Buckle your seat belts, R&B fans. If you are in Abilene and you love Rhythm & Blues, mark your calendars for June 6, 2015. United Way of Abilene and their 25 Community Partners will be hosting this family-friendly event featuring performers Ruthie Foster, Tommy Castro, and Marcia Ball.
Ruthie Foster: From houses of worship to houses of blues, Ruthie Foster has always been a rafter-rattler. And with a soul-filled voice honed in Texas churches, she can move audiences to tears or ecstasy – sometimes in a single song. Foster has three Grammy nominated albums, including her most recent Promise of a Brand New Day.
Marcia Ball: The Texas-born, Louisiana-raised musical storyteller Marcia Ball has earned worldwide fame for her ability to ignite a full-scale roadhouse rhythm and blues party every time she strolls onto stage. She’s received five Grammy Award nominations, and is a member of the Gulf Coast Hall of Fame and Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
Tommy Castro: Born in San Jose, California in 1955, Tommy Castro first picked up a guitar at the age of 10. As he got older, Castro moved forward by investigating the past, falling in love with the blues guitar work of Muddy Waters and B.B. King and singers like Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett and James Brown. Castro has won four Blues Music Awards, including the coveted B.B. King Entertainer of the Year Award. His turbo-charged new Alligator Records album, The Devil You Know, strips his music down to its raw essence as he rockets into the next phase of his storied career.
Other performers include Malford Milligan, Mojo Assasins, and Rodney Patterson.
The Festival will be held at Frontier Texas and gates open at 1:00 p.m. Food, beverage, and festival merchandise will be available throughout the day. Tickets range in price from $35 – $200. Kids 12 and younger are admitted free with a ticketed adult. Tickets may be purchased at keycityblues.com, Eventbrite.com, or the festival’s Facebook page. Proceeds from the event will benefit United Way of Abilene and their Community Partners.
We are very excited for these artists to be performing in Abilene. And for proceeds to benefit the community, what better way to celebrate Abilene?
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