Two Big Iowa Shows

I Thought I would post a couple of press releases from KUNI. KUNI is the NPR station located in Ceder Falls- Waterloo Iowa. They play blues, jazz, world music, plus the typical NPR shows. They are having a couple of shows one in Clear Lake at the famous Surf Ballroom. The Surf was the location of the final show of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper. After the show they chartered a plane in a snowstorm and crashed in a cornfield. Truly the day the music died. However, the blues lives now at the surf, and KUNI is having a Bike, Blues, and BBQ fest in Clear Lake. more details below. the second show is a blues cruise featuring Bob Dorr, and the Blue Band. The cruise takes off from Dubuque at 7:30 and returns at 10:30. The important details are below. However, if you haven't seen the blue band, especially my readers in Illinois, you need to catch them while you can. Bob Dorr is in the Iowa Blues Hall Of Fame, the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, and is a legendary DJ in Iowa. He has had a great run with the Blue Band, and even though the personal has changed through out the years, Bob has always had one of the best blues, rock, and soul shows going in the Midwest. You need to check them out.

OKAY Below are both press releases for both shows:

KUNI Night at Clear Lake’s “Bicycle Blues & BBQ” Festival

Saturday, July 7, 2007 – 7 p.m.

The Surf Ballroom, Clear Lake, IA

The Bicycle, Blues & BBQ festival gets underway in Clear Lake on Friday, July 6 at 5:00 pm with food and cycling vendors and culminates with a USCF-sanctioned race on Sunday, July 8 at 7:30 am. Inflate those tires, find your helmet and get biking! KUNI will participate in this Clear Lake event with a great night of blues on Saturday, July 7 at the Surf Ballroom featuring a CD release party from R&B pianist/vocalist KELLEY HUNT, blues diva CANDYE KANE in support of her new release "Guitar'd and Feathered," and Iowa City's ambassadors of soul THE DIPLOMATS OF SOLID SOUND featuring THE DIPLOMETTES!

KUNI BLUES NIGHT AT THE SURF (Saturday):

KELLEY HUNT: These days it's rare when a blues-based artist shows up with both tradition and true originality on their side. Roots R&B / Americana singer / songwriter / piano player KELLEY HUNT is just such an artist -- a woman who has muscled her way onto the scene on her own terms with an identity that is clearly steeped in blues/roots/gospel but reaches out toward refreshingly unexpected horizons. That freshness together with a commanding, passionate stage presence and superior skills as a vocalist, piano player and writer have earned Kelley the respect of critics and fans across the country. Born in Kansas City, Hunt’s love for her craft was fine tuned listening to early blues, R&B, roots rock, jazz and gospel influences including Ruth Brown, Mahalia Jackson, Billie Holiday, Ann Peebles, Ray Charles, Dinah Washington, Aretha Franklin, Charles Brown, Wanda Jackson and a crossection of the New Orleans/St. Louis/KC piano traditions of Professor Longhair, Toots Washington, Johnnie Johnson and Kansas City masters Jay McShann and Mary Lou Williams among others. While subtle reminders of those very traditional influences can be heard in Kelley’s live performances and recordings, her lyrics, soul and passion are all her own. Kelley will be touring in support of a brand new release and this stop in Clear Lake serves as Kelley Hunt's CD release party, so don't miss it!

CANDYE KANE: In the tradition of none-too-shy, brassy, larger-than-life flamboyant blues singers like Memphis Minnie, Bessie Smith, Big Mama Thornton and Etta James comes CANDYE KANE. The Blues was a place where women had colorful pasts - many were plus sized like herself. Most had grown up in oppressive, horrible circumstances and yet were still able to make music and celebrate their sexual lives. She sings of her life in a way audiences all over the world can relate to. Such candor, combined with excellent showmanship and a crackerjack band has helped Candye Kane rise in the world of the blues rather rapidly. Her eighth cd, tentatively titled "Guitar'd and Feathered" will feature performances by many of Candye's closest guitar playing pals. A remake of the song "Female Trouble;" penned by drag queen Divine for the John Waters movie of the same name, was recorded earlier this month in Amsterdam with Ana Popovic. Other guitar slinger guests will include Sue Foley, Junior Watson, Dave Alvin, Poison Ivy of the Cramps, Popa Chubby and Nick Curran. Produced by former Muddy Waters guitarist, Bob Margolin, Kane's latest effort proves to be an exciting merger of Candye's powerful vocals with scorching guitar icons.

