Blast Furnace Blues Festival Returns for its 13th Annual Event
Bethlehem, Lehigh Valley, PA., April 26, 2024 – The Blast Furnace Blues Festival will return to ArtsQuest’s SteelStacks campus on Friday, July 19 and Saturday, July 20. This decade-long event will feature two days of live music for the community to enjoy while honoring this great American genre’s history.
“At the Blast Furnace Blues Festival this summer you can sample the blues styles of Memphis, New Orleans, Texas, Mississippi, Chicago, Harlem and our Lehigh Valley’s own blues groups all in one weekend,” says ArtsQuest Chief Programming Officer Patrick Brogan. “And with headliners like the Harlem Gospel Travelers and blues rocker Eric Lindell, the event promises to deliver memories at the ‘Stacks once again. Celebrating its 13th year, Blast Furnace Blues Festival has become a staple of the summer festival season in the Lehigh Valley and what better way to continue its growth than with the partnership event of the Steel City Smokeout happening at the same time on the ArtsQuest campus?”
Friday Schedule:
| Eden Brent | 5 – 6:30 p.m. | Levitt Pavilion |
| Bedlam Blues | 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. | Town Square |
| The Harlem Gospel Travelers | 7:30 – 9 p.m. | Levitt Pavilion |
| Tony Holiday | 9 – 11 p.m. | Town Square |
Eden Brent is a celebrated songwriter and dynamic performer, with numerous nominations and awards including 11 Blues Music Award nominations since 2009 and three BMA trophies. Her most recent Yellow Dog Records album, Jigsaw Heart, was nominated for BMA Acoustic Album of the Year, continuing a streak of nominations for her last three albums.
Bedlam Blues is a Lehigh Valley blues rock band with experienced band members rooted in blues. Seasoned players bring you driving guitar sounds, smooth bass lines and bluesy rhythms to set the groove. Bedlam Blues is in their 9th year of bringing music to the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas.
The Harlem Gospel Travelers were born out of a non-profit music education program led by Eli Paperboy Reed. The Harlem Gospel Travelers – singers Thomas Gatling, George Marage and Dennis Bailey – released their debut LP, He’s On Time to rave reviews in 2019, with Pop Matters hailing the album’s “musical transcendence” and AllMusic praising it as “dreamlike and joyous.” The record charted on Billboard, earned the Travelers high profile fans, like Elton John, and landed them festival slots everywhere from Pilgrimage to Telluride Jazz.
Community was at the core of Tony Holiday’s young career from the beginning. Since relocating from Salt Lake City to Memphis in 2017, Holiday has been at the center of a soul blues revival in Memphis, anchored by a contingent of young, savvy well-schooled musicians with a “family-like” attitude and a strong belief in one another. Mentored by past legends, Holiday and this loose Memphis collective are building on the city’s rich traditions and carrying them forward.
Saturday Schedule:
| Nate Myers and the Aces | 2 – 3 p.m. | Town Square |
| Sierra Green | 3 – 4:30 p.m. | Levitt Pavilion |
| The SlideWinder Blues | 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. | Town Square |
| The Skya Burell Band | 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. | Levitt Pavilion |
| Eddie Davis & Blues Anatomy | 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. | Town Square |
| Eric Lindell | 7:30 – 9 p.m. | Levitt Pavilion |
| Jump, Jive, and Wail | 9 – 11 p.m. | Town Square |
Nate Myers and the Aces have been established in Central PA for over 20 years. Led by vocalist Nate Myers and his harmonica, the band creates a loose, casual atmosphere in which everyone can relax and have a good time! Nate Myers is an excellent musician, songwriter and performer – the consummate entertainer who keeps the audience’s attention throughout the entire performance. The wide variety of styles, energy and sincerity in his music allows him to fit into nearly any musical genre. On a typical evening, audiences can hear influences from many forms of American music – blues, funk, hip hop, rockabilly, country and improvisation. Nate Myers & the Aces take all the styles they love and weave them into a tapestry of their own.
Myers has been billed with and on occasion, shared the stage with many national and regional artists such as Styx, Cheap Trick, Kim Simmons/Savoy Brown, Kansas, Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, The Nighthawks, Charlie Sayles, Billy Price and many others.
Sierra Green and the Giants emerged as a vibrant musical force from the bustling streets of New Orleans. Green embodies a fusion of timeless soul with an irresistible contemporary allure, evoking the depth and grit of the genre’s raw essence. Revered as the “Queen of Frenchmen Street,” Sierra’s roots delve deep into the rich musical soil of the city’s 7th Ward—a historic breeding ground that nurtured legends such as Jelly Roll Morton, Sidney Bechet and Allen Toussaint. Sierra’s musical destiny is woven into the tapestry of this storied neighborhood, where her voice resonated in the church choir from the tender age of eight.
The SlideWinder Blues Band hits hard with its own brand of Texas and Chicago driven contemporary blues. For those times when the 1,4,5 just isn’t enough, the bands red blooded live shows are full of vigor and offer a sonic pallet indicative of the Mississippi Delta and New Orleans. Hailing from Doylestown, PA, SlideWinder is comprised of members Paul Boddy, Glenn Hale, Chuck Hearne and Dave Hollingsworth.
The Skya Burell Band is known for their unique blend of contemporary, traditional and blues rock, which has earned them a dedicated following and critical acclaim worldwide. The band was founded in 2002 by partners in life and music, guitarist/singer Skya Burrell and guitarist Mark Tomlinson who both share songwriting credits.
Eddie Davis & Blues Anatomy is comprised of five talented musicians, all Philadelphia area natives, bring superb musicianship and a genuine love of the Blues to every performance. Playing at festivals, nightclubs, private parties, corporate and special events, Eddie Davis & Blues Anatomy perform exciting, classic Blues that always pleases the audience and stirs a feeling in their soul.
Eric Lindell had released five albums and already had earned a devoted and growing fan following by the time of his 2006 Alligator Records debut, Change In The Weather. With its unforgettable songs and undeniable melodies, this album earned him regular radio rotation and piles of critical praise. The Los Angeles Daily News said Lindell plays “passionate blue-eyed soul smothered with a big heap of New Orleans funk.” Two subsequent Alligator releases and a series of albums on other labels kept Lindell in demand and on the road. Now Lindell returns to Alligator with Revolution In Your Heart, featuring his most engaging and personal writing and his most irresistible, instantly hummable melodies.
Jump, Jive and Wail was formed in 2012 and plays a variety of what we call house rockin’ music, including swing, retro-swing, jump blues, blues, New Orleans second line music, classic r &b, roots r & r, Dixieland, and jazz, among others. The band has played at the Wawa 4th of July Welcome America in Philadelphia, 1st Energy Stadium in Reading, Rehoboth Beach Summer Concert Series, various casinos, parks, colleges and private affairs. The band features the sizzling Demetria Joyce Bailey on vocals and the red-hot Molten Brass horns. They released Let the Good Times Roll in 2016.
Visit https://www.steelstacks.org/festivals/blast-furnace-blues/ for additional information.
About ArtsQuest
ArtsQuest’s mission is to provide access to exceptional artistic, cultural and educational experiences using arts and culture as key elements of economic development for our urban communities. ArtsQuest™ supports this mission via the presentation of performing and visual arts, film, arts education classes and outreach, youth programming and cultural events.
Through festivals such as its flagship event, Musikfest; the Banana Factory Arts Center; and the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks arts and cultural campus, ArtsQuest’s programming reaches more than 1.9 million people annually. The organization’s programs and events, over 50% of which are free to attend, have a combined economic impact of more than $136 million annually in the region.
