Reading Blues Fest welcomes star-studded lineup this weekend

A star-studded lineup of blues musicians will gather in Reading this weekend for the fifth annual Reading Blues Festival, running Friday through Sunday, plus a

Community Kickoff Concert tonight at the Reading Liederkranz.

There will be 14 concerts in all, with the performers representing 24 Blues Music Awards, including B.B. King Entertainer of the

Year winners Tab Benoit (in 2007 and 2012) and Sugaray Rayford (in 2020).

Rayford, who overcame poverty and loss as a child in the Tyler, Texas, area to become a formidable blues artist, will perform Saturday

at 1 p.m. in the DoubleTree by Hilton Grand Ballroom in downtown Reading as part of a twinbill with Vanessa Collier.

In addition to being named B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, he was named the BMA Soul Blues Artist of the Year in 2019 and 2020, and received a Grammy nomination for his 2020 album, “Somebody Save Me.” His background in gospel and soul music gave him the foundation to begin his career in San Diego, Calif., singing lead with the R&B/funk band, Urban Gypsys.

Then, smitten with the blues, he switched to singing lead with Aunt Kizzy’s Boyz in the San Diego area in 2004. Two years later, they won second place in the Memphis International Blues Challenge.

In 2008, after releasing their second CD, they won the LAMN Jam Grand Slam Urban Artist of the Year. After moving to Los Angeles and singing with the Mannish Boys (who won a BMA in 2013), Rayford launched his solo career with “Blind

Alley” (2010).

Since then, he has released six more albums, for which he and his band have garnered awards and acclaim. He has also made his mark as an actor, starring in regional productions of “Ain’t Nuthin’ But the Blues” and “Low Down Dirty Blues.”

Collier won Horn Player of the Year at the BMAs in 2019 and 2020, and this year she won a BMA for Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year.

The xaxophonist/singersongwriter has been galvanizing audiences since graduating from Berklee College of Music. While still working on her double major in performance and music production/engineering, she was touring with Joe Louis Walker.

In 2017, she toured Europe with the Ruf Records Blues Caravan; she has cut a swathe across the major festivals and the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise; and she has recorded four critically acclaimed albums, the latest of which is “Heart on the Line” (2020). Her music has been called “killer stuff,” and she has been hailed as “the future of the blues.”

The full schedule follows. For more information and ticket options, see readingbluesfest.com.

TONIGHT

• 6 p.m.: Clarence Spady & The Electric City Band featuring The Berks Horns, Community Kickoff Concert at the Reading Liederkranz, 6 p.m.

FRIDAY

• 11:30a.m.: The Bluesmasters featuring Bennie Sims, Cliff Starkey and Erich Cawalla, Annual Kickoff Lunch at the Peanut Bar, $10 cover charge.

• 5 p.m.: Welcome Party with BC & Joe Mac, Cheers American Bistro at the DoubleTree by Hilton, no cover charge.

• 8 p.m.: Tab Benoit plus The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Opening Night Celebration Concert, DoubleTree by Hilton.

• 10:30p.m.: Blues After Party with BC Blue, Cheers American Bistro at the DoubleTree by Hilton, no cover charge.

SATURDAY

• 10a.m: Wake Up To The Blues with Benny Turner & Davell Crawford, Ampitheater at the DoubleTree by Hilton, free.

• 11:30 a.m..: Blues Lunch with Dave Keyes, Cheers American Bistro at the DoubleTree by Hilton Reading, no cover charge.

• 1p.m.: Sugaray Rayford plus Vanessa Collier, Grand Ballroom at the DoubleTree by Hilton.

• 4:30p.m.: Blues Dinner with Dave Keyes, Cheers American Bistro at the DoubleTree by Hilton Reading, no cover charge.

• 6p.m.: Blues Dinner with Dave Mell Blues Band, The Peanut Bar, no cover charge.

• 8p.m.: Eric Gales plus Dawn Tyler Watson, Grand Ballroom at the DoubleTree by Hilton. 10:30p.m.: Blues After Party with Dave Keller Trio, Cheers American Bistro at the DoubleTree by Hilton Reading, no cover charge.

SUNDAY

• 9a.m.: Surviving the Pandemic: Conversation hosted by Michael Cloeren, Ampitheater at the DoubleTree by Hilton, free.

• 10:30a.m.: The Blood Brothers: Mike Zito & Albert Castiglia, Grand Ballroom of the DoubleTree by Hilton.

COURTESY OF ANDRZEJ LIGUZ Sugaray Rayford headlines a Reading Blues Fest concert on Saturday at 1p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel.

COURTESY OF BLUE ROOTS MANAGEMENT Blues saxophonist Vanessa Collier.