March 19, 2024

Annual Bowlful of Blues moves to a Sunday

24th year event set for Labor Day weekend

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A few changes are in store for the 24th version of one of Newton’s best-known annual entertainment events.

However, the 2016 Bowlful of Blues will still be on Labor Day Weekend — and the Maytag Bowl will still be the site of some of the best blues in the region.

Musicians from across Iowa and other states — some of whom have played internationally and at the top blues venues in the U.S. — will grace the stage when the 24th annual Bowlful of Blues happens Sept. 4. The event has been moved to a Sunday, partly to accommodate home college football games set for Sept. 3, and newly elected South Skunk Blues Society President Elaine Mattingly said there is hope the event and others like it will help give Jasper County residents a reason to stay close to home on Labor Day weekend.

“We’re hoping to help create an anchor event that keeps people here in town,” Mattingly said. “That’s why we’ve adjusted by moving to Sunday, and that’s why we’ve been very careful about what music we put on the stage.”

Mattingly said there is nearly always interest from top talent about the concert, and there are several rounds to the selection process. The acts chosen this year are Mothership, Bob Dorr and the Blue Band, The Marquise Knox Band, The Joanna Connor Band and the Nellie “Tiger” Travis Band.

One of the other changes this year will be ticket availability through www.midwesttix.com. Mattingly said she's excited about how the $20 advance tickets will help grow the event.

Another change is that rather than an “after-party” show at a venue that serves alcohol, there will instead be a pre-party on the evening of Sept. 3 at Yanni’s Greek & Italian Restaurant. Tickets and merchandise will be available at the party, which has no cover charge.

Tickets will cost $25 at the door for adults. All concert-goers age 15 and younger will get in for free if with an adult.

Mothership, the first band set to play, features features Jeff Banks of Newton as its frontman. The band’s list of accomplishments includes reaching the semifinals of the International Blues Challenge at BB King’s Blues Club in Memphis last winter.

Bob Dorr and the Blue Band are one of the veteran acts this year. The band is celebrating its 35th anniversary.

Knox is a phenom in his 20s. The guitarist and vocalist brings a band to the Maytag Bowl that Mattingly hopes will invigorate younger listeners and help hand the tradition down to another generation of fans.

“It’s important to have veteran musicians at an event, but it’s great to have young talent, too,” Mattingly said. “Especially with the new blues-rock sound that seems to be surfacing.”

Connor has been making a name for herself in the Chicago area and elsewhere since the 1980s. Travis, whose band are the headliners of the event, is a singer who has made her name with hits ranging from the outrageous “Slap Yo’ Weave off” to the more serious “M.O.D. (Man on Drugs).”

Des Moines-area lefthanded guitarist Rob Lombard will play music in between the day’s five sets, as he did last year. He’ll be joined by a duo known as Tina & Brandon.

Mattingly said she hopes the event is part of an ever-increasing series of arts and other public events designed to bring out pride for the city of Newton and the rest of the county. There are other regular arts events that are being planned, and an art fair will accompany the 2017 Bowlful of Blues.

“I really like to see collaboration between different organizations,” Mattingly said. “It’s exciting to see how much talent we have here, and what kinds of events can happen in Newton with the right planning and enough people involved.”

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com