A big mahalo to everyone that joined us Sunday October 26th at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel.
Curtis Salgado is our headliner for the J&B Festival! Curtis was named Soul-Blues Male Artist of the Year in 2022 and 2023 at the Annual Blues Music Awards.
New festival artists include Rachel Gonzalez formerly of Hilo now residing on Oahu. Is a regular at the Bluenote Waikiki. She will be performing with Wayne DeSilva, another Hilo native.
Vocalist Desiree Cruz will be performing with the Bill Noble Quartet. Both De-siree and Bill are mainstays in the jazz music scene in west Hawaii.
Making a hana hou appearance is Native Soul Sessions featuring Native Hawaiian artist Brother Noland, Navajo Trumpet player Delbert Anderson from New Mexico, and Wade Fernandez a singer and blues guitarist from the Menominee Nation in Wisconsin. This indigenous supergroup is fresh off a recent concert in Seattle.
Also back is Portland based organ player Louis Pain and tenor saxman Renato Caranto. Louis and Renato are considered icons in the Portland Jazz and Blues scene.
San Diego vocalist Allison Adams Tucker will be making her 7th appearance with a stellar group of Hawaii musicians including drummer and jazz ukulele player Abe Lagrimas Jr, bassist Dean Taba,
Pianist Ethan Capone and Jason Gay on sax.
Alabama pianist Ed Bisquera, will be performing at the festival while on a short break from the World Tour he is on with Kenny G. He’ll be off to to South America and Europe after the festival. We also welcome back the UH Hilo Jazz Orchestra, Larry Dupio, Jeannine Guillory Kane, the Jazztones, Maggie Herron, Bradley Leighton, Matt Spencer, Jason Sherbundy, Organ Trio, Benny Uyetake and Jr. Volcano Choy.
More artists and musicians to be announced.