Award-winning bluesman Sugaray Rayford headlines the Coeur d’Alene Blues Festival .
The 13th annual Coeur d’Alene Blues Festival brings another soul swingin’ weekend to the Coeur d’Alene Resort in North Idaho April 12-14.
Hear the best of modern blues at events ranging from Friday’s Blues Cruise and the new Bourbon and Blues, to Saturday’s Main Event, featuring music by five bands including David Raitt and The Baja Boogie Band and headliner Sugaray Rayford.
The event is a five-time winner of the Inland Empire Blues Society’s “Best Blues Festival” title, and with good reason.
Music kicks off from 4-7 p.m. Friday in the resort with Doghouse Boyz at Whispers Lounge. The Blues Cruise, featuring two bands playing on two boats, boards at 5 p.m. and includes music by Whack a Mole and Steamboat Rocks.
The inaugural Bourbon and Blues pairs the exclusive debut of Traveller Whiskey in Idaho, bourbon tastings, food stations and music by Meghan Sullivan and Too Slim and the Taildraggers, led by Tim “Too Slim“ Langford, a monster guitarist and unabashed blues rocker and celebrating the band’s new release.
Rusty and Ginger perform free from 7-10 p.m. at Beverly’s Lounge.
Music starts at noon Saturday with Meghan Sullivan at Whispers Lounge and the Blues Beats from 12:30-3:30 p.m. on the Front Plaza, featuring Robin Barrett and Coyote Kings with Tiphony Dames.
Saturday’s main event, from 4-10 p.m. in the Resort Convention Center, kicks off with Randy Hansen, a guitar wizard who pays homage to the legendary Jimi Hendrix while showcasing his own original musical prowess. He’s followed by Stephanie Anne Johnson, a blues vocalist who has opened for artists such as Mavis Staples, Robert Cray and The Blind Boys of Alabama.
David Raitt & The Baja Boogie Band, with their distinctive blend of blues, Delta blues, rock, swing and R&B, lead into headliner Sugaray Rayford, whose most recent album, “In Too Deep,” has taken the music world by storm, clinching the 2023 Blues Music Awards Soul Blues Album of the Year and the 2022 Blues Blast Magazine Soul Blues Album of the Year.
Justyn Priest performs for the after-party.
Top off the weekend with the Blues Breakfast featuring music by SideStep, served from 10 a.m.-noon Sunday.
Call 855-703-4648 for details or order tickets online.