2006 Festival   2005 Festival   The 12th Annual South Loup River Blues Festival began on Friday night, July 8th. The Usual Suspects, a band from Lincoln and Out of the Blue, a group billed as "Eastern Nebraska's Rockin' Blues Band" performed for the free show sponsored in part by KBBN 98.3. Saturday's show started off with The Resonators, a Lincoln-area band that set the tone and were the first in a day filled with a fantastic line-up. The Tablerockers featuring Jason Davis took the stage in the afternoon and got the crowd ready for the first of our headliners that day, Tab Benoit. Benoit was in Arnold for the 5th Annual South Loup Blues Festival and the crowd welcomed him back in a big way. Following Benoit was Jimmy Thackery who had been a headliner at our 2001 festival. Thackery didn't disappoint any of his loyal fans and got everyone ready for the last act of the day...The Whiskey Store Show featuring both Tab Benoit and Thackery. This was a perfect close to a weekend filled with many talented musicians. 2004 Festival   July 10, 2004...The 11th Annual South Loup River Blues Festival weekend began on Friday, July 9th with a great show by the legendary Smoke Ring. This band, a member of the Nebraska Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, put on an energy-filled performance. Those in attendance were treated to a trip down memory lane as the Smoke Ring played songs many remembered from the '60s. Saturday began with the Kingfish, a Kearney-based band that played on Friday night during the 10th Annual South Loup River Blues Fest weekend. Next up was the Southside Blues Coalition whose members come from the Grand Island-York area. This six-person group with horns and harmonica paved the way for our afternoon headliner, Kay Kay and The Rays. This West Texas band with thought-provoking songs, brawny horns, searing guitar and strong vocals provided by Kay Kay Greenwade, found a new fan base in Arnold! Their energy and ability to get the crowd up and going, set the tone for the next two headliners at the 11th annual festival. The early evening headliner, Anthony Gomes and his band, were all festival organizers hoped they would be and more! A tireless performer and creative musician, Canadian-born Gomes and his guitar-playing left the crowd hand-clapping, foot-stomping, and nearly danced out----watching Gomes and listening to his band was an unforgettable experience! Our late night headliners, annual favorites The Tablerockers of Arkansas featuring Baby Jason Davis, came out and entertained the crowd with their traditional blues renditions and then laid the ground work for their set with special guest, Southern California bluesman James Harmon. This legendary songwriter, vocalist, and harmonica player had just started his show with The Tablerockers when Mother Nature decided to join the event! With lightning off in the distance and a rain storm on the way, festival organizers made the difficult decision to call the show. We were extremely disappointed that a day filled with awe-inspiring shows was cut short, especially since we thought The Tablerockers and guest James Harmon would be as great as any of the headliners from our past ten years. Hopefully, this group of talented musicians and friends will find their way back to our stage sometime in the future. In the meantime, we started Sunday morning making plans for the 12th Annual South Loup River Blues Fest in July of 2005. 2003 Festival   July 12, 2003... The 10th Annual South Loup River Blues Festival started off on Friday, July 11th with a free show packed full of great music from several area performers. Paul & Mike of Broken Bow, started off the evening, followed by Brian Lee Lafler of Mitchell, then The Darts of Kearney. Closing out the night was another Kearney band, The Kingfish. It was a great start to a fun weekend. The weather on Saturday was perfect and we hope it repeats in 2004! The Mooncats, an eight-piece band centered in Oshkosh, Nebraska took the stage shortly after noon and received a great welcome from the crowd. The Mezcal Brothers, the roots rock/rockabilly/alternative country band from Lincoln was the second act of the day. This band had played for the free Friday night show in 2002 and their bass player, Charlie Johnson, is responsible for the greatest acrobatic stunt ever performed on our stage...needless to say, this group set the tone for a highly energetic afternoon. They brought nearly everyone to their feet early in the day! The afternoon headliner, W.C. Clark Blues Revue, truly brought the