Bonham, Richmond to headline Crown Street Music Festival

Monday, August 27, 2012
Gordon Bonham

UPDATE: CONCERT HAS BEEN MOVED INDOORS TO THE INN AT DePAUW

The Greencastle music scene will now shift to the South Side this coming Labor Day weekend when the 10th annual Crown Street Music Festival hits the stage on Sunday, Sept. 2.

Five blues and/or jazz groups will perform from 1-7:30 p.m. on the outdoor stage of the Family Youth Community Development Program (FYCDP) Center on Crown Street (across from the Ridpath School parking lot).

Headlining the event will be Indianapolis blues artists Gordon Bonham and Jes Richmond.

The annual Crown Street fundraising event benefits the FYCDP as it provides tutoring and other community programs and services to residents of Greencastle and Putnam County.

The music begins with The Hauskatz onstage at 1 p.m. They will be followed at 2:15 p.m. by Convergence.

Sandy Williams and Friends (replacing the unavailable Randy Salman on the schedule) will perform at 3:30 p.m., followed by Blues Side Up at 4:45 and then headliners Gordon Bonham and Jes Richmond hitting the stage at 6 p.m.

Bonham, who brings together a mix of styles from the Mississippi Delta to the back alleys of Chicago, has worked with such blues legends as Bo Diddley, Chicago piano man Jimmy Walker and Matt "Guitar" Murphy.

Bonham has opened for such blues greats as Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, Solomon Burke and the Fabulous Thunderbirds.

Jes Richmond

Founder of the Cooler Kids and the Gordon Bonham Blues Band, he continues to host a blues jam at the Slippery Noodle Inn and appears every Monday with the Indianapolis all-star band Soul Bus.

Richmond, meanwhile, has more than 30 years experience as a folk rock singer/songwriter. Originally from Shelbyville, he migrated west during the folk boom on the 1970s and shared the stages with Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris and others.

After two decades in Los Angeles, Jes and wife Vicky rejoined the Indianapolis music scene as performers, venue operators, radio hosts and music promoters.

What defines Richmond's musicality as guitarist is his gift for jazz-inspired harmonic complexity reminiscent of James Taylor and Lyle Lovett.

The food provider for Sunday event will be Chief's BBQ, offering ribs and barbecue meals. A beer and wine garden will be available on site for the first time.

The fundraiser also includes a silent auction and 50-50 raffle, and commemorative T-shirts will be sold.

The annual music festival is the primary fundraiser for the community center, which has provided a variety of special programming for youth, senior citizens and families since it opened through the generosity of DePauw University.

Adult tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at gate, and $5 in advance for students and senior citizens half price. Children age 10 and under are admitted free.

For tickets, persons may call Charles Miles at 653-9503.

Parking will be available in the Ridpath School lot.

In the event of bad weather or rain -- which did occur last year -- Sunday's alternate location will be the Inn at DePauw. Any decision on the weather will be made on Saturday night.

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  • Sounds like a great line-up; The Gordon Bonham-Jes Richmond Band is excellent! I have seen them many times in Indy. Terrific!

    -- Posted by thinkpositive on Mon, Aug 27, 2012, at 8:34 AM
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