Scroll down for all Friday, Saturday, and Sunday schedules, including buses
Headlining at the Caldwell:
OTIS TAYLOR BAND!

When &
Where
To call Otis Taylor a cutting-edge artist is an understatement. Although his music is based in the Blues and folk realm, his meticulously crafted recordings crash the barriers of jazz, rock, funk, Americana, and myriad other genres to create a hybrid that Taylor labels “trance blues.” And that signature style serves as a backbone for his frank tales of struggle, freedom, desire, conflict and, of course, love. With Taylor, it's best to expect the unexpected. While his music, an amalgamation of roots styles in their rawest form, discusses heavyweight issues like murder, homelessness, tyranny, and injustice, his personal style is lighthearted.
"I'm good at dark, but I'm not a particularly unhappy person," he says. "I'd just like to make enough money to buy a Porsche." Part of Taylor's appeal is his contrasting character traits. But it is precisely this element of surprise that makes him one of the most compelling artists to emerge in recent years. In fact, Guitar Player magazine writes, "Otis Taylor is arguably the most relevant blues artist of our time." Whether it's his unique instrumentation (he fancies banjo and cello), or it's the sudden sound of a female vocal, or a seemingly upbeat optimistic song takes a turn for the forlorn, what remains consistent is poignant storytelling based in truth and history.
DEB CALLAHAN BAND
NEW TO THE LINE-UP ON 2/7!
When &
Where
In the last dozen years, Deb Callahan has become a fixture on the Philadelphia area blues scene. But what most people don’t know is how widely she was able to tour. She has done extensive touring from Florida to New England with a lot of stops in New Jersey, Boston, Delaware and the Carolinas. A native of Massachusetts, she moved to Philadelphia to attend graduate school for social work. Between the recent arrival of her son Elijah and continuing duties as a social worker in Philadelphia, Callahan, a natural born creative type, has had plenty of fodder for new songs.
Gospel on Sunday:
LEA GILMORE!

When &
Where
Named by Essence Magazine as one of “25 Women Shaping the World,” Lea Gilmore is one of the world's most respected and in-demand Gospel, Blues, Jazz and Inspirational vocalists. She is also a writer, social-justice advocate, and lecturer on human rights. It has been said that "Lea Gilmore's rich and passionate voice is a gift from her soul to our ears." Ms. Gilmore has lent her voice, literally and figuratively, to advocacy for the underserved around the world and in her own backyard.
Known for her exquisite voice, bright smile, quick wit, and infectious sense of humor, Lea is also a winner of the Blues Foundation’s “Keeping the Blues Alive” (The “Grammies” of the Blues) award for her historical work on the contributions of women to the Blues.
Ms. Gilmore was honored with the 2016 The Golden Formstone Award from The Creative Alliance for her work with the arts in the community and commitment to social justice. U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski, like Lea also from Maryland, was honored the same evening, and gave Ms. Gilmore an award as well for her diversity of work.
Lea will sing on Sunday backed by a local choir under the direction of Wesley United Methodist Church minister of music Jordan Markham, in Wesley's gorgeous sanctuary. Prepare to be moved!
JOHN NEMETH
When &
Where
Boise, Idaho, is hardly the place anyone would conjure up as a hotbed of soul music. But for John Németh, it’s where his love for the genre began -- and the starting point for a journey that’s taken him from his first gigs fronting a teenaged band to five Blues Music Award nominations in 2013 alone.
Additional Saturday bands at the Consistory:
The Uptown Music Collective's 3rd Street Blues at 3:15 and 7:15
^ The First Columbia Bank Young Artists! ^
Sweeney Blues Revue at 4:15 and 8:15
The Cornlickers with Carlos Elliot Jr. at 5:15 and 9:15
Swampcandy at 6:15 and 10:15
Friendly reminder: Bloomsburg enforces its parking meters 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday;
those on Main Street take quarters only,
others take nickels and dimes as well
Danville enforces 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; rates vary, either 15 cents or 25 cents per hour, depending on location
Earlier Saturday bands:
No cover charge at any venue!
Fog & Flame Blues Brunch:
Rosencrans & Sweeney, 9:30 a.m. to noon
34 East Main Street, Bloomsburg
Balzano's Blues Lunch:
Miss Melanie and the Valley Rats,
noon to 2:30 p.m.
112 East Main Street, Bloomsburg
Old Forge Brewing Blues Lunch
Allan Combs II, 1-3 p.m.
298 Mill Street, Danville
Sunday Brunch:
$16 per person,
reservations
recommended:
Miss Melanie and
the Valley Rats,
10 a.m. to noon
Pine Barn Inn,
1 Pine Barn Place,
Danville

Twenty bands at sixteen venues on Friday afternoon and evening, every one of them FREE! And free buses run among them all, as well as to participating hotels;
schedules below:


FRIDAY: Shuttle to downtown Bloomsburg leaves the Holiday Inn Express at 4:15 p.m., Econo Lodge at 4:30. Van shuttle runs on demand from downtown Bloomsburg to the Holiday Inn Express and the Econo Lodge from 9 p.m. to midnight
SATURDAY: Shuttle to and from the Caldwell Consistory and the hotels runs on demand from 3 p.m. to midnight

FRIDAY
Hey, sometimes things happen:
Bands may change from what you see listed here,
but we'll put on a great Festival, we guarantee it!
Produced by Destination Blues
and Richard Briggs of the Briggs Farm Blues Festival
Founded in collaboration with Bonnie Tallman
and the Billtown Blues Association



