*Pink “Vote for my Rack” apparel will also be on sale – with a portion of the proceeds going to the American Cancer Society.

This year’s SunTrust Big Lick Blues Festival , on Sat. Oct. 2 (Elmwood Park, downtown Roanoke, VA) will be the best yet!  And that’s saying something since over the last few years we’ve had Delbert McClinton, John Hammond, Shemekia Copeland, Jimmy Thackery, Jimmy Hall, Paul Thorn, Anna Popovic, Hamilton Loomis and others on stage!

So you can get a preview of the music – our friend “Bratha Dave” from BluzNdaBlood has just competed  show #102 for his podcast – it features the artists and music from this year’s SunTrust Big Lick Blues Festival.  Enjoy!

You can subscribe to the BluzNdaBlood Blues Podcast via iTunes too!

If you’d like to contact “Bratha Dave” here’s his email.

Don’t forget the best ticket deal is town is the Advance Discount of $22.00 – available online or a all regional SunTrust Bank locations – click here for details.  SunTrust customers also get a discount!

This is a unique opportunity because this event has grown to become a highly anticipated festival every year and unlike other events, Big Lick Blues will not have rigid guidelines for vendors (approval based upon application review). Fabulous local restaurants cooking up ribs and BBQ, People’s Choice awards, Rib eating contest and great blues and jazz music are just some of the elements that make this event so popular.

This year SunTrust Big Lick Blues is excited to bring Grammy winning performers like Jimmie Vaughan, Teresa James and John Lee Hooker Jr. to the Roanoke Valley. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to have prime space during an event that brings over 3,000 people to Elmwood Park.

Click here to print your merchant vendor application or e-mail amanda@eventzone.org.

If you have any questions or need additional information please do not hesitate to contact Amanda Gaylor.

]]> http://www.eventzone.org/2010/08/now-accepting-merchant-vendor-applications-for-suntrust-big-lick-blues-festival-oct-2/feed/ 0 http://www.eventzone.org/2010/08/its-time-again-for-the-3rd-annual-humana-big-lick-ice-cream-dance/ http://www.eventzone.org/2010/08/its-time-again-for-the-3rd-annual-humana-big-lick-ice-cream-dance/#comments Sun, 29 Aug 2010 19:04:36 +0000 Larry http://www.eventzone.org/?p=2939 This Thursday at  Party in the Park, featuring The Kings, Humana will once again present the Big Lick Ice Cream Dance and an ice cream social.    Courtesy of Humana, there will be yummy flavors of Homestead Creamery ice cream for your enjoyment – all FREE while supplies last.  If you’ve never witnessed this before you won’t want to miss this year’s.  Couples will compete to provide the most entertaining dance while holding a HUGE ice cream cone!  If you want to enter, all you have to do is show up; we will be picking competitors before the band break at 7:00.

Become a fan on Facebook and stay up to date with announcements and weather updates!

Check out the video of 1st Annual Humana Big Lick Ice Cream Dance!

*These amazing specials are only for Party in the Park goers!  Be sure to pick up your  “Downtown Getdown” Card at Party in the Park. Become a fan on Facebook for updates on Downtown Getdown, weather and any other changes.

Wed. Sept. 15, 2010

Market Square downtown Roanoke  – starting at 6:00pm.

Become a Facebook Fan of this concert so we can keep you up to date on teh latest news and also so we can provide you with a sneak preview from the “Down South” CD when we get it.

Unfortunately, while living the “life of a bluesman” he succumbed to the demons that surround it, derailing his musical career for many, many years. Drugs, alcohol, divorce, incarceration, and death nearly brought his once promising career to a screeching halt, but it was living the blues and his faith in the Almighty that resurrected Jr. Hooker. With the support of his family and friends, and a crew of talented musicians who never ceased to believe in him, Jr. Hooker finally found his own inner muse, making music that expresses the depth of emotion he has experienced in his personal life.

