BATON ROUGE, LA (March 15, 2019)—Below is information on the stages and performance times for the 25th anniversary Baton Rouge Blues Festival. 45 performances and 9 interviews will take place across five stages April 13–14, 2019. The schedule also can be found online at batonrougebluesfestival.org/lineup.

 

SATURDAY, APRIL 13

Crown Royal LA 1 Stage (located in Repentance Park)

  • Killer Whale (1:30–2:45 p.m.)
  • Levee Road Revue (3:00–4:30 p.m.)
  • Greyhounds (4:45–6:15 p.m.)
  • Chris Leblanc Band with a Tribute to Lazy Lester (6:30–8:00 p.m.)
  • William Bell (8:15–9:45 p.m.)

 

Aetna Swamp Blues Stage (located in Galvez Plaza)

  • Cedric Watson (1:00–2:15 p.m.)
  • Little Freddie King (2:30–3:30 p.m.)
  • Warren Storm & Willie Tee & The Band Cypress with Special Guests (4:00–5:15 p.m.)
  • Henry Gray with special guests Bob Corritore and others (5:45–7:00 p.m.)
  • Celebration of Lazy Lester (7:00 p.m.)
  • Kenny Neal, Lil Ray Neal & Tyree Neal (7:30–8:45 p.m.)

Smoke-free EBR Soul of BR Stage (located at North Blvd. and River Rd.)

  • OMT (1:30–2:30 p.m.)
  • April ‘Sexy Red’ Jackson (3:00-4:00 p.m.)
  • Harvey Knox & The Soul Spectrum Band (4:30–5:45 p.m.)
  • Henry Turner (6:15–7:30 p.m.)

 

Front Porch Stage (located at North Blvd. and Convention)

  • Darcy Malone & The Tangle (1:15–2:30 p.m.)
  • Chicago Al & The Backburners (3:00-4:15 p.m.)
  • Smokehouse Porter & Miss Mamie (4:45–6:00 p.m.)

 

Blues Backstory Stage (inside the Old State Capitol Senate Chambers)

  • Chicago Al (1:00–1:45 p.m.)
  • Warren Storm (2:00–2:45 p.m.)
  • Smokehouse Porter & Miss Mamie (3:00–3:45 p.m.)
  • Chris Leblanc (4:00–4:45 p.m.)
  • William Bell (5:00–5:45 p.m.)

 

Busking in the Old State Capitol Rotunda

  • Barry Hebert, Steve Judice & Keith Harelson (12:00–12:30 p.m.)
  • Conner Lacour & Melissa Wilson (1:00–1:30 p.m.)
  • Amelia Ryland, Ameal Cameron & Pam Grisham (2:00–2:30 p.m.)
  • Kelly Haskew & Sarah Burke (3:00–3:30 p.m.)
  • Donald Gelpi & Ben Blair (4:00–4:30 p.m.)
  • J.M. Fritz, Worth Powers & Friends (5:00–5:30 p.m.)
  • Cupcake Strippers (6:00–6:30 p.m.)

 

SUNDAY, APRIL 14

Crown Royal LA 1 Stage

  • Lane Mack (1:30–2:45 p.m.)
  • Quiana Lynell (3:00–4:30 p.m.)
  • John ‘Papa’ Gros (4:45–6:15 p.m.)
  • Mavis Staples (6:30–8:00 p.m.)

Aetna Swamp Blues Stage          

  • Hogy & the Healers (1:00–2:15 p.m.)
  • Jonathon ’Boogie’ Long (2:30–3:45 p.m.)
  • Cedric Burnside (4:00–5:30 p.m.)
  • Deacon John Moore (5:45–7:15 p.m.)

 

Smoke-free EBR Soul of BR Stage            

  • DeAndre Tate & Company (1:30–2:30 p.m.)
  • Arthur Gremillion & Friends Community Choir (3:00–4:00 p.m.)
  • Elder Timothy Britten & Shabach (4:30–5:45 p.m.)
  • Zion Harmonizers (6:15–7:30 p.m.)

 

Front Porch Stage

  • The Excelleauxs (3:00-4:15 p.m.)
  • Sam Hogan (4:45–6:00 p.m.)

 

Blues Backstory Stage

  • Cedric Burnside (2:00–2:45 p.m.)
  • Quiana Lynell (3:00–3:45 p.m.)
  • Sam Hogan (4:00–4:45 p.m.)
  • Deacon John Moore (5:00–5:45 p.m.)

 

Busking in the Old State Capitol Rotunda

  • Bill Romano & Chris Fry (12:00–12:30 p.m.)
  • Oso Blues & Molly and the Squires (1:00–1:30 p.m.)
  • Eric Schmitt, Ryan Harris & Ralph Goodson (2:00–2:30 p.m.)
  • Denton Hatcher & Molly Taylor (3:00–3:30 p.m.)
  • Ben Herrington, Peter Simon & Chris Hochkeppel (4:00–4:30 p.m.)
  • Dale Harris Family Band (5:00–5:30 p.m.)
  • Dalton Wayne & the Warmadillos (6:00–6:30 p.m.)

