On August 8, get your fill of great Blues and microbrews at the annual Sweetwater Blues & Brews Festival in Rock Springs. Sweetwater Blues & Brews will take place in Bunning Park and admission is just $5.

Proceeds benefit the Rock Springs Main Street/URA for ongoing downtown redevelopment projects.

This year’s entertainment line-up includes:

• 12:00 noon – Tom Bennett
• 1:15 p.m. – B #s
• 3:00 p.m. – 3D
• 4:45 p.m. – Anni Piper
• 6:30 p.m. – Brent Johnson and The Call Up
• 8:15 p.m. – Blinddog Smokin’

Tom Bennett

Tom Bennett will start off Sweetwater Blues & Brews with his performance at 12 noon. Tom is an authentic folk blues one man band. Born and raised in the rural North Georgia Countryside, Tom was given his first harmonica by an old lady from West Virginia at 9 years old. Many long hours were spent on the hayfields of Eagle Crest ranch learning the blues.

Tom left the south and headed west seeking religion at age 19. He fell in with Polygamists, studied Tibetan Buddhism and eventually became a cocaine dealer in Salt Lake City. He was arrested at 26 years old and after going through rehabilitation and the legal system Tom decided to make things right and began working for the Boys and Girls Club. He was a club Director when, at age 32, on April 7, 2013 he began playing the guitar. He was discovered by a nationally touring blues band and invited to join them on the road as the opening act. Tom has stayed on the road since completing many national tours after having recorded his debut album “The Man Who Shook The Trail of The Devil’s Hounds” on Sweet Salt Records. When he is not on tour he rests in the Southern Utah desert near the town of St. George.

 

B #s (B Sharps

The B#s were founded in 1995 and are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. During that time they have gone through several transitions; things like hair loss, weight gain, memory lapses, and a couple of members. Current band members include Kent Felderman, Monty Boyce, Guy Morton and Mitch Bullock.

 

3D

Dave Measles, Dave Jensen, Don Mende and Doug Garrick are incredibly talented and a tight 4 piece band with a repertoire that is mind boggling. The band is called 3D even though there are 4, 2 Dave’s a Don and a Doug. The band was established 2 years ago. Dave Jensen, owner of the Pickin Palace, is the bass player and backup vocalist. He displays multiple talents, both as a solid, stylistic bassist who tightens up the rhythm section with bass lines, and as a vocal backup – and sometimes lead – on many of their songs. Drummer Don Mende has an overwhelming backbeat that drives the band steadily and precisely through their refreshing live set. Dave Measles is the band’s lead guitarist and lead vocalist. Dave’s blues-based background gives 3D their unique sound. Doug Garrick, the newest member, plays the pedal steel, the perfect addition to the group, giving the band a fresh, blended sound and an edge that’s crisp, clear and concise. The band members have been a part of many local bands throughout the years.

Anni Piper

The sultry vocals of Australian blues performer Anni Piper will fill Bunning Park starting at 4:45 p.m. Anni began playing electric guitar at 12 years old, but became a devoted musician when she got her first bass at age 14. She quickly discovered an affinity with the instrument, preferring to lay down a groove rather than scream out a solo. Piper’s musical ability and strong focus led her to complete a Bachelor of Arts (Contemporary Music) at Southern Cross University, Lismore NSW, at the age of 19.

In early 2004 Piper made the decision to record ‘Jailbait’ (BMM287.2), her debut CD. The album was an immediate success, winning the category of ‘Best New Talent’ at the 2005 Australian Blues Music Awards, plus making finalist for ‘Best Female Vocal’. Piper also achieved first place in the 2004 ABC Radio ‘Fresh Air’ competition. These weren’t the only accolades for ‘Jailbait’ and Piper went on to become a top 5 finalist in the blues category of the 2004 MusicOz competition, and garnered 2nd place in the blues category of the 2005 Australian National Songwriting Contest.

Piper’s second album ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ was recorded in early 2007. It was a much ‘rawer’ recording, and represented Piper’s live sound at the time more effectively than her first album. Already acknowledged as being an accomplished bass player and singer, this album showed that Piper had blossomed into a songwriter of distinction; her songs having a blues sensibility whilst still addressing the issues of today.

Piper’s USA debut, titled ‘Two’s Company’ was released in January 2009 and hit #1 on the Australian Roots music charts and # 21 on the USA ‘Living Blues’ chart.

Other career achievements include nomination as a top five finalist in the 2010 Musicoz Awards in the Blues / Roots category, and finalist in the 2009 APRA Professional Development Awards. Piper was also a finalist for ‘Best Female Vocal’ at the 2008 Australian Blues Music Awards and received a nomination for the ‘Rudy Brandsma’ award at the 2007 Australian National Songwriting Contest.

Brent Johnson and The Call Up

Brent Johnson and The Call Up will take the stage at 6:30 p.m. A guitar prodigy from the age of four, South Texas born Brent Johnson always knew where he wanted his playing to take him. Drinking in the very best of Blues, Jazz, Rock, Punk, Country and World Music, by the time his family moved to New Orleans in his teens, he was predestined towards a career in music.

Writing his own material, Brent formed several high-school bands, all with a lean to the Blues, then joined ‘Under The Gun’, who built a considerable following on the local live circuit in Louisiana and beyond. As admiring of the style of The Clash, Albert King, Charlie Parker, Jimi Hendrix, Albert Collins or Black Flag and Thelonius Monk, Brents passion for playing was immediate and intense for his audience.