last people sitting up and close to the stage. Clark, the master-guitarist known as "The Godfather of Austin Blues" is a true gentleman and with his band, put on one of the most riveting performances ever seen at the South Loup River Blues Festival. It was indeed a moment to remember and a real dream-come-true for the festival organizers. The festival is never complete without "Baby Jason" Davis who took the stage early evening with The Tablerockers. Coming to perform from northwest Arkansas, this band not only consists of Baby Jason and David Watson (Doyle Bramhall's nephew,) but also has Larry Boehmer, the founder and former owner of the world-famous Zoo Bar as their bass player. We had waited several years to have Boehmer perform at our festival and finally getting him on-stage with Baby Jason at our 10th annual show, made it well worth the wait. Long-time festival attendees, the Seihnerts of McCook, not only took time to acknowledge the festival's milestone with a 10th anniversary cake, but also recognized that Baby Jason was celebrating his birthday with 2000+ of his South Loup family. As the cake was being cleaned off the stage, the evening headliner, the Chris Duarte Group, was preparing to close the day with their restlessly creative spirit. These Austin, Texas musicians have great energy and immediacy with the crowd and their live performance is a "must-see." After a weekend for the memory books, it was time to put the 10th Annual South Loup Blues Festival to rest. As the tear-down got underway on Sunday morning, plans started being made for the start of the festival's next decade and the 11th annual show set for July 9-10, 2004. We look for it to only get better and better and hopefully you will be there with us to help continue making history in Arnold, Nebraska. 2002 Festival   July 13, 2002... Once again the South Loup River Blues Festival began with a free show on Friday evening. Nearly 700 campers, early festival attendees, and area residents were entertained by Jerry Neeman of Ord, who started the night with a well-received acoustic set. Things heated up when Friday night’s other act, The Mezcal Brothers of Lincoln, Nebraska took the stage. In fact, bass player Charlie Johnson’s acrobatic act from the stage top nearly put the festival sound crew in the hospital! The 9th Annual South Loup River Blues Festival on Saturday, July 13th found organizers making some quick changes in the line-up of performers due to a family emergency for the Chicago Rhythm & Blues Kings. Jerry Neeman filled in at last minute as the day’s opening act, much to the crowd’s delight and Bogusville, a seven-piece band of loyal blues musicians from McCook, Nebraska, took the stage next and put on a great show. The Kris Lager Band of Lincoln, one of the most successful and well-respected bands in Nebraska and throughout the Midwest, clearly brought the crowd to their feet during the late afternoon, setting the tempo for the next act, Baby Jason and the Spankers. Jason Davis had given up his band in January of 2002, but didn’t want to cancel "his favorite gig" (as he refers to the South Loup River Blues Festival.) So, he reunited with Danny Lee Irvin and Jeremy Woerner, the original Spankers, for his eighth appearance at our event...and what a reunion it was!! This crowd-favorite trio was just the right opener for the festival’s headliner -- The Hadden Sayers Band. Sayers’ scorching guitar and bluesy, rockin’, take-no-prisoners song writing created the perfect atmosphere as the wrap-up for the 9th Annual South Loup River Blues Festival. It was a week-end that the nearly 3,000 who attended over the two days wouldn’t forget and a prelude to the 10th Annual South Loup River Blues Festival to be held July 11-12, 2003 which will be celebrated in the Congressionally designated "Year of the Blues" -- what a celebration it promises to be! 2001 Festival   July 14, 2001... The 8th Annual South Loup River Blues Festival actually started on Friday, July 13th but there was no bad luck involved in that scheduling as the festival's annual favorite, Baby Jason, performed an acoustic set for a very appreciative audience!! This early performance was a special thank you for all the dedicated attendees whose day and fun were cut short by bad weather the year before. Friday's gathering numbered nearly 400 and was the beginning of a great line-up of music for the next day. Starting things off on Saturday was Dr. John Walker of Lincoln- Walker is an award-winning singer, writer, and guitarist with a distinctive finger-picking