John Hiatt, Big Sugar and Kermit Ruffins added to 2010 Harvest Jazz and Blues Headliners
April 16, 2010
With Gregg Allman and Jonny Lang already released, the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival announced five more national and international headliners today. John Hiatt, Big Sugar and The Trews, Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers and Elliot Brood were added to the Festival line-up, further proving that the 20th Anniversary edition is shaping up to be the strongest line up in Festival history.
“Besides incredible music, Harvest is known for the great experiences it creates,” says Harvest music director Brent Staeben. “Our goal is to present a diverse spectrum of headline artists that gets everyone in the city excited about the Festival. But we also wanted to present some acts this year that people from all over the Maritimes and Maine would simply have to come to Fredericton to experience. We hope the people of Fredericton are as excited as we are by the acts we’ve announced so far!”
The Festival is slated for September 14th to 19th. Early bird tickets and passes will go on sale online Saturday, May 15th at 9am, while the remainder of tickets and passes will go on sale, as usual, on Saturday, July 17th. The full schedule will be announced at the Garrison Ale House at 11am on April 28th.
Legendary American singer-songwriter John Hiatt will make his long awaited first appearances in Eastern Canada. While an acclaimed guitarist, pianist and singer, Hiatt is also a hugely successful songwriter, having penned songs recorded by a myriad of top artists, including Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, BB King, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Buffett and Jeff Healey, whose rendition of the Hiatt tune Angel Eyes topped the charts in 1988. By the mid-nineties, Hiatt had solidified himself as a distinctive and dynamic star, with an endearing and self-effacing stage persona, and compositional and vocal might that perfectly blends passion and sophistication. With a committed following of hardcore fans in the Maritimes, Hiatt’s two solo shows—one at the Playhouse on Friday, September 17th and one at the Blues Tent on Saturday, September 18th—are sure to be sell-outs.
After Festival-defining shows in 1994 and 2002, Big Sugar rolls back into town with a special reunion of sort—a super session with Big Sugar and the Trews. After their explosion onto the scene almost twenty years ago, Big Sugar reigned over Canadian rock music, taking risks at every turn and constantly reinventing themselves with an innovative blend of blues, old school R&B, rock and Caribbean music. With a large body of songs, including radio staples like “Diggin’ a Hole”, “If I Had My Way” and “Turn the Lights On,” Big Sugar earned five Juno nominations and a reputation as a live band to be reckoned with, performing with an intensity that was unmatched. Not wanting to push past their “best before date,” Big Sugar played a sold-out farewell tour before disbanding in 2004. Since then, the band has reunited just a couple of times for special occasions—but Gordie Johnson jumped at the chance to be part of Harvest’s 20th Anniversary celebrations.
Gordie Johnson and Kelly “Mr Chill” Hoppe, Big Sugar’s harmonica and saxophone player, will play an acoustic Big Sugar set early Thursday in the Blues Tent, while they will join East Coast rockers The Trews in a Blues Tent Super Session on Friday night.
“The Blues Tent is known to put on some pretty rocking shows, and this one especially is going to blow the roof off the place,” says Staeben. “It’s a rare treat to have Big Sugar reunite here at Harvest. Add The Trews to the mix, and it’s sure to be one of those truly unique shows you can only catch at Harvest.”
The connection between Big Sugar and The Trews is a well-established one. Big Sugar’s front man Gordie Johnson produced The Trews first album, House of Ill Fame in 2003 and since then, he can often be seen collaborating on albums and sneaking on stage with them in concert. House of Ill Fame earned The Trews two Junos for Group of the Year, and Single of the Year for “Not Ready to Go.” Since then, the band has released two more studio albums and one live album and DVD, earning two more Junos and leading the pack in nominations at the “Indies” (Independent Music Awards) last year with four. Back home they have won over a dozen ECMAs including three wins for Entertainer of the Year. After their Super Session with Big Sugar on Friday night in the Blues Tent, The Trews will stick around to rock the Afterburner.
Jazz trumpeter and singer, Kermit Ruffins makes his long awaited return to Harvest as one of the most recognizable faces on the New Orleans music scene today. In 2005, Ruffins and his band the BBQ Swingers, arrived at Harvest in the days after Hurricane Katrina with nothing but the shirts on their backs, delivering several memorable performances and touching the hearts of many in this City. Five years later, Ruffin’s has become the embodiment of the spirit of New Orleans, an artist who chose to stay and rebuild both his career and the City and he’s become a fixture and a favourite son, playing almost every night of the week in his hometown. Embracing the true spirit of New Orleans, his strong musical presence often brings comparisons to fellow New Orleans trumpeter Louis Armstrong, and his warm personality wins over every audience. Kermit plays the music of his city, but more than that, reminds us that true entertainers are rare creatures that New Orleans manufactures time and again. Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers hit the Mojo stage Saturday for a night of New Orleans party music and the Playhouse Stage on Saturday afternoon for a trip down the jazzier streets of New Orleans.
“The Blues Tent isn’t the only place Harvesters can rock out. The Barracks Tent is where anyone of any age can catch some of the top indie bands out there. We’ve got some very cool stuff going on at that venue this year,” Staeben adds. “It’s going to be really exciting.”
Juno-nominated folk-rock trio Elliott Brood is set to headline as part of the strongest line-up Harvest has ever presented at The Barracks. After being named CBC’s Galaxie Rising Star in 2006, Elliott Brood landed on best-of lists all over and became a staple on college radio countdowns across Canada and the United States. In the last few years, the band has done seven marathon tours of Canada, as well as five European tours, opening for bands like Wilco, Blue Rodeo, The Black Crowes, Broken Social Scene and Corb Lund. Their atmospheric and richly crafted recordings, like the 2008 release Mountain Meadows, have earned the band two nominations for the best roots/traditional album at the Junos, as well as a shortlist spot for the 2009 Polaris prize. They will headline the Barracks Tent on Thursday night.
A limited number of tickets for these and all other shows will be available in Harvest’s first-ever Early Bird Online Sale at www.harvestjazzandblues.com, www.ticketpro.ca and the TicketPro call centre at 1-888-311-9090 on May 15th. The remainder of tickets and passes will go on sale, as usual, starting Saturday, July 17th at Harvest Central, online, and the TicketPro call centre at 1-888-311-9090.
