The 4th Annual Lowdown Hudson Blues Festival | July 16th & 17th, 2014

SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS, THE ROBERT CRAY BAND, JOHN HIATT TO PERFORM AT FOURTH ANNUAL LOWDOWN HUDSON BLUES FESTIVAL
ON JULY 16 & 17

Lowdown Hudson Blues Festival returns with lineup including No BS! Brass and James Carter Organ Trio

Blues legends will converge on the Lower Manhattan waterfront when musical greats Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, The Robert Cray Band, and John Hiatt jam at the two-day Lowdown Hudson Blues Festival, New York City’s only free summer blues festival! Taking place at the Brookfield Place Waterfront Plaza alongside the Hudson River, the Lowdown Hudson Blues Festival will kickoff on July 16 with Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings headlining. The No BS! Brass Band will open, followed by Lake Street Dive on the first night. The second night of the festival on July 17 brings together Grammy-winning powerhouse The Robert Cray Band, with the genre bending stylings of John Hiatt & The Combo, and jazz saxophone harmonies of the James Carter Organ Trio.

July 16
6:00 PM – No BS! Brass Band
7:00 PM – Lake Street Dive
8:30 PM – Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

July 17
6:00 PM – James Carter Organ Trio
7:00 PM – The Robert Cray Band
8:45 PM – John Hiatt & The Combo

BECA– — USE WE’RE SO POPULAR, SEATING IS TICKETED THIS YEAR!

Free tickets for seating will be distributed 2 per person, starting at 3:00 PM on day of each show on the Waterfront Plaza at Brookfield Place.
House will open at 5:00 PM.
Ticket must be presented for admission to the seating section; standing room is not ticketed, but space is limited.
Only one person admitted per ticket.
Ticket holders must be in seat at 5:45 PM; any unclaimed seats will be released at start of show.

Wednesday, July 16

SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS

The indomitable Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings are back… with a new record and a monumental show! For over a decade, the band has traveled the world, blowing minds with their explosive live performances and their raw, hand-crafted studio recordings. Sharon and her band have bypassed the hype-and-hit superhighway and taken a detour straight to the hearts and bodies of their listeners, transcending fleeting trends and demographics and delivering a visceral rhythm and soul sound to an ever-expanding base of deeply loyal fans. After a year of unforeseen challenges and transformations, Sharon and her Dap-Kings triumphantly return to the stage with the release of their highly anticipated Give The People What They Want, delivering every bit of the unbridled soul and studio acumen that defines this bands’ universally loved sound.

JUST ANNOUNCED:
LAKE STREET DIVE

Hailed by Rolling Stone as “unexpected showstoppers, ” Lake Street Dive is quickly rising to stardom with their dive bar-esque riffs and 60′s pop-soul vibes. The band is led by young singer Rachel Price, who has been noted by New York Daily News as having “the soulful howl of a young Etta James.” The group comes to New York City with the release of their newest album Bad Self Portraits released in early 2014.

NO BS! BRASS BAND

No BS! Brass Band is a powerful brass band that embraces the spirit of New Orleans into its original East Coast modern sound. The group has quickly earned a reputation as the premiere band to see for heart-pounding energy and uncontrollable dancing, fearlessly combining elements of James Brown, John Coltrane, Michael Jackson, and Led Zeppelin into their fiercely original sound. No BS! Brass Band has performed at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, the Festival of New Trumpet Music, and on National Public Radio’s Tiny Desk Concert.

Thursday, July 17

THE ROBERT CRAY BAND

With 5 Grammy Awards, 15 nominations, millions of record sales worldwide, and thousands of sold out performances, rock blues icon Robert Cray is considered “one of the greatest guitarists of his generation.” Rolling Stone Magazine credits Cray with reinventing the blues with his “distinct razor sharp guitar playing” that “introduced a new generation of mainstream rock fans to the language and form of the blues.” Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2011 at the age of 57, he is one of the youngest living legends to receive the prestigious honor. And while he can look back over an astonishing four-decade career punctuated by his trademark sound and distinct playing style, Robert Cray is busy moving forward with his current release and seventeenth studio album In My Soul, release date April 1.

JOHN HIATT & THE COMBO

Over thirty-five years after the release of his debut album, John Hiatt remains one of America’s most respected and influential singer-songwriters. As the Los Angeles Times once wrote, “(Hiatt) writes the funniest sad songs – and the saddest funny songs – of just about anybody alive.” He earned a Grammy nomination for his album Crossing Muddy Waters and composed the title track from B.B. King and Eric Clapton Grammy-winning album Riding With The King. In 2007, Hiatt was honored with his own star on Nashville’s Walk of Fame. In the last few years, Hiatt has released Same Old Man, The Open Road, Dirty Jeans & Mudslide Hymns and most recently Mystic Pinball and Here to Stay all to critical acclaim. Hiatt will be in town in support of his upcoming album Terms of My Surrender, out July 15th.

JAMES CARTER ORGAN TRIO

James Carter is a powerhouse musician and one of the most admired saxophonists of his generation, garnering plaudits for his role in helping to propel jazz full tilt into the future over the past twenty-five years. The organ combo reigned for several decades as jazz’s meat-and-potatoes mainstay for blues drenched blowing. As one of jazz’s most sophisticated improvisers, the organ trio is elevated by James’ virtuosic saxophone chops to a rarefied realm defined by delectable soul, a gourmet repertoire, and consistently inspired group interplay.