Bradenton Blues festival draws artists and fans from all over

Last year, Doug Deming made his Bradenton Blues Festival debut. He and his band played a few songs at a time, in between main-stage acts, under a tent at ground level.

Because he lives in Bradenton, he said, that arrangement was perfect.

"They asked me if I'd do it, and I said that since I live here, that's actually ideal for us," he said. "That way we can play for everybody who's at the festival, all day long."

This year, Deming and his band the Jewel Tones, along with frequent collaborator Dennis Gruenling, will be up on that main stage. They'll be the very first band to perform at the 2014 Bradenton Blues Festival. Their set kicks off at 11 a.m.

"They always give the people who live closest that first spot," he said.

Playing the "tweeners" last year was great, he said, but being on the main stage is undeniably appealing.

"Last year we reached the people who came early, the ones who came halfway through and the ones who came late," he said. "But we only reached the first few of rows of people who huddled around that side stage. This year we'll be on more visible but for a shorter time. Is one better than the other? I don't know. But it's just great to be included with all those great people on the main stage."

This weekend's Bradenton Blues Festival, the third annual, runs from 11 a.m. until about 7:35 p.m. and the music lineup is arguably the best in its history.

Headliner Marcia Ball is one of the biggest names in blues, and her rollicking songs and her good-timey piano playing -- she calls it "gulf coast music" -- have made her an enduring concert attraction for decades, especially in the south.

Her set at Saturday's festival is set to start at 6:20 p.m. The lineup leading up to her performance is filled with great blues veterans: Doug Deming & the Jewel Tones with Dennis Gruenling (11 a.m.-11:40 a.m.), EG Kight (11:55 a.m.-12:55 p.m.), Samantha Fish (1:10-2:10 p.m.), Billy Branch and the Sons of Blues (2:25-3:25 p.m.), Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials (3:40-4:40 p.m.) and Jimmy Thackery & the Drivers (4:55-6:05 p.m.). Dave Muskett performs on a side stage between acts, so the music never stops.

The lineup runs the gamut of blues styles, from Ball's roadhouse Louisiana-flavored piano blues to the swing-influenced blues that Deming plays to the Chicago blues of people like Lil' Ed and Billy Branch.

Branch, who is making his Bradenton Blues Festival debut this year, is a renowned blues harmonica player who has performed as a sideman with most of the greats -- from Willie Dixon to Johnny Winter -- and who has fronted his own band since 1970. He's been nominated for three Grammy Awards, and he's won a slew of major blues awards and even an Emmy.

He credits his hometown of Chicago with bringing him to blues music.

His family had moved to California when Branch was a child. He came back to study political science in college.

"I really wasn't a blues guy," he said. "I didn't listen to it and I didn't like it. It wasn't until I returned to Chicago that I found the blues. Or the blues found me."

It was Dixon, with whom Branch toured in the 1970s, who had the biggest imprint on his playing and writing.

"I can't over-stress how influential he was," Branch said. "He ate slept and talked blues all the time."

Branch has performed on some 200 recordings. He's especially proud of his brand-new album "Blues Shock," his first with his own band in 15 years.

Its centerpiece is "Going to See Miss Gerri," a tribute to legendary Chicago nightspot owner Gerri Oliver.

"It's probably the best song I've ever written," he said.

Branch allows had never heard of the Bradenton Blues Festival before he was asked to perform. But Deming -- who tours internationally, and who won the Sean Costello Rising Star Award at the 2013 Blues Blast Music Awards, one of most prestigious awards in blues music -- said he sees the festival putting Bradenton on the national blues map.

"I think it's great for the town, for sure," he said. "In the handful of years that I've lived here. I've seen Bradenton turn into a little bit of a blues town. People are flying in from Maine, from New Hampshire, just for this festival. People in the industry and people who are just fans. They're coming to Bradenton from all over the country, specifically for the blues festival. I guarantee it. Dozens of people that I know personally."

Details: 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Dec. 6, Bradenton Riverwalk. Tickets; $30 in advance, $40 day of show. Information: bradentonbluesfestival.org.

Marty Clear, features writer/columnist, camn be reachjed at 941--708-7919. Follow twitter.com/martinclear.

This story was originally published December 4, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Bradenton Blues festival draws artists and fans from all over."