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Alpena Blues Festival to liven up downtown this weekend

Courtesy Photo Blues great Coco Montoya will be headlining Alpena’s 16th Annual Spirit of the Blues Festival Saturday, being held for the first in downtown Alpena.

ALPENA — Lose yourself in the blues Saturday for “twelve hours of fabulous fun and great entertainment” at Alpena’s 16th Annual “Spirit of the Blues” Festival from noon to midnight.

That’s how Ed Hickok, president of the Alpena Blues Coalition, describes the event, which is being held downtown for the first time this year. For 15 years it was held at the Alpena County Fairgrounds.

“I think it’s going to be awesome,” Hickok said of the venue change. “Organizations don’t evolve unless there’s change. And you would never engage in change unless it was change for the better, so we’re going to give this a go, and we’re quite confident that this is going to be change for the better.”

He said it’s good for everyone, surrounding businesses included, as downtown will be a hub of activity.

Having the festival downtown is “both a benefit to business and the commerce of the community, but also a benefit to the people of the community to be exposed to first-rate, world-class entertainment,” Hickok said.

People come from all over to this festival, from out of state and even from Canada and other countries, he noted. He said typically about half the attendees are from outside of our four-county area, so they will be utilizing lodging locally while in town.

Admission is $25, for ages 21 and up, as alcohol is sold inside the roped-off area of 2nd Avenue where the festival will be held. The street will be blocked off from Chisholm to River streets for the duration of the festival.

“We start out, as we always do, with a local band, because this is a local event, and we like to showcase local when we can,” Hickok said. “And we have a lot of talent in Alpena, musically and otherwise. … This year our local band is a newly formed band particularly for the purpose of the blues festival, put together by Wayne Kendziorski, who has been known in the community as a top musician for years and years.”

Way Out Wayne & The Neckbenders is the new local band, kicking things off at noon. Kendziorski has written a new blues number he and his band will debut at the festival.

Musicians in order of appearance include:

ı Noon — Way Out Wayne & The Neckbenders (from Alpena)

ı 2 p.m. — Blues Abusers (from Tawas)

ı 4 p.m. — Smokin’ 45s Rock & Blues Revue (from the Detroit area)

ı 6 p.m. — DownRiver Dan (from the Detroit area)

ı 8 p.m. — The Ellie Lee Band (originally from Ohio, but is now from Florida)

ı 10 p.m. — Coco Montoya

“Coco Montoya cut his teeth in the blues music scene with the Blues Breakers, John Mayall and the Blues Breakers, back in the 70s,” Hickok said, playing with the likes of “Walter Trout, Eric Clapton and Peter Green. Yeah, he’s big-time. And we’re really excited to have Coco.”

“Certainly anyone who knows the blues and blues music knows who he is,” Hickok said of Montoya.

The last three performers are left-handed, which Hickok said would be a first for the festival to have three lefties in a row performing.

Three of the bands have played at the Alpena Blues Festival before: Smokin’ 45s Rock & Blues Revue (they’ve been here five times), DownRiver Dan (this is his third appearance here), and The Ellie Lee Band (this will be her fifth appearance here).

The festival will feature food vendors, including The Fresh Palate, which will offer a new componet to the festival, featuring craft spirits from more than 20 Michigan craft distilleries.

“That’s where the term ‘Spirit of the Blues’ comes in,” Hickok said.

“No one will be want for opportunities for food and drink,” he assured.

“We are fortunate this year, since we’re trying something new in an area that is new to us, downtown, versus the fairgrounds, … to have Eric Peterson and The Fresh Palate,” Hickok said, adding that he has been instrumental in helping with the transition. “Because he’s had experience with events down here before.”

The Alpena Downtown Development Authority has also assisted greatly with the event, Hickok said.

“As an extra added bonus, we’ve had the Alpena DDA come in, and they are also working with us hand-in-glove, as they say, this year,” Hickok said. “So we have the three of us: Alpena Blues Coalition, The Fresh Palate, and Alpena DDA. Now, how can you beat that for an event in downtown Alpena?”

He said the festival has a deeper reason than just entertainment. It helps to feed the hungry with the Stamp Out Hunger initiative. Everyone is encouraged to bring a nonperishable food item to the festival.

“It’s a problem,” Hickok said of hunger in our community. “And we want to be an ever-increasing part of that solution.”

For more information, call Randy at 989-657-9313 or go to www.alpenablues.org. Contact the DDA at 989-356-6422 or email Alpena DDA Executive Director Anne Gentry at anneg@alpena.mi.us.

Reach Darby Hinkley at 989-358-5691 or dhinkley@thealpenanews.com.

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