The Telluride Blues & Brews Festival has added Vieux Farka Toure and Anders Osborne to an already stellar line-up, which includes Joe Cocker, Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal.
Having a famous dad can be more of a curse than a blessing. For every Barry Bonds or Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, both of whom overtook their fathers in the family business, there are thousands of sons who follow their dads with little success. But Vieux Farka Touré, the son of the great Malian guitarist Ali Farka Touré, has already stepped out from his late father’s shadow. Ali Farka Touré proved that the soul of the blues could be found in West Africa. His son Vieux is turning heads with a more radical idea: that those western Saharan roots can be heard in everything from the jam band scene to Jamaican dub.
Farka Touré’s career in music would never have happened, if his illustrious parent had his way. Ali felt that the music business was a harsh place to work. But young Vieux found a mentor in Toumani Diabate, and his own guitar skills eventually convinced the elder Farka Touré that a second generation of family musicians was inevitable. This is music from a contemporary Africa – urban, sophisticated, globally connected but deeply proud of its ancient heritage. This is the old/new Africa that Vieux represents.
Like Farka Toure, Anders Osborne follows in his father’s musical footsteps. Anders’ father, a professional drummer who toured northern Europe with various jazz and popular rock bands throughout the sixties, would bring home early reel to reel bootleg recordings of contemporaries like Little Richard, Fats Domino, Clifford Brown, Miles Davis, “Cannonball” Adderley, Bobby Womack and the Valentinos, John Coltrane, Jimmy Smith and Charlie Parker. Listening to all of this music paved the way for an aspiring young artist. Osborne began playing drums, piano, guitar and singing in local groups, performing his own compositions, as well as songs by singer-songwriters of the time, including Van Morrison, Neil Young and Bob Dylan.
Osborne left home at age sixteen and spent the years that followed working odd jobs and playing music throughout Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia, then across the U.S., and eventually ending up in New Orleans. While in New Orleans, Osborne developed his distinctive songwriting, which artfully blends blues, funk, soul and classic R&B to create his own distinctive synthesis of styles. Since then, Osborne’s fame has spread beyond the borders of New Orleans, a city where he first cut his teeth and developed a reputation for incendiary live shows.
Don’t forget all of the other amazing acts that will be performing at the 16th Annual Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, including Joe Cocker, Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, BonTaj Roulet, Umphree’s McGhee, Saint Jude, Jackie Greene, Xavier Rudd, Otis Taylor’s African Orchestra, Jason Ricci & New Blood, Ruthie Foster, Super Chikan and the Fighting Cocks, Ryan Shaw, Carolyn Wonderland, The Lee Boys, JP Soars & the Red Hots, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real and Aftergrass.
Along with an amazing weekend of music, Telluride Blues & Brews proudly presents the Grand Tasting on Saturday, September 19, 2009. Quickly becoming one of the premier tasting events in the Southwest, the Grand Tasting features more than 150 beers from 56 microbreweries. This event has it all, from ales to lagers, nut browns to I.P.A.’s and everything in between, from award-winning microbreweries including, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Anchor Brewing Company, Kona Brewing Company, Great Divide Brewing Company, Steamworks Brewing Company, Rockslide Brewery, Smuggler’s Brewpub and Grill and many more!
Juke Joint tickets, three-day passes and camping passes for the 16th Annual Telluride Blues & Brews Festival are on sale now! A three-day pass is available for $155 and Juke Joint tickets are sold per night at $25. Festival camping is available adjacent to the festival grounds for $40 per person and are valid for 4 nights starting Thursday, September 11. Single-day, Bal de Maison, Fais Do Do and After Hours Jam tickets go on sale Tuesday, July 1 at 10:00 am MST. Friday and Sunday tickets can be purchased for $55 each and Saturday for $60. Fais Do Do tickets are $35 and Bal de Maison are $20. After Hours Jam are $15. Tickets can be purchased at www.tellurideblues.com or by calling 866-515-6166.
