A free East Yorkshire music festival will be bigger and better than ever this year, organisers have pledged.
Beverley’s Sun Inn, which hosts the festival, will be transformed into a cross between a Mississippi Delta juke joint and a Chicago blues club later this month for Beverley Blues Weekender, which returns for a sixteenth year.
The festival takes place from Friday 24th to Sunday 26th October and features two of the country’s finest blues bands, both of whom are based locally – The Juke Joint Kings, fresh from a headlining appearance at the Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival, and The Alligators, who have been wowing crowds since they were formed in 2004.
There’s free entry all weekend with Chicago Bound and the Juke Joint Kings opening the event on the Friday from 9pm.
Proceedings continue from mid-afternoon through til late on the Saturday with a line-up featuring Dexter, Studio 77, Simon Boult and Sun Cat, Dogfinger and One Scotch One Bourbon One Beer, with Jonny and the Rizlas headlining from 9pm.
The Alligators, who were one of the headline acts at this year’s Burton Agnes Jazz & Blues Festival, bring the weekend to an energetic close with Chris “The man in the Hat” Martin in support from 6pm on Sunday.
It’s been quiet a year for the Beverley-based Juke Joint Kings, currently celebrating their 10th anniversary. Their third album, Can’t Be Satisfied, was released to much acclaim and made it into the top ten of the national blues album chart, compiled by the International Blues Broadcasters Association.