The Marquette Area Blues Society is continuing the trend of bringing the best blues artists in the world to Marquette, MI. This year's headliners for the Marquette Area Blues Fest, set for Labor Day Weekend, have been selected by the Blues Foundation as the "best of the best" in the blues.

Saturday night's festival headliner, Telarc Recording Artist Tab Benoit received the Contemporary Blues Artist of the Year Award at the Blues Foundation's recent Blues Music Awards held in Tunica, Mississippi. This marks the second year in a row that Benoit has won the award. Last year, he was also the winner of the Blues Foundation's B.B. King Entertainer of the Year award. He is also a Grammy-award nominated artist for his album, "Brother to the Blues" and his "Fever for the Bayou" album was awarded the Contemporary Blues Album of the Year by the Blues Foundation in 2006. Catch this blues superstar at this year's festival on Saturday, August 30th at 8:00p.m.

Sunday night's festival headliners, Northern Blues Recording Artists Watermelon Slim and the Workers, are true blues history in the making. This group has been nominated for 12 Blues Music Awards in the last two years and this year were named the Blues Band of the Year. Their latest album "The Wheel Man" was also awarded the Blues Album of the Year. No other blues act in recent history has racked up as many nominations for Blues Music Awards as Watermelon Slim and the Workers. Only the likes of B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Robert Cray have ever landed six in a year, and these guys have done it TWICE! They were also named the International Blues Artists of the Year by the Toronto Blues Society in January. Their 2006 self-titled album was ranked #1 in MOJO Magazine's 2006 Top Blues CDs, won the 2006 Independent Music Award for Blues Album of the Year, hit #1 on the Living Blues Radio Chart, and won the Blues Critic Award for 2006 Album of the Year. These road warriors of stripped-down no-nonsense blues are closing out the festival on Sunday, August 31st a 8:00pm.

The Marquette Area Blues Society is encouraging you to order your tickets today to catch these legendary blues acts and 10 more fantastic bands at the 2008 Marquette Area Blues Fest. Advanced weekend tickets are ONLY $40.00 and are available through NMU EZ Tickets at www.nmu.edu/tickets or by calling (906) 227-1032.

Thursday evening, May 8th Watermelon Slim and the Workers walked away with the 2008 Blues Music Awards for "Album of the Year - The Wheel Man" and "Band of the Year". In addition they were nomimate in five other categories! And they are closing out the 2008 MABS Blues Fest Sunday night August 31st!!!

Check out the 2008 MABS Blues Fest logo and the winner of the contest. Just click on the "Logo Contest" button on the right-side of the Home Page.

The Marquette Area Blues Society is proud to announce (well not quite officially yet - just a little taste) two of the national artists who will grace the stage of the annual 2008 MABS's Blue Fest this coming Labor Day weekend:

TAB BENOIT - GRAMMY Nominated Guitarist, Louisiana Wetlands Activist, last year's winner of the Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the Year and B.B. King Entertainer of the Year Awards!

WATERMELON SLIM & THE WORKERS - are as hot as it gets, having garnered a record-tying six 2007 Blues Music Award nominations for Artist, Entertainer, Album, Band, Song, and Traditional Album of the Year. That is 12 nominations in the past 2 years!!!

MS. NORA JEAN BRUSO - Hailed as the next "Queen of the Blues"

MISSISSIPPI HEAT - A Chicago blues band with Lurrie Bell on guitar!!!

Tickets are now available through the NMU ticket office. Advanced ticket prices for the 2008 MABS Blues Fest are $40 for the weekend, Students $10 per day, both will be available until 5:00 PM Friday 8/29. Daily tickets available only at the gate Saturday and Sunday are $25 for each day. More ticket outlets will be announced soon.

Keep watching for further Blues Fest anouncements!

April Lindala, former President of the Marquette Area Blues Society (right), sits with Peter White Library Director Pamela Christensen with blues CDs that the Society has donated to the library's music collection. Several of the CDs are from musicians that have performed at the society's annual Blues Fest held in Mattson Lower Harbor Park over Labor Day weekend.

"This is the first time the Society has donated CDs to the local library and it will not be the last." Lindala states. "Our group would like this to be an annual tradition."