 |
|||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
presented by alegent health & first national bank The 2008 Concert Calendar presented by First National Bank * Click here to view the 2004 - 2007 "Playing With Fire" Calendar of Artists Since 2004, Playing With Fire has offered fans the opportunity to see & hear some of the world's finest musicians. 2008 should prove to be another banner year. This year we're hosting five FREE events. A freewill donation of $3 to $5 will be requested at the gate; 25% of the total raised will be donated to the Omaha Food Bank. The free concerts, "Playing With Fire," will again be held at Lewis & Clark Landing, in downtown Omaha on Riverfront Drive, on the banks of the Missouri River. A link for directions can be found on our home page, www.playingwithfireomaha.com Gates open at 4 pm. First band starts at 6pm. (Kids bands start at 4:30pm.)
2008 'Playing with Fire' Artists
Saturday, May 17 The Maple Blues Revue Eleven of Canada's most celebrated musicians converge on Omaha first in 2008. This all-star line-up of vocalists John Mays (Fathead), Chuck Jackson (Downchild), and Dawn Tyler Watson are backed by the exceptional Maple Blues Band featuring Canada's cream of the crop in saxophone, trumpet, harmonica, keyboard, drums, bass guitar and lead guitar. This group of 11 musicians features multiple Maple Blues Awards nominees and winners, with more than 35 awards among them. Garrett Mason His first live show was playing guitar for his father's band, The Dutch Mason Blues Band in Nova Scotia in 2000. His 2005 debut album , I'm Just A Man, not only showcased his original compositions, distinctive vocals and masterful guitar skills, but also garnered him a Juno Award (Canada's equivalent of a Grammy) in for Best Blues Album, a Maple Blues Award for New Artist of the Year and a Canadian Independent Award for Favorite Blues Artist. Now 25, Mason has shared the stage with the likes of B.B. King and Junior Watson, and is scheduled to release his next album in 2008. 112 North Duck BluesEd Kids Band Backer's Blues
Saturday, June 14 Indigenous South Dakota native and blazing blues guitarist, Mato Nanji, is known for searing play, a soulful voice and sizzling live performances. Nanji led Indigenous to three nominations and a win for Best Blues album at the Aboriginal People's Choice Music Awards last fall. A Billboard.com reviewer called Nanji's 2006 release, Chasing the Sun, "a rugged, tough, at times roaring blues-rock disc that finds a strong groove and rides it like a jockey on a thoroughbred." Indigenous is set to release a new CD in 2008. Omar and The Howlers Performing "rough and tumble Texas blues," this Austin-based trio, lead by Kent "Omar" Dykes, has spanned three music-making decades. A mainstay of Austin's music scene, their 2004 release Boogie Man featured blues buddies like Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton. One cut, Bamboozled, along with Omar himself, appear in the 2008 movie, Witless Protection. Clifford Antone head of Antone Records, professed, "You can count on Omar for the real thing and I think that's why people keep coming back year after year, to hear the real thing." Levi William William is an aspiring young Lincoln guitar slinger whose influences include the likes of Buddy Guy, B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan. He continues to climb the local blues talent ladder, riff by riff. BluesEd Kids Band: The Blues Explosion
Saturday, July 19 Tab Benoit Born in Houma, La., international artist Benoit blends Cajun blues, funk, rock and country blues all with a bayou backbeat. In 2007, this Grammy-nominated guitarist won the Blues Music Awards (formerly the W.C. Handy awards) for Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the Year and B.B. King Entertainer of the Year. His Fever for the Bayou album won a 2006 W.C. Handy award for Best Contemporary Blues Recording. Benoit is known as a music traditionalist and innovator, and an environmental activist for the delta wetlands. The 2006 release Brother to the Blues earned him the Grammy nomination. His newest release Power of the Pontchartrain unleashes his passion for his homeland and his music. Spinning her songwriting, sultry vocals and instrumental talents (playing guitar, trumpet, piano, and even mandolin) into blues swing, zydeco, surf, gospel soul and country, Wonderland wows audiences everywhere. Wonderland's music has been featured on NBC's "Homicide" and Fox's "Time of Your Life." She's toured with Johnny Winter and Buddy Guy, and recently performed with Bonnie Raitt and Delbert McClinton at the 2007 Road to Austin festivals. The Austin Chronicle hailed her 7th CD and most recent release, Miss Understood, "a mighty and joyous performance." The O.K. Sisters Band Called the "best kept musical secret in the Midwest" the band’s sound has been favorably compared to Bonnie Raitt, Heart and Fleetwood Mac. Mixing original songs and imaginative arrangements of classic blues and rock tunes, vocalists Kate Fly and Karen Earhart also deliver guitar and bass grooves. BluesEd Kids Band: Depth Perception Saturday, August 16 Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush www.RickyPaquette.com BluesEd Kids Band: The Side Effects Omaha's fulfillment for the same cultural exchange, TSE returns from its Mont Tremblant July performance in time to open this show. www.TSEBand.com
Saturday, September 13 Toni Lynn Washington with special guest Junior Watson Boston's "Queen of the Blues" opened the inaugural 2008 PwF Winter Series to a packed and appreciative house, and returns to close the summer series. Washington has received seven national WC Handy Blues Award nominations (now known as the Blues Music Awards). Frank Hadley of Boston Magazine calls her, "One of the best female singers working in the R&B and blues idioms." Washington will be joined by guitarist, Junior Watson, founding member of The Mighty Flyers and former member of Canned Heat. Watson has backed a who's-who of the blues, and "his energy and playing give you the feeling of reckless abandonment." Toni Lynn Washington's website Gaetano Pellino On his first trip to the U.S., Italian-born Gaetano Pellino brings his electric guitar and trio, playing tunes ranging from Texas-style blues to Hendrix rock. Formerly front man and lead guitar for The Fandango Band, which began in 1988, Pellino is reminiscent of Mountain’s Leslie West both in size and playing style. His bio declares, "Gaetano Pellino 'hits' the audience with his 'wild' guitar and powerful voice, which together with a unique ability to tread the stage, make his performances unforgettable." Blues Society of Omaha All-Stars The band that continually rocks the Hilton's Liberty Tavern at Playing With Fire's popular After Burn Jam features some of the Midwest's best musicians. Drawing from numerous influences, this local favorite mixes soul, swing and R&B into performances that stand out in any venue. BluesEd Kids Band: All Else Fails |
||||||||||
_Jeff_Heinz.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.rufrecords.de/download/12_bernard-allison-press-pictures.html&h=1801&w=1181&sz=214&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=8RN1MbNxKJIcwM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=98&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbernard%2Ballison%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26rls%3DGGIH,GGIH:2007-02,GGIH:en)
