WRFG Labor Day Blues Barbecue

Start: Monday, September 4, 2023 12:00PM
End: Monday, September 4, 2023 7:30PM

On Labor Day, Monday, September 4, 2023, WRFG 89.3 FM will be holding its 38th annual Labor Day Blues Barbecue at Atlanta’s Park Tavern. This year, the day-long blues festival features 2 of the country’s leading female blues artists at the top of the bill – Kat Riggins and EG Kight. Small but mighty blues and soul singer/songwriter Kat Riggins is, without a doubt, a rising star. Since 2016, she’s released 4 albums, the last 2 on Gulf Coast Records. Her most recent album, "Progeny", was nominated for Soul Blues Album of the Year by the Blues Foundation. They also nominated her for Soul Blues Female Artists of the Year. Miami-based Kat will be bringing a 6 piece band with her. Co-headlining with Kat is a name very familiar to Georgia blues fans, singer/songwriter and guitarist EG Kight. EG played a solo set at our 2008 Blues Barbecue but, this year, she’s bringing bandmates guitarist/dobro player Ken Wynn and drummer Gary Porter. EG has been at it a long time, becoming a professional musician in her mid-teens. For the past 25 years, she has focused on the blues, and her talents have resulted in 18 award nominations. Known as the Georgia Songbird, EG has released 9 albums since 1997, and she will have a new one coming out in August. In recognition of her significant accomplishments, WRFG’s Blues airshifters have selected EG to be this year’s Blues Barbecue honoree. Two excellent local bands round out the lineup. One is William “Bluesman” Reed and the Juke Joint Dukes, a great traditional Chicago and Delta blues band that just missed taking top honors in the Atlanta Blues Society’s 2022 Atlanta Blues Challenge. The other group, Jackson and the Nightcaps, features talented millennial Jackson Allen on harmonica and vocals. While this Chicago style and jump blues band has yet to release a record, Jackson has been recruited by renowned blues stars such as Eddie 9V and Mudcat to appear on their CDs. So that’s the music lineup and there will be plenty of room for dancing. If attendees want to eat and drink, there will be barbecue plates from Williamson Brothers Barbecue for sale, as well as the Park Tavern’s delicious craft beers and specialty cocktails made with Cathead Vodka. Attendees can also look forward to a multi-prize raffle. Again, the festival is the Monday afternoon of Labor Day weekend – September 4th, at the Park Tavern in Midtown Atlanta. Tickets are now on sale at www.wrfg.org and www.bigtickets.com, for a reduced price of $20. Admission will be $25 at the door. As always, kids 12 and under are free. This event is co-sponsored by Park Tavern, the Atlanta Blues Society, Cathead Distillery, and the Fulton County Arts Council.