John Cephas Piedmont Blues Festival

by Urban Views Weekly June 2, 2015

The Town of Bowling Green Kicks Off Its First Annual John Cephas Piedmont Blues Festival

The first John Cephas Piedmont Blues Festival will be held on Saturday, viagra buy June 13, viagra 40mg 2015 in Bowling Green, Virginia. This event has been an initiative for the Bowling Green Arts Commission since last June, when a historical highway marker was dedicated to Cephas, the legendary blues guitarist and Bowling Green local.

John Cephas was born in Washington, DC, but reared in the Town of Bowling Green. Having a rich history of gospel and blues music in his family, Cephas developed a banjo-like technique of playing guitar. John Cephas and Phil Wiggins teamed up after meeting at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1976, and released several albums through German record label, L+R. Cephas and Wiggins enjoyed their breakthrough to American blues enthusiasts with “Dog Days of August”, winning the W.C. Handy Award for best traditional blues album in 1987. Cephas’ influence on Piedmont Blues was further recognized by The National Endowment For the Arts when he was presented with the National Heritage Fellowship award. Cephas and Wiggins went on to release over a dozen albums.

John Cephas died on March 4, 2009, in his home, just outside of Bowling Green; however, The Bowling Green Arts Commission hopes to keep his legacy alive through the annual John Cephas Piedmont Blues Festival.

Beginning at 2:00 p.m. and going until 8:00 p.m. on the main stage, festivalgoers and blues enthusiasts will enjoy live music by various artists paying tribute to Piedmont blues, the genre of blues that Cephas is world-renowned for pioneering. Confirmed musicians include Cephas’ longtime partner and harmonica master, Phil Wiggins, MSG Acoustic Blues Trio, Piedmont Bluz Acoustic Duo, Eleanor Ellis, Rick Franklin, and Robert Flowers with Jay Summerour, Warner Williams and Eric Selby. Admission is free.

Performing artists will also be offering hands-on instructional workshops before live performances begin, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. This is an opportunity for longtime admirers to meet the artists, and for beginners to learn the fundamentals of playing instruments commonly used in blues music such as harmonica, guitar and banjo. In addition, attendees will enjoy a variety of food vendors, artisan crafts and activities for all ages.