Central Iowa Blues Society presents the Upper Midwest’s Premier Blues Festival Over Valentine’s Day weekend.  

(Des Moines, IA) – The Central Iowa Blues Society is once again hosting the 26^th Winter Blues Fest at the Downtown Des Moines Marriott, 700 Grand Ave, on Valentine’s Weekend – February 14 and 15, 2020. Tickets are $20 for Friday Night Only, $30 for Saturday Only, and  $45 for a weekend pass. Special room rates are available at the Marriott and Hyatt Hotels in Downtown Des Moines.

If you’ve never been, this is the year to go.  The festival takes over the entire downtown Marriott with 5 stages of blues music from national touring artists across all sub-categories of the genre including Swing Blues, Rockin’ Blues, Rockabilly, traditional, Rhythm and Blues, Soul and Alternative.  There is a little something for every taste in music. There simply isn’t a music festival experience in Des Moines comparable to the Winter Blues Festival. It’s unique, it’s fun and a great way to spend a cold winter weekend in Des Moines, especially if you’re looking to do something a little different on Valentine’s Day weekend.

Friday’s lineup includes: 

Davy Knowles- Rockin’ Blues – Isle of Man (UK)

Paul Nelson Band – Rockin’ Blues, NYC, NY

Tennessee Redemption (featuring Brandon Santini and Jeff Jensen)- Soul Blues- Memphis, TN

Nikki Hill (with Laura Chavez and Matt Hill)- Rockin’ Blues – New Orleans, LA

Buckmiller-Schwagger Duo- Traditional Blues- DSM, IA

Blues Two (The Blue Band’s Bob Dorr and Jeff Petersen)- Cedar Rapids, Traditional Blues, Iowa (Blues Hall of Fame members).

Saturday’s lineup includes: 

Chris Cain- Traditional Blues- California

Mike Zito’s Big Blues Band featuring the B.B. King Horns – Big Band- New Orleans, LA

Albert Castiglia- Rockin’ Blues- FL

Taylor Scott Band- Rockin’ Blues – CO

Harper & Midwest Kind- Alt/ Contemporary Blues featuring Didgeridoo, Australia.

Lindsay Beaver- Rockabilly- Austin TX

Lauren Mitchell- Soul Blues- FL

Cedar County Cobras- Cedar Rapids- Traditional Blues

Heath Alan’s Iowa Blues Expo- DSM- Various Flavors

Keeping with tradition, the Winter Blues Fest lineup showcases several regional blues challenge winners that will compete internationally in Memphis earlier in the month including:

Generation of Blues with Hal Reed and Kent Burnside (IA-Solo/Duo)

Rex Granite with Sarah Benck (Omaha)

Harrison Street (MN)

Avey Grouws Band (IA-Band)

Stranded in the City (Kansas City)

Plus, don’t miss the Saturday afternoon FREE guitar workshop with Chris Cain from 1-3pm.

Advance Tickets $45 Weekend Pass – or – $20/Friday Only and $30/Saturday Only.

The Festival will feature a custom brew from Confluence Brewing Company, food and full bar service throughout the festival.

The Winter Blues Fest is sponsored by Confluence Brewing Company.

Tickets, schedule, artist profiles and links at www.cibs.org

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IG – @centraliabluessociety

The Central Iowa Blues Society (CIBS) is a volunteer non-profit arts organization based in Des Moines Iowa with over 1000 members dedicated to the education, preservation and celebration of blues and roots music in Iowa and across the globe.