Augusta-Richmond, Georgia Jul 18, 2022 (Issuewire.com) - The Activities Council of Thomson announces today the lineup of musicians for the 28th Annual Blind Willie McTell Music Festival. This year’s date for the afternoon of great American roots music is Saturday, September 24, 2022, in Thomson, Georgia. Headlining this year will be Texas native Jimmie Vaughan, who, along with his late brother Stevie Ray, is foundational and essential listening for anyone interested in modern electric blues music.
McTell Fest is held annually to honor Thomson’s Blind Willie McTell, a pioneering guitarist, songwriter, and giant of a performer during the first half of the 20th century. McTell was a complete original whose talent was unmatched in early American music. He was born South of Thomson in McDuffie County, is buried in the Happy Valley area of McDuffie County, and his influence as a writer, a player, and an entertainer continues today. Along with Vaughn, the roster includes The Texas Gentlemen, Joachim Cooder, Chatham County Line, Cordovas, and Parts and Labor. A few details on the musicians included in this year’s roster…
Jimmie Vaughan, based in Austin, has built an entire career on sticking with the blues. He was a founding member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, formed with harpist Kim Wilson in the late 70s. He’s recorded numerous albums as the bandleader with the latest being released in 2021. It’s called Jimmie Vaughan – The Jimmie Vaughan Story, a 5 CD compilation of his best-recorded output. Vaughn has won four Grammy’s and was named Traditional Blues Male Artist of the Year at the 2020 Blues Music Awards. He’ll play McTell Fest with a full band including horns.
The Texas Gentlemen, another band from the Lone Star state, will also be on the roster this September. These musicians got started playing together in the studio and have logged thousands of studio hours, recording with and backing artists such as Kris Kristofferson, and Joe Ely along with newer artists Leon Bridges and Shakey Graves. Their influences are many…there are elements of funk, soul, country, r&b, southern rock, and gospel. Floor It, their latest release, is an excellent example of all of those elements rolled into one. They are currently working with Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes, who is producing their upcoming 2023 release on New West Records.
From Santa Monica, we are honored to finally introduce Joachim Cooder to Thomson, the home of McTell. COVID has interrupted his appearance two years running. Cooder, son of famed guitarist and musicologist Ry Cooder, is a percussionist, drummer, and pianist and will be on our stage, fronting his trio. Do a search of his recording credits and you’ll see an amazing list of music projects he has participated in over the years. Cooder’s eclectic solo material is his own take on the influences he’s been exposed to all his life and he’s out touring behind his second release, Over That Road, I’m Bound, his interpretation of the songs of Uncle Dave Macon. The recording features Cooder on an electric mbira, a variation on the African thumb piano, another first for McTell Fest!
Chatham County Line from Raleigh NC will be making their second appearance at the festival, but have been in our area many times at other venues, including shows down at the Historic Depot in Thomson in the early 2000s. Fast forward to 2022 and they’ve issued eight studio albums of original material, have a sound all their own, and a live show to match. The acoustic instrumentation they employ occasionally pigeonholes the band in the bluegrass genre, but their sound is completely original, unique, hard-driving, and all their own. If you’ve heard them, you know. If you're not, you are in for a treat.
Cordovas from Nashville are favorites on the festival circuit. Their 2nd release on ATO Records, Destiny Hotel, is a great place to start if you have not heard them. A band with one foot in the present and another in the past, Cordovas embrace the sound of classic Americana and country rock, with the Band, the Grateful Dead, and the Allman Brothers Band as key influences, along with plenty of close harmonies and dueling guitar work. We’ve been trying a couple of years to get them to Thomson and 2022 is the year.
Rounding out the roster is Macon, Georgia’s Parts, and Labor. They are a 6-piece band, creating great middle Georgia buzz, doing original tunes, and being influenced heavily by the sounds of the South. This is their first visit to the festival though they have played around the area a time or two and have a good local fanbase.
In addition to Saturday’s fantastic lineup, the Thomson-McDuffie County Convention & Visitors Bureau will again be hosting a FREE Kick-off Concert in downtown Thomson on Friday, September 24, 2021 featuring Atlanta’s Blair Crimmins and the Hookers. If you heard these guys last year at McTell fest, you know it’ll be good and lively and a great time in Thomson on a Friday night. The show will be held on Railroad Street outside of the Thomson Depot from 7-10 pm.
Tickets will be on sale July 1, 2022, at www.blindwillie.com. Prices for tickets are $40 in advance and $50 on the day of. There is no charge for children, ages 12 and under. Great regional food will again be featured along the food court. Gates open at 11 in the morning, with music beginning at noon
Organizers of the festival, the Activities Council of Thomson (ACT) a non-profit organization founded in 1974. ACT was formed to foster education, appreciation, and promotion of American arts, particularly those that draw from Southern history, culture, and the American experience. To this end, its primary purpose over the past two decades has been to expose this area of Georgia to styles of music and musicians that, without our effort, would likely pass us by.
For more information visit our Facebook page or our website at www.blindwillie.com.
Media Contact
Elizabeth Vance elizabeth.vance@thomson-mcduffie.gov 7065971000 149 Main St http://visittomsonga.com
