http://www.californiabeerfestival.com/ventura/
Stage 11:15- 12:15pm Jonathon Boogie Long TWITTER FACEBOOK
Fans that got to Sunday’s California Beer Festival Blues and BBQ day right as the doors opened were treated to a fulls set of some super-charged blues by the Winner of the 2011 Guitar Center King of the Blues guitar contest, Jonathon “Boogie” Long and his incredible trio from Louisiana.
Boogie and his band wowed the crowd with truly incredible blues playing that was chock full of of style, technique and soul.
A true legend in the making, Boogie and his bunch are quite the bluesmen. His vocals are great and his guitar playing is just out of this world. Not only does he play the blues like the guitar legends before him, but he also incorporates some very technical guitar playing that almost bordered on neoclassical playing with tapping,sweep picking and arpeggios. One audience member said he kind of had a Shawn Lane vibe, which is pretty spot on. The fleet fingered soloing and great tunes made for a spectacular start to a great day of the blues.
It was obvious that Boogie and the band were truly happy to be jamming on a beautiful Southern California morning. They just did a red carpet for “We Are Kings” – a new movie about the blues. This band has the potential to be the next Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. If there’s any justice in the world, they will have a long successful career in the industry.
BOOGIE’s WINNING GUITAR CENTER PERFORMANCE:
Stage 12:15-1:30pm
PICTURES OF BOOGIE AND HIS BAND and even MORE PICS OF BOOGIE AND THE BAND
Michael John and the Bottom Line
After the singing of the National Anthem, Michael John and the Bottom line played a great set of up-tempo blues tunes in grand fashion. This 6 piece blues band rocked and one of the highlights of their set was “Strong Persuader” by Robert Cray. And one of the best moments of the day happened during their set when this little guy got up there and played sax. Outstanding.
Michael John & the Bottom Line STRONG PERSUADER VENTURA CALIFORNIA BEER FESTIVAL BLUES BBQ 9/21/2014
MORE PICTURES OF MICHAEL JOHN AND THE BOTTOM LINE
Stage 1:30- 2:30pm
Gary Hoey always delivers in concert and is a very diverse guitar player. Years ago, Joe Bonamassa opened up for Gary at a local show. After just touring with hard rock and heavy metal virtuosos Yngwie Malmsteen and Bumblefoot on the “Guitar Gods” tour, Hoey is currently rocking the blues again in support of his excellent “De Ja Blues”, a 2012 release of original blues tunes (there are some rocking tunes that stream on his website). As always, Gary and his band delivered a stunning performance throughout, as they opened with “I’m Goin’ Down” and played a mix of fantastic blues tunes , a little hard rock, a little bit of surf guitar (a la Dick Dale – perfect for being across down the street from the beach) and finished out with the signature song “Hocus Pocus” (a cover by Focus) – which ended up being one fo the most successful rock guitar instrumentals of all time. In addition to his guitar skills, he’s also a very capable singer. Gary was very gracious to the crowd and at the end of the show, he urged the kids to not “Text and Drive”. He then met his fans over at the merch booth for a meet and greet. Great player, great guy.
GARY HOEY SHREDDING VENTURA CALIFORNIA BEER FESTIVAL BLUES AND BBQ 9/21/2014
GARY HOEY HOCUS POCUS
SHREDDING
GOING DOWN
BLUES
Stage 2:30-3:30pm Trampled Under Foot FACEBOOK TWITTER
Another rocking band! Trampled Under Foot were winners of the 2008 International Blues Challenge in Memphis and gained many new fans at the festival today. Led by Danielle Schnebelen and her brother Nick (who also won the Albert King award for the best guitarist”), they played a great set of tunes. Both lefties, they rocked along with their band, with Jan Faircloth on drums and Mike “Shinetop Jr” Sedovic on keyboards. Ever see a drummer play blues guitar from behind the kit? Not only was that done in their set, but they did that and finished up with a very impressive version of song by Led Zeppelin, which bears the same name of their band. Go see this band is you ever get a chance.
Stage 3:30-4:45pm Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds TWITTER FACEBOOK
Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds took the stage right around 3:30 and rocked with a solid set of tunes with solid musicianship, a powerful horn section and some great jamming on the harmonica. One of the most best moments of their set was when they proceeded to incorporate a part of “Kashmir” into another son and they do other sorts of mash-ups and neat arrangements of a diverse selection of songs that also cross over from the blues, which gives them widespread appeal. They are currently on a national tour and are very worth checking out.
Arleigh Kincheloe – vocals
Jackson Kincheloe – harmonica
Bram Kincheloe – drums
Sasha Brown – guitar
Josh Myers – bass
Phil Rodriguez – trumpet
Brian Graham – baritone sax
Here’s a live music video from NY have a look at how they sound as a band:
Stage 4:45-6pm Tab Benoit FACEBOOK TWITTER
Crowd favorite and blues great Tab Benoit and his band closed out the festival on a high note with his great blues playing leaving the crowd wanting more. A truly awesome way to end a great event in beautiful Ventura. Tab makes a few more stops in California before continuing on with his tour in Nevada and elsewhere.
Check out the incredible upcoming FREE festival in Louisiana – definitely worth the trip!
Can’t wait until next year.
Concertologist 
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