time Blue Note drummer/vocalist, moved to rub board and this year, and “Dangerous”Don Caverly is on Drums. Of course Blue Note regulars, Rosie Brunetto (bass/vocals), and David Griffith, (Hammond Organ, keyboard, mandolin, sax and guitar), round out the sound.
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8:00PM-10:00PM: PETER KARP & SUE FOLEY

Peter Karp:
Gifted singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist and American troubadour, Peter Karp, is a master songsmith with an art for spinning true-to-life emotions, humor, and candor. With an upbringing that was equal parts southern Alabama and the swamps of New Jersey, Karp¹s music is fueled by the Yankee-Rebel juxtaposition. He first caught national attention with help from Rolling Stone guitarist Mick Taylor who recorded and toured with Karp on his first label release “The Turning Point.” Karp further established himself on the national scene as a critically acclaimed songwriter, and accomplished guitarist and pianist with the release of his Blind Pig debut entitled “Shadows and Cracks.” On the road across the U.S. and Canada, Karp repeatedly transfixes his live audiences. Critics compare his songwriting to John Hiatt and John Prine, with impressive guitar and slide licks infused by his love of Freddie King and Elmore James. Peter Karp personifies the amorphous Americana sound,seamlessly blending blues and roots music with a high sense of entertainment.
Sue Foley:
Sue Foley is considered to be one of the finest blues and roots artists working today. Born to a working class family, Sue spent her early childhood moving from Canadian town to town with her mother. At sixteen, she embarked on her professional career. By twenty-one, she was living in Austin TX and recording for the legendary blues label, Antone¹s Records. Her first release, “Young Girl Blues,” quickly established her unique talents as a blues guitarist and songwriter. Throughout the 90¹s she took to the road with her paisley Telecaster and honed her craft, working and sharing the stage with such artists as BB King, Buddy Guy, Lucinda Williams and Tom Petty. After moving back to Canada, Sue won the prestigious Juno Award for her critically acclaimed CD “Love Coming Down” as well as seventeen Maple Blues Awards.
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10:00PM-12:00AM: RAFAEL TRANQUILINO BAND

Rafael Tranquilino is known locally in the Seattle area as the lead front man and guitarist of his band, The Rafael Tranquilino Band. A power trio consisting of guitar, bass and drums that fuse rock, blues and funk with an alternative and fresh sound. He’ll play a searing riff, tease you with an old fashioned Delta slide and then bring you back down with his powerful lyrics. Rafael’s exciting style and notable chops have earned him the reputation of being one of the “hottest” young guitar slingers in the Pacific Northwest and his band was noted as “Best Blues Band of 2012” in the Tacoma Weekly.
Born in Mexico City, Rafael Tranquilino is a big city kid. He is accustomed to subways, stadium sports (especially baseball), and lots of opportunities to hear and play live music. His father, a newspaper journalist, fostered Rafael’s interest and talent in music. He started him on the piano when Rafael was just five years old. By the time he was nine, he was playing guitar, bass, and drums. After high school, he studied music at “La Escuela Superior de Composicion y Arreglo Musical” ESCAM and from a teacher from the “G,Martell University of Music” in Mexico City.
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Saturday, August 10th Performers

12:00PM-1:30PM: SKIVEES

This band is composed of three teenagers, but don’t let their age fool you! The SKIVEE’S took off as the two brothers ages 9 and 8, Nick Rusho and his brother Trevor Rusho, bass guitar and lead vocal, started picking up their dad’s gear and playing around. Next thing we knew we were playing songs like Louie Louie, and other three chord songs. We played a few times with dad at car shows and parties. Great fun, again, again.
Justin Perkins, guitar and back vocals soon joined the band. We now had three of us heading into the fifth and sixth grade playing rock an roll. It was a cool school year, we played for the whole school the last day, Alice Cooper “School’s Out for Summer” and other classic songs.
Skivee’s have brought back the songs that the parents remember but their generation are loving because of the video game Guitar Hero. “If we hear a newer song that matches our sound we add it to the list. We try to make our originals feel catchy and modern without losing our classic sound.”
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3:30PM-5:30PM: CARL REY & THE BLUES GATORS

This 32-year veteran of the jazz and blues scene is a jumpin’ swingin’ machine known for his strong vocals and clean harmonica sound. Carl Rey has received the Inland Empire Blues Society award for best harmonica several years running, as well as awards for best male vocalist. The group, which has performed at Sunbanks many times over the years, also garnered IEBS nominations for best CD and best blues band.
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5:30PM-7:30PM: BEN RICE BAND

