News Release

Waterfront Blues Festival to present BLUES for KATRINA, a benefit for Gulf Coast hurricane relief, Sept. 25, 2005

PORTLAND , Ore.(Sept. 23, 2005) – Help raise $100,000 for Hurricane Katrina disaster relief at BLUES for KATRINA, an all-day benefit concert for Gulf Coast hurricane relief, presented by the Waterfront Blues Festival, Sunday, Sept. 25,
1 to 7 p.m., at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland Oregon.

New Orleans artists – some who have moved to Oregon, some who are hurricane evacuees, some who are flying to Oregon from the Gulf Coast – will join the Northwest’s top musicians to help raise funds for Gulf Coast hurricane relief and recovery.

“The blues owes much of its rich heritage to the Gulf Coast region—an area devastated by Hurricane Katrina,” said Lisa Wiebe , Oregon Food Bank’s director of development and team leader of the Waterfront Blues Festival. BLUES for KATRINA is a way for the community to come together in solidarity to raise funds for relief efforts while celebrating the traditions and music of the Gulf Coast .

“The need is tremendous and will continue over the next several years as people work to rebuild their devastated communities, homes and businesses,” Wiebe said. “Our goal is to raise $100,000 for Hurricane Katrina disaster response and recovery. Donations will help provide millions of pounds of food to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.”

The all-day BLUES for KATRINA concert features:

•  Irma Thomas, “Soul Queen of New Orleans,” backed by an all-star Portland band, led by Irma’s former saxophonist, Reggie Houston , who relocated to Portland from New Orleans just last year after four decades playing with Crescent City music legends such as Fats Domino and Charmaine Neville.

•  Charmaine Neville, vocalist daughter of New Orleans ’ famed Neville Brother, Charles. “There are no limits to her skills.” – The Boston Globe. CNN and People magazine recently chronicled Charmaine’s harrowing escape from Katrina’s flood waters.

•  “Tribute to Ray Charles,” an enormous hit at the 2005 Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival with Linda Hornbuckle, Curtis Salgado, Duffy Bishop, Andy Stokes, Patrick Lamb and Thara Memory and other special guests.

•  Alvin Youngblood Hart, winner of the 1997 W.C. Handy Award for Best New Artist, this versatile 35-year-old guitarist has been praised by everyone from Ben Harper to Brit guitar icons Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor.

•  Tony Furtado, banjo and slide-guitar wiz and a recent immigrant to Portland , who has played with such varied artists as Alison Krauss, David Grisman, Galactic, Leftover Salmon and Widespread Panic. www.tonyfurtado.com

•  Paul deLay & Friends. Portland harmonica ace Paul deLay will team up with special guests to pay tribute to their Gulf Coast musical influences.

•  Geoff Byrd, a rising pop star from Portland who opens at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles for Hall and Oats this week. He will perform an acoustic solo of “Thank God 4U,” a song he dedicates to the ongoing struggles of the Gulf Coast . www.geoffbyrd.com

•  Dirty Martini, singer-songwriters. Distinctive voices and unforgettable lyrics.

•  Lions of Batucada, Portland ’s own Samba Bateria. A 20-piece marching percussion ensemble playing the syncopated, African-influenced dance music of Brazil .

•  MarchFourth Marching Band, Portland ’s colorful, high-energy, eclectic, musical troupe. A Fellini-esque mix of Mardi Gras mayhem, stilt-dancers and fun.

•  Additional special guests to be announced.

“Until a couple of weeks ago, New Orleans had one of the most dynamic, energized, regional music scenes on the planet,” said Peter Dammann, Waterfront Blues Festival talent coordinator. “Today, its musicians have lost their homes and have scattered across the country to take refuge with friends and family.

“ New Orleans ‘Soul Queen,’ Irma Thomas, is considered royalty in the Gulf Coast . Since evacuating New Orleans , Irma and her husband have been staying at her sister’s house near Baton Rouge . Charmaine Neville’s horrific ordeal, fleeing the flooded city, has been chronicled on CNN and People magazine. We are touched and honored that these two musical refugees have joined us in this fundraising effort,” Dammann said.

• Admission is a donation of $10 or more at the gate.

• Preservation Hall: Portland ’s open-air sanctuary for the hottest blues in town. Join 200 fellow blues-enthusiasts in a choice location in front of the stage you can spread out and feel the music, during the all-star BLUES for KATRINA concert. Bring your own low, beach-style chair. Call 503-282-0555, Ext. 227, to purchase a space in Preservation Hall. $50 per person.

• 100 percent of admission and donations at the festival will be used to support disaster response and recovery through America ’s Second Harvest and Oregon Food Bank.

• Oregon Food Bank is a member of America ’s Second Harvest – the Nation’s Food Bank Network, the largest domestic hunger-relief agency.

• Gates open at noon.

• Please leave coolers and ice chests at home. Food vendors will donate net proceeds to hurricane response and recovery. The festival’s food vendors are Terrel’s Texas Bar-B-Que, Hot Lips Pizza, Big City Burritos and Cajun Café.

• For updates and more information, visit www.waterfrontbluesfest.com

We thank the following sponsors for their generosity:

Major sponsors: First Tech Credit Union, The Maybelle Clark Macdonald Fund, The Oregonian, Oregon Food Bank, KINK fm102, Rejuvenation and Safeway.

Supporting sponsors: Alpenrose, Barbur Blvd Rentals, Bridgeview Vineyards and Winery, Carlton Farms, Century Catering, City of Portland , Columbia Distributing, Comcast, Costco, Peter Dammann, Duck Pond Cellars, EDGE design, Food Services of America, Foster Farms, Frito Lay, Fuller Promotion, Horne Audio, Gary Houston Design, Heiberg Garbage, Hollywood Lights, HSBC, KGW Northwest NewsChannel 8, King Estate/Young’s Columbia, La Vazza Coffee, Lago di Merlo Vineyards and Winery, Morasch’s Quality Meats, Newman’s Fish Co., OregonLive.com, Pacific Coast Fruit Co., Pacific Seafood Group, Pepsi Bottling Group, Portland Paper &

Supply, Premier Press, Reser’s Fine Foods, Rex Hill Vineyards, Ruby Jewel Treats, Stages Northwest, Sysco of Portland, Viande Meats, Western Boxed Meats, Willamette Valley Vineyards, Witham & Dickey, xpedx Paper & Graphics Store.

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