Three-time Grammy nominee Billy F Gibbons & Friends will return to headline the 12th annual AimLoan.com San Diego Blues Festival, to be held Saturday, September 10th as a benefit for the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank. Through its first 11 years, the festival has generated more than $1.3 million and 20 tons of food to fight hunger in San Diego. All proceeds from the event benefit the San Diego Food Bank’s hunger-relief programs.
Gibbons, one of the most music world’s recognizable people and best known for his work with ZZ Top, is making his second appearance at the festival. His band headlined the event in 2018. Other bands scheduled to play the festival are Grammy-nominated Southern Avenue, the Phantom Blues Band with Special Guest Curtis Salgado, Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials, Eddie 9v, Memphissippi Sounds and local favorites the Taryn Donath Duo and Ben Powell.
The festival will be held from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Embarcadero Marina Park North on the downtown San Diego waterfront near Seaport Village. Food Bank officials anticipate about 4,000 attendees at this year’s blues fest. General admission tickets and VIP tickets are available on the festival website. This year’s sponsors include AimLoan.com, Baker Electric Home Energy, Delta Dental, Wells Fargo, ShopCore, and the San Diego Unified Port District.
Gibbons, who continues to front ZZ Top, started performing on his own several years ago, returning to the blues that initially inspired him and drawing upon other musical influences that captured his interest. In recent years, he has released three highly acclaimed solo albums, including his latest, Hardware.
During ZZ Top’s five-decade history, Gibbons has won praise for his inventive and distinctive guitar playing and is widely recognized as one of the finest guitarists in the blues-rock genre. In addition to ZZ Top and his solo recordings, Gibbons has played on records with B.B. King, Les Paul, Queens of the Stone Age, Shemekia Copeland, Kid Rock, Alice Cooper, Johnny Winter and John Mayall among others.
The San Diego Blues Festival enjoys a growing reputation for attracting some of the best musical artists in the genre. It has hosted performers such as Mavis Staples, Los Lobos, Eric Burdon & the Animals, Charlie Musselwhite, Booker T Jones and numerous Blues Hall of Fame members since it started in 2011.
The Food Bank is encouraging the community to attend with family and friends for a fun-filled weekend of music that will help the Food Bank give hunger the blues. The Food Bank is encouraging all eventgoers to bring two cans of food to donate.
For tickets and information visit www.SDBluesFest.org.
