Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival receives GRAND SUMMIT AWARD

Billy Joe Huels and his Dusty 45s, (July 2019) captured by famed festival photographer Peter Dervin won the Best Photograph Award from Washington Festival & Events Association.

“Winthrop R&B Presents…” music series:

Starting Monday 11/2/20 we introduced our “Winthrop R&B Presents”series, live-streamed performances, by old friends from our main stage as well as great new acts we hope to see there soon, via our FACEBOOK PAGE.

Ida Mae 1/24/21

Our third “Winthrop R&B presents featured the British “retro-futurist” Americana duo Ida Mae,  a “shining example of boundary-stretching songwriting at its challenging best” -Rush On Rock

olling Stone Country dubbed Ida Mae one of “10 New Country and Americana Artists You Need to Know.” Formed by the husband and wife team Chris Turpin and Stephanie Jean, Ida Mae has won world-wide attention for their breakout debut Chasing Light, which NPR called “harmonic and hypnotic.” The British duo recently completed a U.S. tour supporting Greta Van Fleet, has played Bonaroo, relocated to Nashville and is currently residing in the UK with family waiting out the pandemic.

Rolling Blackouts

Starting Monday 11/2/20 we introduced a monthly “Winthrop Blue Monday” series, live-streamed performances, by old friends from our main stage as well as great new acts we hope to see there soon, via our FACEBOOK PAGE.

Kicking off the series was the fabled Seattle Americana group, Tom Bennett & The Rolling Blackouts. The band, a group of Seattle musical all-stars, formed as a weekly Monday night collaboration at St. Clouds (then a newly opened Seattle restaurant) and became so beloved they turned it into a 17-year run. Tom Bennett brought in a collection of newly minted original songs and continues to write excellent odes to reality. Bassist Marc Brown was there for the first Monday on bass, Dave Keenan joined the following Monday on mandolin, Nova Karina Devonie signed on a year later on accordion and Kelly Van Camp rounded out the group in year 7 on the drums and harmonica. Each band member takes a turn at the mic, in essence creating a multi-faceted jewel that doesn’t rely on the strengths of just one singer.

Greyhounds!

Our second “Winthrop Blue Monday” featured the Texas band Greyhounds and sponsored by The Wine Shed, Winthrop, WA

The co-founders of Austin’s Greyhounds, guitarist Andrew Trube and keyboardist Anthony Farrell, have been making music and touring for 15 years, refining and developing a sound Trube calls “Hall & Oates meet ZZ Top.” The band also has long ties to Memphis, home of the soul that inspires them. Trube and Farrell have written songs for Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, among others, toured with American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, and for several years worked together as part of JJ Grey & Mofro, from which they drew their band name. The duo—a surprise hit when they debuted at Winthrop in 2017, and when they returned in 2019—has earned kudos from some legendary supporters. Raved Derek Trucks, “Greyhounds make real music, the right way and for the right reasons.” JJ Grey described their songs as landing “somewhere between a heartfelt hymn and the dirtiest jank you’ve ever heard.” And fellow Austinian, Gary Clark Jr., summed up a Los Angeles show, they “crushed it as usual.” Greyhounds have just released their latest album “Primates” produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos.

2020 Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival went VIRTUAL!

Thank you, beautiful people, for helping make our virtual festival the sweetest EVER!