Third Year of Blues and Brews Bash Better Than Ever

The Yakima Blues and Local Brews Bash returns to the Historic North Front Street District on Saturday, June 11th from 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm and promises to delight fans will high-quality blues music and top-notch craft beers from the Yakima area.

The 2016 festival will be headlined by Grammy Award-winning Rebirth Brass Band from New Orleans. The outstanding performer lineup also includes the Portland, Oregon-based Scott Pemberton Trio, Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters from New Orleans, Billy D and the Hoodoos, also from Portland, Oregon, the CD Woodbury Band from Seattle, and Brian Lee & the Orbiters, who also hail from Seattle.

A long-time New Orleans institution, Rebirth Brass Band has evolved from playing on the streets of the French Quarter to entertaining audiences across the world. Formed in 1984, the group, which blends traditional brass band music with funk, jazz, soul, and hip hop, won a Best Regional Roots Music Album Grammy in 2012, the year the category was first introduced. Some have described Scott Pemberton’s signature sound as “Timber Rock”, a combination of blues roots, jazz, Northwest rock/grunge, and West Coast funk. Walter “Wolfman” Washington and his long-time band, the Roadmasters, fuse rhythm and blues, blues, New Orleans funk and modern jazz into powerful performances that have been lighting up stages since the 1980s. CD Woodbury has won eight “Best of the Blues” awards from the Washington Blues Society (“WBS”) for his unique style of music that melds contemporary blues, roots, rhythm and blues, and jazz. Winners in the blues category in the 2013 version of the prestigious UK Songwriting Contest, Billy D and the Hoodoos are influenced by Chicago blues, Rock & Roll, and backbeat roots music of all types. Having also won multiple WBS “Best of the Blues” awards, Brian Lee & the Orbiters are known throughout the Northwest for delivering traditional blues sounds in a truly unique way.

Seven craft breweries will showcase their beers at the Yakima Blues and Local Brews Bash. They include Bale Breaker Brewing Company (Yakima), Yakima Craft Brewing Company (Yakima), Icicle Brewing Company (Leavenworth), Snipes Mountain Brewery (Sunnyside), Berchman’s Brewing Company (Yakima), Bron-YR-Aur (Naches), and Hop Nation Brewing (Yakima).

Only people 21 years of age or older will be allowed on the festival grounds, but North Town Coffeehouse (32 North Front Street) will host a free family viewing area during the event.

Tickets cost $14.00 in advance online (www.yakimablues.com) and $17.00 at the gate. Discount tickets can also be purchased for $10.00 a piece at the two Yakima Bi-Mart locations. The first 1,500 attendees will receive a commemorative beverage glass. Scrip for beer (and wine) tastings, as well as for food prepared by restaurants from the Historic North Front Street District, will be sold at various locations on the festival grounds.

The Yakima Blues and Local Brews Bash is being sponsored by the City of Yakima, the Downtown Association of Yakima, and the North Front Street Improvement Association.

Third Annual Blues & Brews Bash – News Release