Bluesapalooza returns to Brooksville this weekend
Bluesapalooza is back in its sixth year taking over Hernando Park’s band shell and rocking the downtown with blues artists, vendors and family fun.
Each year, Brooksville welcomes a talented lineup of blues bands and presents an afternoon of family fun, centered on live music against the backdrop of historical downtown.
Sponsored by Hernando County Parks and Recreation, Bluesapalooza welcomes more than 1,000 visitors each year for the one-day event. And each year, the lineup gets better, with bands who have a passion for their music.
Up-and-coming musician Selwyn Birchwood will celebrate the release of his debut album, “Don’t Call No Ambulance.” Birchwood won the 2013 International Blues Challenge, a competition that included 125 bands. He also took the Albert King Guitarist of the Year Award.
A review by Rolling Stone highly recommended the album and called Birchwood “a powerhouse player and emotive performer whose work respects blues tradition but could not be more contemporary.
His band, his material, and both his skilled guitaring and soulful vocals are the essence of fully-formed” according to Rolling Stone’s review. “Birchwood is a major player, the sort of artist that assures his blues-devoted label many more years of prominence to come, and most importantly, a damn fine listen through and through.”
Birchwood, 29, is from Orlando and lives in Tampa. He received his MBA from the University of Tampa before forming the The Selwyn Birchwood Band in 2010.
Birchwood is scheduled to perform at Bluesapalooza at 6:45.
Other artists in this year’s lineup include the Black Swans, featuring Terry Cole and Nadine Joy; Steve Avery and the Delta Swamp Rats; RJ Howson Band, with Mike Kach; and the Sean Chambers Band.
The fun begins at 2 p.m. at Hernando Park, 205 E. Fort Dade Ave. in Brooksville, with venders, food, beer and wine and activities for the kids including access to the playground and a corn toss.
The cost is $5 for adults ages 12 and up and $1 for children ages 5-12. Children under 5 are admitted free.
No outside food or drink or coolers are allowed. Those attending are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets, sun screen, bug spray and cash for venders.
For more information contact the Hernando County Parks and Recreation Department at (352) 754-4031 or visit the website at www.hernandocounty.us.
Email Hernando Today correspondent Kim Dame @ [email protected].