 

Please note: Stage performance dates and times are subject to change. Any changes will be announced via our website, batonrougebluesfestival.org, and social media channels linked below.

 

About the Stages

Our largest stage, the Crown Royal LA 1 Stage, is located at the bottom of Repentance Park near River Road and features a variety of nationally and internationally acclaimed performers interpreting the blues in their own unique way. The stage’s namesake, LA Highway 1, connects all of Louisiana from Shreveport to Grand Isle, cutting through hometowns of Slim Harpo, Silas Hogan, Buddy Guy and Lazy Lester.

 

The Aetna Swamp Blues Stage, located under the Crest in Galvez Plaza, showcases homegrown talent and recognizes Louisiana blues history. This year’s Swamp Blues performers include nods to Lazy Lester’s Excello Records hits as well as Baton Rouge legends Raful Neal and Tabby Thomas through the next generation of talent, Kenny Neal and the Neal Family and Chris Thomas King.

 

With lively gospel and soul performances throughout the weekend, the Smoke-free EBR Soul of BR Stage pays homage to the setting where most blues performers first fell in love with music: through the church.

 

Front porches across the south have long been the scene of blues traditions being handed down from one generation to the next. Our Front Porch Stage, located in the neutral ground at North Boulevard and North Fourth Street, pays tribute to that rich history, providing the opportunity to see living legends playing intimate sets and future legends continuing to hone their craft.

 

Offering a reprieve from the sun in the Old State Capitol Senate Chambers, the Blues Backstory Stage features informal interviews and impromptu performances from musicians on the lineup, sharing how the blues shaped their careers. Each interview will be recorded by NOVAC BR and released on the festival’s YouTube channel in late April.

 

 

 

About the Baton Rouge Blues Festival
Free and open to the public, the 2019 Baton Rouge Blues Festival presented by Smoke-free East Baton Rouge will be held on April 13–14 in downtown Baton Rouge from 12 to 10 p.m. Originating in 1981, the Baton Rouge Blues Festival is one of the oldest free blues festivals in America. Produced by the Baton Rouge Blues Foundation, the festival is made possible in part by the Foundation's board of directors, a volunteer Blues Festival committee, local support and generous partners including 225 Magazine, Aetna, Ash Co., Bike Baton Rouge, City of Baton Rouge, Coca-Cola, Community Coffee, Coors Light, Courtyard by Marriott Baton Rouge Downtown, Crescent Crown, Crown Royal, Diageo, Dos Equis, Eagle 98.1, Entergy, Guaranty Broadcasting, Heineken, Hollywood Casino, Lamar Advertising, Launch Media, Louisiana Lottery, Louisiana Old State Capitol, Louisiana Travel / CRT Division of Arts, Manship Theatre, Miller Lite, NOVAC BR, Postlethwaite & Netterville, PODS Louisiana, Raising Cane's, Sharevista, Shaw Center for the Arts, Smoke-free East Baton Rouge, Visit Baton Rouge and WAFB. In order to keep the festival free, we appreciate your cooperation in supporting our vendors and not bringing any outside food or drink. All revenue generated from the festival goes toward the mission of the Blues Foundation to help continue the goal to promote, preserve and celebrate the Swamp Blues music native to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

 

Follow the festival on Twitter at @brbluesfest, on Facebook at facebook.com/brbluesfest or online at batonrougebluesfestival.org for the most up-to-date information.

 

About the Baton Rouge Blues Foundation

Founded in 2002, the Baton Rouge Blues Foundation is a non-profit organization striving to preserve, promote, and propel the swamp blues and Baton Rouge blues culture. Today the Foundation sponsors a variety of blues education programs, the Muddy River Revue concert series, the annual Baton Rouge Blues Foundation Gala, and the Baton Rouge Blues Festival. Our goals include the promotion of Louisiana swamp blues history while teaching everyone how swamp blues formally shaped and continues to contribute to Louisiana culture. The Muddy River Revue concert series gives current local bands the opportunity to pay tribute to the rich swamp blues traditions by covering classic songs for live audiences. Each year, the Baton Rouge Blues Foundation hosts the star-studded Baton Rouge Foundation Blues Gala, celebrating the blues and honoring local blues artists. A walk down the blue carpet, blues awards, live blues performances, and great dining and dancing highlight the evening. Our largest annual event, the Baton Rouge Blues Festival is a free weekend festival filled with local, state, and national blues musicians and artists celebrating their craft and sharing stories to over 40,000 fans and concert-goers from around the world.

 

Follow the foundation on Twitter at @brblues, on Facebook at facebook.com/brbluesfoundation/ or online at brbluesfoundation.org