The Ben Rice Trio has been described by outsiders as Rockabilly, Swamp Rock, and Soul infused Country. Ben himself says the band’s music is the kitchen sink of Blues mixed with his band mate’s influences of Punk, Hip-Hop, and Classic Rock. Their sound is molded by the instruments they yield. Ben playing a dobro, lap steel, and the infamous cigar box guitar. While his brother and bassist Tommy Rice plays a large bodied upright bass. These throwback and vintage voiced instruments are supported by Ryan Rustrum’s big drum sound that creates a fresh yet true to its heritage sound.
His latest album, “Pour Me Some Whiskey” is a testament to that. The album features songs exemplifying various sub-genres of blues. Songs like, “Wreck on You” a hard rocking in your face song that conjures up Johnny Cash meets Motörhead, “Chop You Up” a fast swinging jump blues, straight out of the West Coast tradition, “Don’t Worry Mama” a fan favorite inspired by Reverend Gary Davis, and “I Know You Love Me” a song out of the Memphis soul tradition.
While their sound is unique and appeals to all kinds of music lovers, their stage presence and energy is what brings audiences regularly to their feet. In addition to Ben’s virtuosic slide and fret work, Tommy’s wild stage antics create a spectacle as he, twirls, spins, stands on, and on occasion sets fire to his bass. Ryan is not to be left behind in showmanship, as he can be seen out front drumming on the strings of the bass while Tommy frets the notes.
The magnetizing energy of the Ben Rice Trio performances originates in the band’s love of playing music. This energy feeds the audience and elevates the overall live music experience. The band’s intermixture of musical styles ensures that each music set is interesting and engaging for listeners. The band takes great enjoyment in performing such a varied repertoire so fervently.
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7:30PM-9:30PM: RANDY OXFORD BAND

When one thinks of award-winning instrumentalists in the rhythm-and-blues realm, the trombone is definitely not the first instrument that comes to mind. Most of the trophies in this game, at least on the national level, seem to go to electric guitarists, with the occasional harmonica player, keyboardist, or saxophonist picking up an award or two along the way. That makes Randy Oxford the proverbial “big frog” in the very small pond of blues-based trombonists, having chalked up seventeen awards from the Washington Blues Society in various categories over the course of his career. The Randy Oxford Band won the Best New Band citation for 2003, and its subsequent debut CD, ALL THE BUZZ, is sure to generate even more accolades.
Born in 1960 in Seattle’s Ballard district, Oxford heard a wide range of music from his parents’ record collection during his formative years, and when he moved with his family to Chicago at age eleven, the listening opportunities only increased. “My parents played classical, jazz, pop, and even some Sousa,” he recalls. “George Shearing was a big favorite on the record player as was Peggy Lee, Boots Randolph, Henry Mancini, Sinatra, Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich, Woody Herman, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Crosby, and of course, Tommy Dorsey. My parents would go out to the London House in Chicago and see many of these groups perform live, and then they would come home with their albums and play them all day long. They would take me to see the Chicago Symphony one week and then Stan Kenton the next week. I learned early on that there was a whole wide world full of all kinds of music out there, and I felt very lucky to be around it at such an early age.”
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9:30PM-11:30PM: BILL MAGEE BLUES BAND

Born in Collins, the back woods of Mississippi in 1943, Willie (Bill) Magee grew up loving music, listening to Muddy Waters, Elmore James, and B.B. King on his Father’s small radio. Life was difficult and Willie experienced many hard knocks. His mother died when he was four years old and his father followed when he was just thirteen. Taken from his parentless home, his older brother Deloy moved him to his tiny one room flat in Ithaca, New York. Determined to finish high school, Willie concentrated on his studies while Deloy worked hard to support him.
In 1963, Jimi Hendrix was playing as Jimmy James when Bill ‘Willie’ Magee met, befriended and eventually joined up with Hendrix to form the band “Jimmy James and the Flames.” In 1967, Hendrix went to England, and Magee took his newly formed band, the “Kansas City Playboys” on a tour around Europe. Most recently voted – Best Blues Band in San Diego – by both the San Diego Music Association and the Reader Magazine, Magee was born in Mississippi but nurtured his musical roots in New York City ‘s Harlem. Bill Magee continued in the NYC music scene for almost three decades as leader of the Kansas City Playboys. Magee has performed with every great blues player imaginable, including multiple performances at the famed Apollo Theater. Relocating to Southern California in the late eighties, Bill formed his current band in San Diego in 1993. Willie is the real deal playing NYC, Chicago style, and southern blues with an electrifying connection to his audience.
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Riverfront Blues Archives

Experience a "Blast from the Past" and see who has played the Libby Riverfront Blues Festival in previous years! Check out bands and band bios all the way back to 2011.

Get Your Tickets!

Make sure you reserve a place by purchasing your tickets ahead of time. Tickets can be easily purchased at a local retailer in Libby or Eureka!

Camp at the Festival!

We offer camping in a beautiful park for only $15 for one night or $25 for both Friday and Saturday nights. Bring your trailer, RV or tents! We provide restrooms and showers as well as a free shuttle to and from the Riverfront Blues Festival venue!