His first album, Blues with a Vengeance, is what he called his “celebratory redemption.” After struggling through years of extreme hardship and nearly losing himself to the streets, the remarkable John Lee Hooker Jr. overcame the adversity to begin a rapid emergence into the blues spotlight. Released in April 2004, Blues with a Vengeance certainly lived up to its name by wrapping up 2004 with a Grammy nomination in the Traditional Blues Album category and a nomination for a distinguished W.C. Handy Award as Best New Artist Debut. The California Music Awards (formerly the BAMMYS) named Blues with a Vengeance 2004’s Outstanding Blues Album of the Year, and the Bay Area Blues Society presented John Lee Hooker Jr. with the 2004 Comeback Artist of the Year award, as he performed alongside world-class musicians Jimmy Reed, BB King, Bo Diddley, Lenny Kravitz, Taj Mahal, Koko Taylor, Charlie Musslewhite, Etta James, and John Lee Hooker.

Cold As Ice, Jr. Hooker’s second album, was released in June of 2006 and showed his progression as a contemporary blues artist. Blending his roots with a modern sound, his style is indicative of his Motown base. Music enthusiasts describe his style as R&B, Jazz, Funk, and “down home blues”. While the record did not gather as much attention as his debut, it received positive reviews across the board and solidified Jr. Hooker as one of blues’ rising stars. Epitomizing the synthesis between traditional blues and the new age funk, the record at times pays homage to his father while at others it blazes a trail of its own.

John Lee Hooker Jr. releases his third CD, All Odds Against Me only to discover the impact it has made worldwide in its infancy… it generated a ‘08 Grammy nomination. Jr. Hooker continues to carry the blues into the 21st. century. The 12-song album was his first effort to include only new original tracks, a contrast to either of his previous solo projects.

Additionally, Jr. continues to stretch the envelope, becoming blues’ first animated superhero in a cartoon included on the enhanced disc. The first episode of “Bluesman” introduces Jr. Hooker. as a crime-fighting musician, singing in clubs by night and cleaning up the streets by day. Conceived by Frenchman Laurent Mercier at the Callicore Animation Studios in Paris, the video series has also inspired work to begin on a comic book. Mercier, son of a French jazzman contemporary of Hooker Sr., dreamt up the idea as a way for the two sons to pay tribute to their fathers’ legacies and Jr. immediately embraced the vision. Set to “Blues Ain’t Nothing but a Pimp” from Blues with a Vengeance, the video is the first of three to be released in 2008.

From the gravely blues of the Detroit streets to a new era of sound; from the shadow of his father’s accomplishments to standing apart from his namesake; from criminal to crime-fighter; from San Quentin to the Red Carpet, its no wonder the album is called All Odds Against Me. John Lee Hooker Jr. has built upon his colorful past as he continues to distinguish himself as a contemporary “Bluesman.”

See John Lee Hooker. Jr, at the Sat. Sept. 2, 2010 SunTrust Big Lick Blues Festival in Elmwood Park, downtown Roanoke.  Advance discount tickets are available now online or at all regional SunTrust Bank branch locations for just $22.00. Also appearing are Teresa James & The Rhythm Tramps and 4x Grammy winner, “Mr. Tuff Enough” Jimmie Vaughan.

]]> http://www.eventzone.org/2010/08/john-lee-hooker-jr-has-truley-lived-the-life-of-a-bluesman/feed/ 0 http://www.eventzone.org/2010/08/early-bird-discount-tickets-on-sale-now-ends-july-31st/ http://www.eventzone.org/2010/08/early-bird-discount-tickets-on-sale-now-ends-july-31st/#comments Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:51:26 +0000 Larry http://www.eventzone.org/?p=2804 The award winning SunTrust Big Lick Blues Festival, Sat. Oct. 2, 2010 – promises once again to deliver “Rockin’ Blues & Smokin’ Ribs!”   And this year’s entertainment

lineup will blow you away.  Featuring 4x Grammy winner and guitar legend Jimmie Vaughan and his Tilt-A-Whirl Band (featuring Lou Ann Barton).   2x Grammy nominee John Lee Hooker, Jr. and his band with their funky Blues & Soul sound!  The Virginia debut of Teresa James & The Rhythm Tramps will keep you on the dance floor!  Plus Clarence “The Bluesman” Turner, the U.S. Foods Rib

Cook-Off Competition, the Martin’s Rib Eating Contest and all the ribs and BBQ you can handle!

Here’s the best news, buy tickets now and save $6.00@ off the gate price!  The discount advance ticket is just $22.00!