About

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s always been blues in Bruce County. It’s a genre that has been able to maintain at least a small core following in this area despite the many other music streams that have come and gone. Two local bands from the late 60s, The Breakwater Blues Band and The Dark Angel Blues Band, are still performing occasionally today. Two venues in particular, The Beach Pavilion and The Windsor Hotel (since torn down), were frequented by touring blues artists moving through Ontario between Toronto and Detroit or Chicago, such as James Cotton. In 2006 a blues society was formed, originally a chapter of the London based Canada South Blues Society but a year later, reconstituted as the independent Bruce County Blues Society, and today has approximately 175 members and presents touring blues artists at The Bruce, 750 Queen St. Kincardine, ON.

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BCB supports the award-winning three-day Lighthouse Blues Festival, providing the necessary volunteers that is so important to the festival’s success. It also brings professional musicians to local school children with its Blues in the Schools program, entirely free to the schools.

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BCB hosts an annual Regional Qualifier to send a band and solo/duo artists to the International Blues Challenge in Memphis and in 2019 its representative duo, Shakey Trill, reached the finals!

BCB has been able to bring major international and national touring artists to Kincardine, including such talents as Jack deKeyzer, Ghost Town Blues Band, Brandon Santini, Steve Strongman, Crystal Shawanda, Erin McCallum, Samantha Martin, Victor Wainwright, Duke Robillard, Scott Holt, Rick Fines, Suzie Vinnick, Shakura S’Aida, Smokin’ Joe Kubick, Michael Burk and many more.