Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival

A message from Winthrop Music Association

To our Winthrop Festival Family:

After careful consideration, and with a heavy heart, Winthrop Music Association has cancelled this year’s Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival, scheduled July 16-18, 2021. This was a very difficult decision, but we must put the health and safety of everyone first. Though the vaccines are rolling out and infection rates are generally declining, much uncertainty remains about how the pandemic will play out over the spring and summer months, and what sort of outdoor events will be possible by mid-July. This made moving ahead with our event untenable. It takes many months of planning and preparation to pull off the wonderful festival you have come to know and love, and creating that experience isn’t feasible with so little time, and much uncertainty remaining. The safety of our community — our artists and volunteers, vendors, suppliers, and all of you — is most important.

We are, however, making plans to offer a ‘Virtual’ festival experience again this year. We will also continue offering musical experiences through our “Winthrop R&B Presents” series. To date we have presented Greyhounds, Rolling Blackouts, Ida Mae, Too Slim & the Taildraggers, MarchFourth, Lady A & the Baby Blues Funk Band, Taj Mahal, Jon Cleary & Ivan Neville, Blind Boys of Alabama with some wonderful surprises still coming! Please stay tuned for our announcements.

We can’t wait to celebrate our love of music and community in person with you again at the Blues Ranch on the Methow next year: July 15-17, 2022.

Peter Dervin with his back to back awards for Best Photography from Washington Festival & Events Assn.

FACES IN THE CROWD

Another installment in our “Faces in the Crowd”,

Peter Dervin

Peter Dervin is a Pacific Northwest-based photographer specializing in concert photography as well as production stills for film and television. Peter has been Winthrop’s house photographer for several years. You can also find Peter at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Treefort Music Fest, Waterfront Blues Fest, house photographer for Edmonds Center for the Arts and many other cool music venues big and small.

In his words:

“For years, one of my music buddies, Bill Brackin, would tell me that I needed to get out to the Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival. He loves it there, and he’d describe the beautiful campgrounds with the river flowing just beyond the stage and festivities.

“As a music, concert and festival photographer, my schedule gets packed, but finally, I plugged the Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival into the calendar, and Bill was right, I LOVE it.”

“I feel bad that I didn’t get going sooner, as the line-ups have been amazing. Through the years I’ve gotten to know festival Artistic Director, Erika Olsen, and she invited me to be a part of the photo team which has become a mutually respected partnership and friendship.”

“Of the music I photograph, I am a contributing photographer for the publication NO DEPRESSION which is an Americana Roots Music Journal that highlights a broad range of music genres. For the past five years, my photos from the Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival have been featured in their “Through The Lens” column in their online publication.”

“What I love about the Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival are the people I’ve gotten to know, from the dedicated staff, the adoring fans, the excellent musicians and my fellow photographers. The Winthrop family is there for their love of the music and the community.

“Recently, the Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival team has been recognized by the Washington Festival & Events Association for their marketing and productions talents. To my surprise, my photography has been selected two years in a row as “Best Photo” for the images I’ve taken at the festival. To be selected twice representing the Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival has been an honor.”

“Now, I must say I do have some favorite moments at the Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival. To start, over the years I’ve become good pals with Los Lobos, so when they played there in 2019, I was thrilled. Also when Dave & Phil Alvin and the Guilty Ones played, I had a rockin’ good time.”

“Then there are those shows where the next generation shines. Performances by Christine “Kingfish” Ingram, Larkin Poe, Samantha Fish, Southern Avenue and Robert Randolph just knock you out. And then there are the local favorites like The Real Lady A, Randy Oxford and Too Slim & The Taildraggers. So much great music at the Winthrop Blues Ranch is infectious!”

“To be able to photograph and be a part of this unique festival is a thrill every year. I am so looking forward to us getting together at the Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival in 2021. See you there!”

Be sure to check out Peter’s stellar work at Peter Dervin Photography

If you have story you’d like to share please send to FACES along with a photo of you at the festival!

