5th ANNUAL HOT BLUES AND BBQ TO BE HELD THIS WEEKEND, JUNE 19-20, 2009

Hot
Blues and BBQ, the Village of Oxford, the Oxford Downtown Development
Authority, and the Detroit Blues Society are proud to announce that the
5^th annual HOT BLUES AND BBQ will be held June 19-20, 2009. The Friday, June 19^th
event will be held from 7pm-10pm in Centennial Park in Downtown Oxford,
MI. The Saturday June 20th event will be held from 12pm to 1am, in
beautiful Scripter Park, in the Village of Oxford, Michigan.

The
festival has returned to it’s 2-day format after several years of
tinkering with several different combinations. According to festival
producer, Steve Allen, two days are the best-suited timeframe for
maximum exposure for both the Village of Oxford and Blues music in general. The single largest change this year is the fact that all events on both days are absolutely free of charge for admission.
This is being done due the poor state of the Michigan economy and to
allow families a weekend of fun without the worries of money.

This
year’s event is actually 3 events starting with the kickoff concert on
Friday evening, followed by Detroit Blues Challenge starting at noon on
Saturday, and the core festival beginning at 4pm on Saturday.

THE FRIDAY KICKOFF EVENT

The
Oxford DDA Kickoff Night will feature Blues performances from 4
regional acts, all of which are well known in their own right. The gates will open at 5:00pm and admission is absolutely free. The musical lineup for this event will feature (along with their performance times):

· MOJO PHOENIX (6:00pm)

· FRONT STREET BLUES BAND (7:00pm)

· TOMAS ESPARZA and the BOA CONSTRICTORS (8:00pm)

· JOSH BOYD AND THE VIP BAND wsg/ MARK “PAZ” PASMAN FROM WCSX (9:00pm)

You
may stroll Downtown Oxford to eat, shop, and discover it’s hidden
treasures. You may also attend the post-concert celebration at
Callahan’s in Auburn Hills immediately following. (www.atcallahans.com).

THE SATURDAY JUNE 20 EVENT

This event kicks off at 12 noon from 2 different locations. The first location, the Berkley American Legion Post. hosts a memorial motorcycle ride as a fundraiser for the 1st Battalion, 24th Marines Operation Iraqi Freedom Battalion Memorial (http://1-24battalionmemorial.bravehost.com)
to honor the 22 fallen Marines of 1st Battalion, 24th Marines through
the construction of a permanent Battalion Memorial at Selfridge Air
National Guard Base – Mount Clemens, MI. The ride progresses through
Oakland County with many celebrity riders and escorted by the Oakland
County Sherriff’s Department. Contact [email protected] for further details.

In Oxford, at noon, day 2 of the festivities begin, starting with:

THE 2009 DETROIT BLUES CHALLENGE

The
Detroit Blues Challenge at Hot Blues and BBQ is the 4th preliminary
round of the annual Detroit Blues Society Challenge where the overall
judged winner will move on to the Challenge Finals in November and win
a cash prize. In 2008, 5 preliminary rounds were staged plus the
Finals. In 2009, there will be 6 rounds plus the Finals. The overall
winners of the Finals will go on to represent Detroit at the
International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee in January of 2010.

In this, the 4th round of the Blues Challenge, the competitors will be (along with their performance times):

BEBE AND THE BLUESMASTERS (12 Noon)
DAVID GERALD AND INSURRECTION (12:30pm)
MOTOR HONEY (1:00pm)
CROSSROADS BLUES BAND (1:30pm)
JACOB CLYDE BAND (2:00pm)

Each
Band will play 1, 20-minute set of original music, and will be judged
by a panel of music professionals, in accordance with International
Blues Challenge rules, to determine an overall winner of this round.
The winner will be announced at around 3:00 pm.

There
will also be a people’s choice award for the crowd’s favorite band.
Patrons will vote with dollar bills and the band with the highest total
of votes will win. All monies raised will benefit the Detroit Blues
Society’s Blues Challenge Prize Fund. The Detroit Blues Society is a
registered 501c3 charity and all donations are tax deductible.

HOT BLUES AND BBQ 2009

Hot
Blues and BBQ 2009 will feature spectacular Blues performances from a
star-studded cast of musicians from across the USA. Along with the
musical performances, the event also features BBQ Vendors, the Hubert

Distributors
– Bud Light Beer Garden, Retail Vendors, Swimming, Picnicking, a
Playground, Raffles, and an entire day of family fun for all. The gates will open at 11:00am and admission is absolutely free.

The musical lineup for 2009 looks like a who’s who of Blues music and will feature (along with their performance times):