Promoter Brad Selko Talks Hot August Blues & Roots - This Weekend
WHAT: Hot August Blues
WHERE: Cockeysville, MD
WHEN: Saturday 8.18.12
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When I caught up with Hot August Blues promoter Brad Selko he is at the store buying hand towels. Yes, hand towels!
Brad: “We have gone through about 500 of these things in 20 years. I try to recycle them but I don’t know what happens. They just seem to disappear.”
This great, one day festival, that takes place in Cockeysville, MD at the Oregon Ridge Park started in someone’s back yard when a friend suggested to Brad that he put on a blues festival.
Brad: “Charlie Musselwhite was our first headliner. We built a stage and about 150 people came. It was easy! “says Selko.That was then this is now.”This year I have 10 acts on two stages. I am having a drum circle, stilt walker and the Moth Poetic Circus.”
Gov't Mule
The line-up is once again impressive. Headliners Govt Mule and Trombone Shorty are joined by the super high energy showman J.C. Brooks and his band the Uptown Sound. Brooks and band have been ubiquitous on the east coast this summer and are not to be missed.
Trombone Shorty
Also on the bill are the Cris Jacobs Band. Cris was the lead singer and guitarist for the late great Baltimore band The Bridge. Cris just released a wonderful new record and this is his first time playing Hot August Blues fronting his own band.
Magic Slim and The Teardrops return to to the festival after a long hiatus. “Magic Slim and his band played Hot August Blues a number of years ago and I am thrilled to have him back” said Selko.
Notable first time acts include Justin Townes Earle, Chris Kasper from Philly,the Latin band Locos Por Juana, and a bluegrass band called Bovine Social Club.
Brad: “We started out as a blues festival but about seven years ago we expanded to become a blues and roots festival. I have really tried to offer a diverse selection of music.”
Diverse and great if you ask me. As usual part of the proceeds from Hot August Blues go to support the wonderful organization Common Ground On The Hill which is a multicultural community of artists, musicians, and writers.
Thanks to the hard work of promoter Brad Selko and his staff Hot August Blues continues to be one of the best run one day festivals on the east coast. Ticket prices, directions, and general info can be found by going to the festival web-site www.hotaugustblues.com. Now if Brad could only find those hand towels!