Award-winning photo of The Dusty 45s
2019 Winthrop R&B Festival

Award-winning photo of Mike Ledbetter
2018 Winthrop R&B Festival

Sarah Clarke of Dirty Revival, July 2018 by Bruce Lindeke

FACES IN THE CROWD

Excited to share with you our new series, “Faces in the Crowd”, highlighting Winthrop R&B fans in their own words. This week we hear from super-fan,

Bruce Lindeke:

“The Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival was always on my list. In 2012 my dear friends Gary Mueller and Vicki Rova invited me to join them at their Twisp River house so we could attend the festival. Instant fan of their house and the festival. Except for an unavoidable conflict in 2014, I’ve made it every year if you don’t count 2020 (can we not count all of 2020?).

“Always great acts, from fairly unknown to some pretty big names in the blues world. The festival is big enough to get these big name acts but small enough that you can work your way right up front for almost any show.

“It would be hard to pick a best show, but Ruthie Foster in 2012 is right up there. She couldn’t perform on the big stage because of an impending storm so they moved her to a small stage in the beer garden. She mesmerized the crowd, and had people crying by the end of her show it was so moving.

“One of my favorite personal photos is Sarah Clarke of ‘Dirty Revival’ shot July 21, 2018. A soulful group from Portland OR, she is an amazing and charismatic talent. You get a real sense of her energy in this photo, and the reflection of the audience in her sunglasses brings me back to the energy she generated in the crowd.”

If you have story you’d like to share please send to FACES along with a photo of you at the festival!

Bruce Lindeke and friend enjoying the festival

Winthrop R&B presents:

MarchFourth!

DANCE PARTY IN YOUR LIVING ROOM? LET’S DO THIS! Methow Arts and the Winthrop Rhythm and Blues Festival are thrilled to present MarchFourth’s 18th Anniversary Stream! For the first time, MarchFourth fans from around the world can attend the band’s unique over-the-top anniversary party with extra musicians, bigger acrobatics, special guests and more!

MarchFourth celebrates its 18th Anniversary with a virtual concert featuring footage from the best of the last three anniversary shows at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, OR, hosted by bandleader John Averill. This streaming show is 18 songs from their recent touring material to older songs that aren’t in the usual rotation, plus some unreleased gems. 100% of ticket sales go to artists.

2020 Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival went VIRTUAL!

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

Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival
Located at the Blues Ranch on the Methow River in the resort town of Winthrop, Washington, the Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival is a three-day event packed full of exciting national and regional entertainment for all ages. There is on-site camping, food and craft vendors, portable showers, and a beer garden. The Blues Ranch is the perfect setting for one of Washington’s finest music festivals. We look forward to another great year and hope to see YOU at the 34th Annual Winthrop Rhythm and Blues Festival!!

Winthrop Music Association (WMA) is a 501(c)3 non profit organization formed in 2005 to ensure the continued success of the annual Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival. WMA strives to promote arts and cultural activities in the Methow Valley and beyond. WMA is a proud supporter of The Cove Food Bank, Methow Valley School District Music Program, Methow Arts, Methow Valley Theater, Room One, Washington Blues Society Musician Relief Fund, Inland Empire Blues Society, Cascade Blues Association, Methow Valley AAU Basketball Booster, Tommy Zbyszewski Methow Valley Education Foundation scholarship and many others.

Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival receives GRAND SUMMIT AWARD

A bright moment for Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival in these challenging times. At the virtual installment last week of the annual Washington Festivals and Events Association (WFEA) conference, online attendees took a moment out from discussing the challenges of reopening big events in the age of Covid, to present the Winthrop R&B Festival it’s highest honor, the GRAND SUMMIT AWARD. The award, given each year to an event with the most successful and balanced overall marketing effort, is for work on our 2019 Festival. Winthrop won several awards in the large event category:

• Grand Summit Award

• Best Social Media

• Best Social Media Ad Campaign

• Best Event Recap/Fest Overview Document, and

• Best Photo—of The Dusty 45s by Peter Dervin .