guitar style that won the crowd over early. The River Rats of Peoria, Illinois, were next on stage with a modern blues-funk-rock performance. This four-piece band put on a great live show! One of our headlining acts, Big John Dickerson and Blue Chamber, a band from the Twin Cities who were forced to scale-down their performance to fit in an Arnold bar when the rain hit the year before, took the stage late afternoon. Promising to "rock the roof"--indoors or outdoors--the band lived up to their billing and the crowd loved them! Opening for the night-time headliner, Baby Jason, with his band, the Spankers, took the stage around 7:30 and didn't disappoint his legion of die-hard fans--they were just the right warm-up band for Jimmy Thackery and the Drivers, the last performers of the day. Thackery and The Drivers are among the elite of blues/rock playing today and he is a festival favorite coast-to-coast. Displaying a mesmerizing, jaw-dropping technical mastery of the guitar, Thackery was everything he was billed to be and more! For the nearly 3,000 who attended the two-day event, everything came together perfectly in 2001-the setting, the food, the weather, and especially the entertainment. We look forward to more of the same in 2002. 2000 Festival   July 8, 2000... The 7th Annual South Loup River Blues Festival was on mark to be the best ever - Sly Dog from McCook, Nebraska was the opening act and they set the tone for the remainder of the strong line-up of performers. Also appearing on stage were Lil' Slim and the Back Alley Blues Band of Lincoln and of course the perennial crowd favorite, Baby Jason and the Spankers who now call Fayetteville, Arkansas home. The next performer was Mother Nature herself - a summer storm unlike any in recent memory poured into Custer County and hung on until early Sunday morning. The intense lightning and heavy rain prohibited the two headliners, Big John Dickerson and Blue Chamber from the Twin Cities, and W.C. Clark of Austin, Texas from taking the stage and therefore our festival was cut short. Determined to put on some part of their show, Big John and Blue Chamber arranged to set up at Jim's Bar on the main street of Arnold. The nearly 300 people who were lucky enough to cram into this main street hot-spot were treated to a night to remember. Many say it was indeed the best festival ever, but we are hopeful not to have Mother Nature share the stage in the future! 1999 Festival   July 10, 1999... Our 6th annual South Loup River Blues & Barbeque. A beautiful day and what a talented line-up! Headlining our blues fest was the famous Tinsley Ellis. He was joined by Given Permission, Baby Jason & the Spankers, The OK Sisters, and Josh Smith and the Frost. This was one of the best blue times we've had yet! 1998 Festival   July 11, 1998... 5th annual South Loup River Blues & Barbeque. And what a time! Our headliner was the fabulous Tab Benoit. Also featured were: The Rejivenators, StoneGroove, and Baby Jason & The Spankers. We cried from noon til midnight. 1997 Festival   July 12, 1997... The fourth annual South Loup Blues Festival. We partied from noon til midnight to the sounds of headliner Matt "Guitar" Murphy, and featured artists Scarlett Runner, Baby Jason & The Spankers, and Indigenous. Old Mill Park was packed for this one! 1996 Festival   July 13, 1996... Our 3rd annual South Loup River Blues & Barbeque (we went to straight blues this year). Our blues only celebration this year consisted of headliner Coco Montoya, and featured artists Baby Jason & The Spankers, Smokin' Section, 9 O'Clock Blues Band, and Owen Mutch & The Debtors. We opened our gates at 11 and started the blues at noon. Talk about your good old cryin' time! This was it! 1995 Festival   July 8, 1995... The second annual South Loup River Rock & Blues Barbeque. This time we started playing at 11:00 in the morning, and kept going til we couldn't go no more! Our headliner at this festival was the one & only Omar & The Howlers. Partying with us was also: Honey Boy Turner & Cryin' Heart, Baby Jason & The Spankers, Too Smooth, Thundering Justice, and Wayward Son. Another great time! 1994 -- When it all began...   July 16, 1994... The first annual South Loup River Rock & Blues Barbeque. Started at 2:00 in the afternoon. Lasted until, as the flier stated, "the blues is gone". Our headliner that year was Big Daddy Kinsey and the Kinsey Report. Our other artists were: The Bamboo Steamers, Sinister Grace, The OK Sisters, Thundering Justice, Too Smooth, and Smokin Section. Wow, what a show!