Blues and brews
5 acclaimed bands come to Gateway Park for outdoor concert this weekend
Blues and brews.
What more could you ask for?
Come to Gateway Park Saturday afternoon and you can boogie as well.
The Downtown Yuma park located on the bank of the Colorado River will be the setting for the 4th annual Boogie, Brews & Blues Festival.
Five critically acclaimed bands from California will come to Yuma for the outdoor blues concert hosted by the city of Yuma Heritage Festivals and promoter Robb Bower Presents.
Playing will be the Alistair Greene Band, Ben Robinson Band, The Blitz Brothers, Len Rainey and The Midnight Players and The McCoy Brothers.
Gates open at 11 a.m. for the eighthour concert at the park at 259 S. Gila St.
Alistair Greene Band
The Alastair Greene Band will be the headliner for this year’s festival.
The Santa Barbara-based band’s namesake describes his musical journey as anything but traditional. Raised in a household where musical tastes ranged from Bach and Beethoven to the Beatles, to Stevie Wonder and Elton John, Greene was inspired as a youth to pursue music by his grandfather, the late Chico Alvarez, trumpet player for the Stan Kenton Band in the 1940s and ‘50s.
He graduated from piano and saxophone to guitar in his high school years, and went on to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston for two years. Returning to California, he played in rock and blues bands in the early 1990s.
After touring seven years as a guitarist for rock legend Alan Parsons, he went solo, forming the Alistair Greene Band. For nearly two decades, he has entertained audiences with a style of music that blends blues, Southern rock and Jam Band genres.
Ben Robinson Band
As a boy given a guitar by his father, Robinson learned to play by
copying Stevie Ray Vaughan. Eventually from that, Robinson said, his own style evolved.
Robinson went on to play with bands throughout the South but later relocated to Southern California, where he played as a supporting musician for the metal band Warrant, Gilby Clarke and for B.B. Chungking and the Buddaheads, before going solo.
“It was a great experience playing with all those guys, they really gave me a lot of tips on how to entertain and connect with an audience,” Robinson said. “Being on the road with Warrant also gave me the time to write and find my direction, I am really very proud of what we have accomplished so far.”
Len Rainey and The Midnight Players
Len Rainey and The Midnight Players have played in the United States and other countries for more than 30 years. Influenced by Rainey’s Chicago and Midwest upbringing, the band blends rhythm rock and blues with soulful groove music.
Rainey is joined by guitarist and Grammy winner Johnny Vernazza, Walter Gentry on sax, Raphael Salmon on keyboards and Rodney Jones on drums.
The Blitz Brothers
Formed in the early 1970s by Richard “Blitz” Livoni, The Blitz Brothers opened for such headlines in the ‘70s and ‘80s as the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Hoyt Axton, Tim Buckley, Jackson Browne and Linda Rondstadt, but also played on their own at nightclubs in the Los Angeles area.
The band broke up in 1986, but was reunited in 2011. Along with Livoni and founding drummer Dicke Dodd, the band includes keyboardist Rick Randle.
The McCoy Brothers Band
Formed in 2012, the band brings together four musicians whose music fits not into a single genre but blends rock, blues and country into a mix described as “Southern California, Southern Fried Rock.”
The band has a trove of original songs, with each songwriter telling a story of his life experiences.
Band members are Troy “McCoy” Ruzich, on vocals and guitar; Sean “McCoy” Fogarity, vocals and bass guitar; Daniel “McCoy” Faustine, percussion, and Robb “McCoy” Bower, vocals and guitar.
People are welcome to bring pop up shades, umbrellas and folding chairs into the park for the concert, but food and drink will not be allowed inside. Craft beer, wine and food will be available for purchase inside the park.
Tickets for adults can be purchased for $25 through 4 p.m. Friday atthe Yuma Art Center, 254 S. Main St.; the Yuma Civic Center, 1440 W. Desert Hills Drive, city Parks and Recreation Office, located in City Hall at One City Plaza, or online at www.yumaaz.gov. Adult ticket prices at the gate will be $30.
Prices for military personnel with ID are $20. Tickets for youths 13 to 17 are $5, and children 12 and under get in for free.