Blues Fest moves to Oaklawn, adds barbecue

The Hot Springs Blues Festival has hit the big time -- it's moved to the infield of Oaklawn Racing & Gaming, after close to two decades in downtown Hot Springs. Combining with a barbecue competition for the first time, the blues and barbecue will strut their stuff in a new home for two days this weekend.

"We are very excited to make this move," says Rob Pratt, president of the Spa City Blues Society. "Partnering with Oaklawn has really allowed us to take this event to a whole new level. We started planning this back in November. We were wanting to grow, and the opportunity presented itself. It was kind of a group discussion that evolved into this setup."

There will be two stages, and food and drinks will be available for purchase. With a family-friendly focus, there will be a Kids Zone with inflatable rides for children.

The barbecue competition will award $11,000 in prize money as the teams compete for the state championship, as sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society. Contestants will be judged in the categories of pork, chicken, brisket and ribs, along with a People's Choice category.

Patrons can bring chairs and umbrellas, but no coolers will be allowed, says a track official.

The schedule:

Saturday

Main Stage: Blues in the Schools at 12:30 p.m., Hump Night Blues Band at 1:40 p.m., Salt & Pepper at 3:10 p.m., John Calvin Brewer at 5:20 p.m., Shemekia Copeland at 7:10 p.m. and Los Lonely Boys at 8:40 p.m.

Gazebo Stage: Lee Langdon at 12:30 p.m., Jocko Deal at 1 p.m., Eric Hughes at 2:30 p.m., Trey & Dave at 4 p.m., Jackie B & Me at 4:40 p.m. and Ray Bonneville at 6:10 p.m.

Sunday

Main Stage: Heavy Suga and the Sweetones at 1:10 p.m., Ben Rice Band at 2:40 p.m., Stacy Mitchhart Band at 4:40 p.m. and Keb' Mo' at 6:45 p.m.

Gazebo Stage: Jocko Deal at 12:30 p.m., Brian Martin at 2 p.m., Lucious Spiller at 3:30 p.m. and Randy McQuay at 5:40 p.m.

Los Lonely Boys, Saturday's headliner, is a blues-rock power trio consisting of brothers Henry Garza (lead guitar), JoJo Garza (bass) and Ringo Garza Jr. (drums), from San Angelo, Texas. The band leaped to prominence in 2004 with its first single, a No. 1 hit, "Heaven," which earned the band a Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Duo or Group the following year. Other Los Lonely Boys hits were "More Than Love" and "Diamonds."

Often compared with Santana and Los Lobos, the Garzas spent considerable time on the sidelines after brother Henry fell off a Los Angeles stage in 2013. A year later, the band bounced back with the album Revelation.

Shemekia Copeland, who will open for Los Lonely Boys, is the daughter of blues guitarist Johnny Copeland. She began a recording career in 1998 with the Alligator Records album Turn the Heat Up! She has since released seven more albums, the latest of which, Outskirts of Love, came out Friday.

Sunday's headliner Keb' Mo' will be making a rare visit to central Arkansas. He says he's played Fayetteville in recent years, but doesn't recall any shows in the state otherwise since he played at the old Juanita's in the late 1980s or early 1990s. He burst on the music scene in 1980 -- straight out of Compton, Calif.

"I grew up around a lot of rappers, such as Dr. Dre, as well as the Williams sisters, the tennis stars," he says. "And I kind of went in a different direction, I guess they would say."

Keb' Mo' grew up listening to his parents' blues and gospel albums, then learned guitar and blended blues with folk, rock, jazz and pop. He has since added acting to his resume, portraying blues legend Robert Johnson in a documentary and playing an angelic character in the TV series Touched by an Angel.

In 1980, under his real name, Kevin Moore, he released the album Rainmaker. In 1994, he released his debut, self-titled Keb' Mo' album and has since released a dozen more albums, the latest of which, BLUESAmericana, came out in 2014. Along the way, he has won Grammy Awards in 1997, 1999 and 2004 for Best Contemporary Blues Albums for the albums Just Like You, Slow Down and Keep It Simple, respectively.

He's lived in Nashville, Tenn., for some five years, and has enjoyed doing so, even though he lost two of his favorite guitars in the Nashville flood of 2010. For his current tour, he promises to play acoustic, electric and slide guitars, backed by a group playing bass, drums and keyboards.

As far as future projects, Keb' Mo' has a live album plus a major musical collaboration in the works.

"I've got something going on with Taj Mahal," he says. "Maybe then folks will be comparing us with The Righteous Brothers or Hall & Oates."

Weekend on 09/17/2015