B.B.
King, Al Green, Etta James Joining Forces for
Summer Tour April
3, 2007 - The king and queen of the Blues will
entertain together this summer as the two embark
on a 14 city tour of the U.S. that will also
include Al Green and Joan Osborne. (Click
for Tickets) King who is 81 years old is
also scheduled to tour Canada solo in May and
plans more dates near years end. Expect Robert
Randolph and James Hunter on selcted dates.
- Kari Graham
BB
King Keeping the Pace at 80 July
21, 2005 - Legendary bluesman BB
King will celebrate his 80th birthday
this September and is still going strong.
He is set to launch a new tour, and is in
the process of recording an album of duets
whose guests will include Elton
John, Gloria Estafan, and Eric
Clapton. The guitarist also recently
broke ground on the BB
King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center
on the site of cotton gin where he used
to work as a child. The 10 million dollar,
18,000 square foot project will house a
state of the art theatre and studio, and
feature memorabilia showcasing King's career.
More important to the legend however, is
the hope the center will offer to poverty
stricken youth trying to break the cycle
of poverty and illiteracy in Mississippi.
King, who now lives in Nevada, worked from
age 7 picking cotton in the Delta in order
to help his family make ends meet, and is
an inspiration to many. His single note
playing style is clean, lyrical and simple,
and the elegance of his playing sets him
apart. King and Lucille (his guitar) still
perform up to 150 dates a year. His world
tour kicks off later this month in Holland,
and the new album, which King says won't
be all blues, will be released before his
birthday in September. - by Cheryl
Philips
2005
Jazz Journalist Association Awards May
30, 2005 - BB
King's Bar and Grill will be the site
of the June 14th 2005 Jazz
Journalist Association Awards. In its
9th year, the awards will honour excellence
in Jazz journalism and Jazz Music. Nominees
for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz include Roy
Haynes, Lee Konitz, Sam Rivers, and Hank Jones.
Musician of the Year Nominees are Dave Douglas,
Dave holland, Joe Lovano, and Brantford Marsalis.
Visit http://www.jazzjournalistsawards.com/m_nomineesframe.html
for other nominees and categories. BB King's
is located at 237 W. 42nd street in New York
City. - By Cheryl
Philips BB
King Gets Statue April
13, 2004 - When it comes to tributes it doesn't
get much better than turning to stone. BB
King's hometown of Indianola, Mississippi
wants to honor the Blues legend with a statue.
Officials say it will be the first thing you
see on entering the BB King Park and it should
be ready for unveiling when the BB King Museum
opens next year. To raise funds for the statue
organizers are selling twenty-five dollar
bricks and three hundred dollar business slates.
As for the design three artists have been
asked about ideas ranging from King standing,
sitting or simply playing his guitar.
B.B.
King Wins Sweden's Polar Music Prize October
17, 2003 - He isn't called the King of
the Blues for nothing! BB King who has
been recording since the fifties has just
won Sweden's Polar Music Prize for his
contribution to music. The special award
was founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson,
manager of ABBA, through a donation to
the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. King
will travel to Sweden in May of 2004 to
collect the prize which consists of more
than your usual trophy. It comes with
cash! $130,000 (U.S.) to be exact. King
has been recognized for a "total
dedication to his music, a rich recording
history and tireless touring."
Itinerary
For The B.B. King Music Festival July
13, 2003 - Like many specialty summer music
festivals the B.B. King Music Festival has
decided to forgo the genre specific tag
of "Blues" and expand its boundaries.
Though the Blues moniker is gone fans can
still expect to hear plenty of Blues at
this year's 12th annual event. As previously
reported legendary bluesman B.B. King will
be at every stop of the tour as well as
Jeff Beck. For a different flavor organizers
have added New Orleans-based progressive-funk
group Galactic and Florida soul-blues band
Mofro, two groups that are gaining fans
among jam-band aficionados, round out the
bill. According to festival promoters, King
will showcase selections from his new album,
"Reflections."
