THUNDER BAY – The all-Canadian Thunder Bay Blues Festival is a thing of the past, at least for 2018.
But that’s OK, especially if legendary female vocalists are your thing.
Organizers of this year’s festival, scheduled for July 6 to July 8 at Prince Arthur’s Landing, have outdone themselves with the talent at the top of the bill, landing the likes of Canadian hit-maker Sarah McLachlan and a trio of legendary songstresses from south of the border, including ‘80s rocker Pat Benatar, ‘90s favourite Sheryl Crow and returnee Melissa Etheridge, who blew the lid off the Marina Park band-shell when she made her Blues Festival debut in 2014.
The lineup also includes a strong undercard, including Big Wreck. Sass Jordan and Thunder Bay’s all-female Rolling Stones tribute act The Angies, who will pre-headline for Etheridge on Friday, the Arkells taking the stage before McLachlan and Crow on Saturday, and festival regular Alan Doyle and Magpie Salute – essentially the Black Crows minus Chris Robinson – rocking out the festival’s final day.
Trevor Hurtig, the manager of marketing and development at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, which books the annual event, said they’d thought about continuing the all-Canadian theme this summer, but the opportunities like Sheryl Crow, Pat Benatar and Melissa Etheridge don’t come along every day.
It was an easy call.
“The bands really just fell into place to make what I considered to be a dream lineup,” Hurtig said prior to its release.
McLachlan, who turned 50 in January, was one of the first to sign on and one of the most popular Canadian singer-songwriters still performing today.
Best known for her albums Fumbling Towards Ecstasy and Surfacing, for which she won a pair of Grammy Awards in 1998 for her songs Building a Mystery and Last Dance.
The Halifax native has sold more than 30 million albums in a career that’s stretched more than three decades.
Crow found international success in 1994 with her debut album Tuesday Night Music Club, a record that included the global smash and rock radio staple All I Wanna Do.
Hurtig said he expects her name on the bill will excite a lot of attendees at the festival, which sold out the past two years.
“We’ve been trying to land her for several years,” Hurtig said. “She’s always been one of the acts we’ve wanted. The cards just never fell in place.”
Benatar, with chart-toppers like Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Love is Battlefield and Heartbreaker, helped write the soundtrack of the 1980s.
Hurtig said it was go big or go home after 2016 and 2017.
“We knew we had to set the bar high,” he said. “And it ended up being all female headliners.”
In addition to The Angies, there’s plenty of local talent, including Southern Comfort and The Chain on Sunday, The Boardroom Gypsies on Saturday and Arley Hughes on Friday.
Other acts include Blackburn, Mary Bridget Davies, Mindi Abair and the Bone Shakers and The Blues Brotherhood.
Weekend and VIP passes are on sale on Friday at 11:30 a.m. at the Auditorium box office.
While the pass price has gone up about $38 in 2018, Hurtig said it’s still a great value.
“It’s still only about $9 an act,” he said.
Friday, July 6
Melissa Etheridge (9:30 p.m.)
Big Wreck (8 p.m.)
Sass Jordan (6:45 p.m.)
The Angies (5:30 p.m.)
Arley Hughes (4:15 p.m.)
Saturday, July 7
Sarah McLachlan (9:30 p.m.)
Sheryl Crow (7:15 p.m.)
Arkells (5:30 p.m.)
Mindi Abair and the Bone Shakers (4:15 p.m.)
The Blues Brotherhood (3 p.m.)
Spencer MacKenzie Band (1:45 p.m.)
Boardroom Gypsies (12:30 p.m.)
Sunday, July 8
Pat Benatar (9:30 p.m.)
Magpie Salute (7:15 p.m.)
Alan Doyle (5:30 p.m.)
Mary Bridget Davies (4:15 p.m.)
Blackburn (3 p.m.)
The Chain (1:45 p.m.)
Southern Comfort (12:30 p.m.)