DIPLOMATS OF SOLID SOUND featuring THE DIPLOMETTES: Steeped in the sizzling, funky gumbo of Booker T & The MG's, The Meters, James Brown and the B-3 driven, backyard barbecue jams of Jimmy Smith, Lou Donaldson, Jimmy McGriff, Lonnie Smith, and Brother Jack McDuff, THE DIPLOMATS OF SOLID SOUND surge forward in their passionate crusade to steam-clean the planet's dancefloors with their instrumental soul stew. THE DIPLOMETTES' smooth and sassy vocal stylings hit the scene in July 2006 and they've been shakin' a tail feather and gettin' down ever since. Together with The Diplomats of Solid Sound, all three write original tunes, such as "Already Gone," "Gotta Decide," and "Smokey Places." Look for their new album with The Diplomats - out soon!!

2 FOR 1 SPECIAL AT THE SURF! Buy one ticket for KUNI's Saturday night show with Kelley Hunt and get one FREE ticket for The Surf's Friday night show with blues axeman Walter Trout at 8 pm! While supplies last.

Advance tickets can be ordered online at www.iowatix.com and www.kuniradio.org (in the STORE section) or by calling KUNI weekdays at 319-273-6400 or 800-772-2440, ext. 0. Advance tickets are also available at Bob's Guitars in Cedar Falls and CDGB’s in Mason City.

Scott Vezdos

Marketing Manager/Special Events Coordinator

KUNI/KHKE Public Radio

University of Northern Iowa

3rd Floor, CAC

Cedar Falls, IA 50614

p: (319) 273-3497

www.kuniradio.org

www.myspace.com/kuniradio

HERE IS THE SECOND PRESS RELEASE FROM KUNI

KUNI Blues Cruise with Bob Dorr & the Blue Band

Friday, June 1, 7:30-10:30 p.m. (boarding begins at 7 p.m.)

Spirit of Dubuque, 3^rd St. Ice Harbor, Dubuque

Join KUNI and the Spirit of Dubuque for a three-hour tour on the mighty Mississippi for the 2007 Blue Cruise with Bob Dorr & the Blue Band!

The Blue Band is celebrating 25 years, with KUNI’s very own Bob Dorr recently being inducted into the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame. The Blue Band has acquired a dedicated fan base of all ages and has become one of Iowa's most revered and requested bands.

The Spirit of Dubuque is a replica of a century-old Mississippi River steamboat with decorative smokestacks, a scalloped canopy over its open-air deck, Victorian red and gold decor throughout the enclosed dining salon. The gangway and dining area are handicapped accessible for standard wheelchairs.

Set sail with us on Friday, June 1. Boarding begins at 7:00 p.m. at the 3rd Street Ice Harbor in Dubuque. Cruise departs at 7:30 p.m. and returns at 10:30 p.m.

Blues Cruise tickets are $15 in advance. Advance tickets can be ordered online at www.kuniradio.org in the STORE section or by calling KUNI weekdays at 319-273-6400 or 800-772-2440, ext. 0. Advance tickets are also available at Dubuque River Rides, Bob's Guitars in Cedar Falls and Moondog Music in Dubuque.

Financial support for this event is made possible by The Busted Lift (Dubuque) and Best Western Midway Hotel (Dubuque) – the official hotel of KUNI’s Blues Cruise.

Scott Vezdos

Marketing Manager/Special Events Coordinator

KUNI/KHKE Public Radio

University of Northern Iowa

3rd Floor, CAC

Cedar Falls, IA 50614

p: (319) 273-3497

www.kuniradio.org

www.myspace.com/kuniradio