The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
2nd New London Blues & Brews Fest June 2, 3
NEW LONDON — Gotta hand it to eastern Connecticut: they’ve always got a new festival ready for most every occasion. Next weekend, just in time to usher in summer, it’s the 2nd Annual New London Blues and Brews Fest on June 2 and 3.
Billed as “a blues-infused downtown New London experience,” this year’s festival will be headlined by Madison resident “Beehive Queen” Christine Ohlman and the great Dallasbased bluesman Lucky Peterson.
It will feature bands playing both Saturday and Sunday in the new amphitheater in New London’s Hygienic Art Park, https://www.hygienic.org/ with additional performances at Daddy Jack’s and other New London watering holes along Bank Street.
The Hygienic Art Park lineup is:
Saturday: The Chris Leigh Band, Ryan Hartt and The Blue Hearts, Chris Mackay and The Tone Shifters, Ramblin Dan Stevens and the Firey Band and Lucky Peterson
Sunday: Franklin Brothers, Paul Gabriel Blues Band and Christine Ohlman & Rebel Montez.
Hygienic Art Park performances run from 2 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
Daddy Jack’s will feature Hip Joint on Friday from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. and The Sidewinders on Saturday from 8 p.m. to midnight.
According to Sara Connolly, secretary of the Hygienic board of directors, the festival was the brainchild of Daddy Jack’s owner Jack Chaplin, whom she described as “a huge blues fan.”
The festival also benefits from the expertise of String Theory owner, musician and Mystic Blues Festival co-founder Chris Leigh, with other organizers including Connolly and Hygienic director Sara McKay.
The goal, Connolly said, is to eventually have enough venues participating to have music all along Bank Street with “kind of a New Orleans feel” as you stroll from one to the other.
This will be the very first event in the new Hygienic Art Park amphitheater, she said.
Tickets for the festival are available in advance at https://www.hygienic.org/ for $20 for either Saturday or Sunday or $30 for a weekend pass. They’ll be available on Saturday or Sunday at both the Hygienic Arts Park and Daddy Jacks for $25 for a day pass or $40 for a weekend pass.
All performances as well as “Brew Deals” are available to those who purchase tickets at any of the participating venues or online. Guest are encouraged to wear comfortable shoes for walking and dancing — and bring a healthy appetite for local eats and brews.
The weekend pass will include a special local-brew tasting featuring several local breweries.
The festival is presented by Daddy Jack’s and Hygienic Art and sponsored by The Day, Safe Harbor Beer, String Theory School of Music, Sound Waves, Mystic Bridge IPA and Spindrift Guitars.