Painting the town blue

Music | August 14th, 2015

Fargo Blues Festival turns 20 with 12 acts in two days

Dan Bredell has a hard job.

The Fargo Blues Festival executive director listened to 200 acts over six months in advance of the 20th annual Fargo Blues Festival, set for this Friday and Saturday at Newman Outdoor Field. Making choices on groups can be hard, he said, especially with just 12 slots to fill.

“We always take pride in having good bands, beginning to end,” Bredell said.

Fargo Blues Festival rarely brings back artists from past festivals, therefore setting the stage for new acts each year.

“There are about 200 blues festival in the country and I’d say this in top 10 or 15 for talent,” Bredell said.

This year sees a two-day mix of local, regional and even nationally renowned blues artists, from Minneapolis’s Sena Ehrhardt to Milwaukee’s Altered Five Blues Band to Fargo’s six-piece The Blues Band.

Keeping the blues hot and diverse is important for the show, Bredell said, and balance is what it’s all about.

“We try to balance the show with a little harder guitar blues versus more acoustic versus male, female, black, white … I compare it to an NFL football draft.”

That diversity balance has helped with diverse ticket sales. So far the Fargo Blues Festival audience will consist of folks from 30 states and Canada.

Since January, Bredell and his crew have been preparing for this summer’s show, receiving over 200 CDs from blues artists across the nation and around the world.

“We listen to every single one of ‘em,” he said.

One submission came from Jack Semple and his band, an award-winning Regina blues guitarist whose agent sent Bredell a DVD.

“The guy is unbelievable,” Bredell said. “We kinda lucked out on that one.”

Blues Hall of Famers and other big names pad the lineup for the weekend, staged at Newman Outdoor Field.

The two-day event, that also includes camping, starts at 2 p.m. Friday with T-Roy Anderson, and Tab Benoit’s 9 p.m. set will end the night.

Saturday starts at noon, winding through five blues artists until the 40-year-old Fabulous Thunderbirds take the stage at 8 p.m.

Bredell summed up the lineup as “fantastic,” and said the audience knows what to expect after 20 years of the Fargo Blues Festival.

“It’s an enjoyable, fun event,” he said.

Tickets are available online or at Mothers Music and all Hornbacher’s and Happy Harry’s locations.