By serendipity, New Orleans’ legendary ‘Braille Blues Daddy’ Bryan Lee heard Brent’s playing and immediately recognized his virtuosity, drive and dedication to his Craft and to the Blues. At 22, Brent was seconded into Bryan Lee and the Blues Power Band with whom he has recorded and toured nationally and internationally for the past ten years.

Through his long association with Bryan Lee, Brent has played many major Jazz and Blues Festivals around the world and had the pleasure of playing with many outstanding Blues Artists such as Buddy Guy, Lonnie Brooks, Eddie Shaw, Gatemouth Brown, Michael Burks, David Maxwell, Bruce Katz, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Howlin Wolf associate Hubert Sumlin. Some from this circle have given Brent great accolades for his abilities as a player, a fact he underplays.

Brent Johnson and The Call Up release their debut album ‘Set The World On Fire’ in 2014 through the renowned Justin-Time Records out of Montreal . Owner Jim West is a longtime fan and gave Brent free rein over the material and production. Renowned musicians Sonny Landreth and Alvin Youngblood Hart guest on several tracks at Brent’s invitation, and he is looking forward to releasing and touring these original songs and feeling the reaction to his work from an audience.

Blinddog Smokin’

Grammy nominated Blinddog Smokin’, known for its intense presentation, dynamic volume swings, and humorous storytelling, will round out the performances at Sweetwater Blues & Brews, taking the stage at 8:00 p.m.

Fatback funk, blistering blues, uptown horns and low-down grooves: Grammy nominated Blinddog Smokin’ renders millions of miles and thousands of gigs into a deep American repertoire of profound authenticity.

In 2014 the band garnered a Grammy nomination for the 57th Grammy Awards for a CD/DVD with the bands longtime soulmate, legendary R&B/Soul/Bluesman Bobby Rush and featuring Rock n’ Roll Hall of Famer Dr. John. The album is up for Song of the Year and Best Soul Blues Album in the Blues Music Awards and won an award for Best Soul Blues Album in the Blues Blast Music Awards. The album debuted at #6 on the Blues radio chart and charted on Americana radio, its received glowing press from The Wall Street Journal to USA Today to Living Blues, radio play on Sirius XM’s B.B. King’s Bluesville, and a music video in rotation on MTV, VH1, and Dish.

The music emanates from the rotating community of players and echoes across the legions of folks who have communed with the band at 200 – 320 gigs per year for well over two decades. Blinddog Smokin’ has played every conceivable venue, from Mississippi juke joints to high mountain roadhouses; across Europe and the Mediterranean all the way to the main stage at the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, Arkansas, an event that attracts upwards of 100,000 attendees. Traveling by bus to 42 of the continental United States – plus international tours – they have been rightfully crowned “Ultimate Road Warriors,” by Southland Blues Magazine.

The lead dog in this hard traveling show band is the band’s founder and charismatic front man Carl Gustafson; an adventurer, world traveler and philosopher whose gravel road of a voice is paved with the power of his convictions and the revelations in his songs. First chronicling the band’s adventures in an online column, “Tales Well Told,” he authored the book Ain’t Just The Blues, It’s Showtime: Hard Times, Heartache and Glory Along Blue Highway, an enthralling diary of the band’s journeys. Whether in song, performance or prose, he is a masterful raconteur.

The songs of Blinddog Smokin’ animate a vivid cast of motley characters. They sport “Pimp Shoes,” see visions of “Angels at the Crossroads,” chase young girls like a “Funky Old Man,” ruminate on “Skinny Little Ladies” arrive on “Bobby Rush’s Bus,” and accompany the ancient bluesman who has “Just Come Home to Die.” We meet a disillusioned preacher in a old West saloon on “Church of Fools,” and Miss Peggy, proprietress of the Pic-a-Rib Café, where a teenage runaway Gustafson was first entranced by the rhythm and blues helped shape his destiny.

 

Brews:

Brewers committed to attending the event so far this year include:

Wind River Brewing, Pinedale, WY (featured brewery)

• Bitter Creek Brewing, Rock Springs, WY
• Bohemian Brewery, Midvale, UT
• Snake River Brewery, Jackson, WY
• Teton Distributors, Rock Springs, WY
• Upslope Brewery, Boulder, CO
• Western Wyoming Beverages, Rock Springs, WY

Commemorative Sweetwater Blues & Brews pint glasses will be available for purchase at the event for $20 each and include 3 free beers. Additional beer tickets are available for $5 each or 5 for $20. Sweetwater Blues & Brews is produced by the Rock Springs Main Street/URA with support from YAP (Young and Professional) and the Sweetwater County Travel and Tourism Board.

This event is brought to you by Rocky Mountain Bank along with these sponsors:

• BP
• Rocky Mountain Service Bureau
• Community Fine Arts Center
• Pickin’ Palace
• Simplot
• Solvay
• City or Rock Springs
• MyPlace

The Rock Springs Main Street/URA is charged with the redevelopment of Downtown Rock Springs. As part of their mission, there are four standing committees – Economic Restructuring, Organization, Promotions and Design. For more information contact the Rock Springs Main Street/URA at 307-352-1434 or visit their website at DowntownRS.com