B.B.
King Concert Dates
:
July
2003
25
- Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay
26 - Reno, NV - Hilton Amphitheater
27 - Kelseyville, CA - Konocti Field
Amphitheater
29 - West Sacramento, CA - Raley Field
30 - Fresno, CA - Grizzlies Field
August
2003
1
- Concord, CA - Chronicle Pavilion
2 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
3 - Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara
Bowl
5 - Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theatre
6 - Albuquerque, NM - Journal Pavilion
7 - Englewood, CO - Fiddler's Green
Amphitheater
10 - Lexington, KY - Kentucky Horse
Park
14 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts
Center
15 - Wantagh, NY - Jones Beach Theater
17
- Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center
19 - Toronto, Ontario - Molson Amphitheater
20 - Cleveland, OH - Scene Pavilion
22 - Clarkston, MI - DTE Energy Music
Theater
23 - Madison, WI - Madison Blues Festival
24 - Minneapolis, MN - Grand Casino
Amphitheater
26 - Chicago, IL - Arie Crown Theater
28 - London, Ontario - Boler Mountain
30 - Greenwich, CT - Belle Haven Club
31 - Bridgeport, CT - Seaside Park
September
2003
4
- Marion, SC - Carolina Amphitheater
5, 6 - Atlanta, GA - Chastain Park
Amphitheater
7 - Anderson, SC - Anderson Amphitheater
B.B.
King Festival Expands its Boundaries May
20, 2003 - Blues guitar legend B.B. King
will hit the road again this summer with
his Festival tour for the 12th straight
year but this time around the sound will
be expanding. In previous years the Festival
was billed as the B.B. King Blues Music
Festival but this year the "blues"
has been dropped from the title. Confirmed
acts include another guitar god - Jeff Beck
plus jam bands Galactic and Mofro will open.
King who turns 80 in less than three years
is still very active performing over a hundred
shows a year.
April
3, 2007 - The king and queen of the Blues will
entertain together this summer as the two embark
on a 14 city tour of the U.S. that will also
include Al Green and Joan Osborne. (
July
21, 2005 - Legendary bluesman 
May
30, 2005 - 
April
13, 2004 - When it comes to tributes it doesn't
get much better than turning to stone. 
October
17, 2003 - He isn't called the King of
the Blues for nothing! BB King who has
been recording since the fifties has just
won Sweden's Polar Music Prize for his
contribution to music. The special award
was founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson,
manager of ABBA, through a donation to
the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. King
will travel to Sweden in May of 2004 to
collect the prize which consists of more
than your usual trophy. It comes with
cash! $130,000 (U.S.) to be exact. King
has been recognized for a "total
dedication to his music, a rich recording
history and tireless touring."
July
13, 2003 - Like many specialty summer music
festivals the B.B. King Music Festival has
decided to forgo the genre specific tag
of "Blues" and expand its boundaries.
Though the Blues moniker is gone fans can
still expect to hear plenty of Blues at
this year's 12th annual event. As previously
reported legendary bluesman B.B. King will
be at every stop of the tour as well as
Jeff Beck. For a different flavor organizers
have added New Orleans-based progressive-funk
group Galactic and Florida soul-blues band
Mofro, two groups that are gaining fans
among jam-band aficionados, round out the
bill. According to festival promoters, King
will showcase selections from his new album,
"Reflections."
May
20, 2003 - Blues guitar legend B.B. King
will hit the road again this summer with
his Festival tour for the 12th straight
year but this time around the sound will
be expanding. In previous years the Festival
was billed as the B.B. King Blues Music
Festival but this year the "blues"
has been dropped from the title. Confirmed
acts include another guitar god - Jeff Beck
plus jam bands Galactic and Mofro will open.
King who turns 80 in less than three years
is still very active performing over a hundred
shows a year. 
