On May 11, 2013, some of the best musicians around will be converging on the small town of Leslie in North Central Arkansas. Leslie, a town of about 480 people, is located halfway between Harrison and Conway on Hwy 65 and home to the Buffalo River Blues Society. The Blues Society is pulling the festival together to help raise funds for “Operation Kindness”, the Searcy County Humane Society. Searcy County is badly in need of a no-kill shelter. For now, they “are limited to a few dedicated volunteers lending our mistreated and abandoned furry friends their homes and love until they can find permanent homes
The list of acts who have graciously signed on to play for the festival, in no particular order:
- Eric Dill of Drasco
- Ben “Swamp Donkey” Brenner of Little Rock
- Kasey Lee Kimmons-Nelson of Shirley
- Maddog & Blue of Springfield, MO
- Trouble Behind of Central Arkansas
- The Cruize Brothers of Little Rock
- Smooth Down Under of Branson/Springfield/Kansas City, MO
- Brethren of Hot Springs
- Low Society of Memphis, TN
- Charlotte Taylor & Gypsy Rain of Little Rock
- Family Dog of Cabot
- Brodie & Liberty Ozz of Leslie/Hot Springs
- with Tyrannosaurus Chicken of Fort Smith, Headlining the Festival
These bands represent festival experience, International Blues Challenge experience, and a WHOLE lot of talent! They represent a wide variety of tastes: Mississippi Delta Blues, Memphis Blues, Texas Blues, Chicago Blues, KC Blues, Hillstomp, Classic Rock, Rhythm & Blues, Rock-a-billy.
This is a family event, so bring your kids!
Tickets are available NOW at http://buffaloriverblues.org/tickets.html
Acts will be performing between 1 pm to 11 pm at 4 different venues: Masonic Lodge Outdoor Stage, Leslie Cafe & L.A. Blues Hall, The Drop Zone, and Jewel West Art Gallery. Performance times will be staggered, allowing folks to hear & see every act. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the gate, advance tickets go on sale April 2, Check blues society website for locations to buy tickets. All the venues are within a block of each other in downtown Leslie. Leslie merchants are planning extended hours, during the festival.
For more information on the Leslie Rock, Rhythm, and Blues Fest, please contact the Buffalo River Blues Society at 501-253-6373, at buffaloriverblues.org, or on Facebook.
This venue was so much fun today and is still goin’ on at this writing. 3 of us from ‘Sounds From the Attic’ volunteered our time for this worthy cause. I introduced acts in The Drop Zone while Dave & Randy ran sound at both outside and inside venues. It was SO good to see the little town of Leslie rockin’ out some great blues! This should happen again next year, so be sure and try to attend!
I’m so glad to hear it went (and is still going) well, Lorrie. Maybe we can make it next year.