The Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival today announced Colin James and Steve Earle & the Dukes will be two of the headliners for its 2017 edition. Tickets and passes to Harvest 2017 will go on sale when the full line-up is announced this May 11 at 11:00am (AST). Additional 2017 performers will be released over the coming months.
“These two legendary artists are in the middle of an exceptional period of creativity and prominence in their respective genres and so it feels like the perfect time to present them to our audiences,” said Brent Staeben, Harvest’s Music programmer. “While they share an authenticity and a deep reverence for their musical lineage, they each appeal to a very diverse audience that has followed the twists and turns of their many re-births over their long careers. They are the perfect pair for this early announcement and to lay the foundation for the 2017 edition of Harvest”.
When six-time Juno Award winner Colin James first hit the scene a quarter century ago, he became an instant guitar hero, mentored by the legendary Stevie Ray Vaughan. Today, he’s riding high on the release of his latest Blue Highways which has been on top of the North America blues charts since November. Two years ago, he took a sold out Harvest crowd on a rip-roaring trip through his musical catalogue that left many in the house scampering to head home and revisit his old recordings. Even after 14 acclaimed albums and 30 years in the business, Colin remains a crowd pleaser at the top of his game.
A protege of Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, the iconic Steve Earle quickly became a master storyteller in his own right, penning songs that would be recorded by Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, Travis Tritt, The Pretenders, Joan Baez and countless others. 1986 saw the release of his debut record, Guitar Town, which shot to number one on the country charts and founded the term “New Country.” What’s followed has been an extremely exciting and varied array of releases from the multiple Grammy Award winner and 2016 saw him tour a 30 year anniversary of that ground breaking first album. Harvest is pleased to debut Steve Earle and the Dukes at our 2017 edition.
The Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival is Atlantic Canada’s largest annual music festival, drawing up to 85,000 fans to the streets of Fredericton each September. Colin James, Steve Earle & the Dukes and more will headline the 27th annual edition this September 12-17.