BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The Blast Furnace Blues Festival will celebrate its 10th year when it returns to ArtsQuest’s SteelStacks campus July 21-23, officials announced Friday.
- Blast Furnace Blues Festival will return to SteelStacks for its 10th year July 21-23
- Headliners will include Bywater Call, The Sensational Barnes Brothers and Toronzo Cannon
- The three-day fest will be outdoors on the Levitt Pavilion and Community Stage on Town Square
Headliners at the free three-day festival will be Independent Blues Awards nominees Bywater Call and The Sensational Barnes Brothers, who have been featured on a Grammy-nominated album, as well as a solo album by The Black Keys singer Dan Auerbach.
Also on the bill will be Chicago blues guitarist Toronzo Cannon.
“I could not be more excited for the entire lineup of the Blast Furnace Blues Festival this summer"ArtsQuest Chief Programming Officer Patrick Brogan
“I could not be more excited for the entire lineup of the Blast Furnace Blues Festival this summer,” ArtsQuest Chief Programming Officer Patrick Brogan said.
“Three nights of headliners featuring the southern blues & roots of Bywater Call led by Meghan Parnell’s engaging vocals; the soulful sounds of the Sensational Barnes Brothers, which will make you feel like you are Memphis TN at a Stax recording studio; and Toronzo Cannon’s Chicago blues guitar returning to SteelStacks.”
Outdoors again
The performances will be outdoors on the Levitt Pavilion at SteelStacks and Community stage on Town Square.
ArtsQuest started its Blast Furnace Blues festival in 2011 as an outdoor, end-of-summer event, but two years later put it on hiatus, saying it had under-performed in crowded seasons of summer festivals.
Over the next five years, ArtsQuest groomed the festival, taking it indoors as a winter, then early-spring, event, and adding top names to headline it.
It finally returned as an outdoor festival in 2019, when it also became a free festival, but then it went on hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Performers and schedule
Bywater Call is a powerhouse seven-piece Southern soul/roots rock band from Toronto. It was nominated for the Maple Blues and Independent Blues Awards.
The Sensational Barnes Bros. is a duo that has been featured on vocalists Don Bryant’s Grammy nominated album "Don't Give Up on Love" and The Black Keys singer Dan Auerbach's solo album. They also are on a new album from Latin Grammy-nominated Making Movies.
The schedule for the festival is:
Friday, July 21
Community Stage: Duwayne Burnside, 6 to 7:25 p.m.; BC Blue 9 to 11 p.m.
Levitt Pavilion: Bywater Call, 7:30-9 p.m.
Saturday, July 22
Community Stage: The Nighthawks, 4-5:30 p.m.; Lionel Young, 6-7:25 p.m.; Chris Pierce, 9-11 p.m.
Levitt Pavilion: The Sensational Barnes Brothers, 7:30-9 p.m.
Sunday, July 23
Community Stage: John Primer, 4-5:30 p.m.; Kelly Bell Band 6-7:25 p.m.
Levitt Pavilion: Toronzo Cannon, 7:30-9 p.m.
