July 4, 2018
Page 9
Mississippi
Alberta
North Portland
Vancouver
East County
Beaverton
The Waterfront Blues Festival at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland is a Fourth of July holiday week tradition. This year’s event runs four days
Wednesday, July 4 through Saturday, July 7.
Boogie
Annuel Blues
festival nation’s
second biggest
Ready to put on your boogie shoes? A
Fourth of July tradition marks the summer
holiday with the Waterfront Blues Festival,
Wednesday, July 4 through Saturday, July
7 at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in down-
town Portland.
Over a hundred acts representing Amer-
ican roots music at its best will be spread
at the
across four stages and four days. It’s the
largest blues festival west of the Missis-
sippi and the second largest in the nation.
Headliners include George Thorogood,
Beth Hart, Ruthie Foster, The Mavericks,
and Robert Randolph & the Family Band.
“The Waterfront Blues Festival has
become the unofficial start of summer in
Portland. It’s just a great party,” said Peter
Dammann, festival artistic director. “But
it’s much more than that. It’s an award-win-
ning event that shows the world that this
music is alive and well in the Northwest.”
Once again, the festival is a fundraiser
Waterfront
to fight food insecurity in our community,
with a food drive and cash donations.
Tickets are on sale for the concert bar-
gain of the summer: a four-day pass is just
$40, which lets you come and go through-
out the festival. Kids aged 12 and under are
free (courtesy of Buick GMC of Beaver-
ton).
There are two after-hours shows across
the street at the Waterfront Downtown
Marriott: “Let the Good Times Roll” with
Marc Broussard and Nikki Hill on Friday,
and “Everything We Do Gonna Be Funky”
with The Motet and Polyrhythmics on Sat-
urday.
There are also four “Blues Cruise”
events with music, no host hors d’oeuvres,
and a full bar on the beautiful Willamette
River. Other highlights include swing and
zydeco lessons and competitions on the
region’s largest outdoor dance floor, Satur-
day morning yoga presented by US Out-
door, the annual Harmonica Blow-off, the
Journey to Memphis finals and more.
For ticket sales, schedules, artist bios
and more information about the festival,
visit the website at waterfrontbluesfest.
com.