Rock & Blues Festival to transform downtown Oshawa Sept. 12-15

The soul of modern music will take over downtown Oshawa September 12-15 for the Durham Rock & Blues Festival.

The four-night party will feature free concerts during the day under a tent on closed-off Victoria Street with ticketed shows in the evenings next door at the Regent Theatre.

Multiple bands will be performing during the day, along with food vendors and a licensed concession, with the tent guaranteeing comfort rain or shine.

Matt Anderson

Singer-songwriter Matt Andersen kicks off the festival Thursday evening (8 p.m.) with a return visit to the Regent, bringing a lifetime of music to every note he plays. Andersen’s stage presence is informed by decades of cutting his teeth in dusty clubs, dim-lit bars, and grand theatres all over the world, delivering soulful performances that run the gamut from intimate to wall-shaking. In the studio, he has brought the same attention to his craft and has amassed more than 28 million streams on Spotify and 26 million views on YouTube.

Friday’s lineup of free shows includes Penalty Box (4 p.m.), Two for the Show (5:15 p.m.) and the Junkyard Flamingos (6:30 p.m.)

Friday’s ticketed event features Epic Eagles, Canada’s definitive Eagles tribute band, at 8 p.m. Audiences will be treated to the legacy sound of the Eagles when they began to rule the airwaves, with mega hits like Hotel California, One of These Nights, Life in the Fast Lane, Desperado, Take It Easy, The Boys of Summer, New Kid in Town and Dirty Laundry. Epic Eagles will also perform some deep cuts for die-hard Eagles & Don Henley fans.

Fandango

Saturday’s free show includes performances from Blues Junkies (1:30 p.m.), Southern Gentlemen (2:45 p.m.), Emerson Ireland (4 p.m.), the Nemoniks (5:15 p.m.) and Midnight Council (6:30 p.m.)

The headline act in the Regent Saturday (8 p.m.) will be Fandango, a unique ZZ Top experience popular at casinos, festivals and venues of all types. The band recreates the greatest hits from the late 60’s through to the 80s when ZZ Top were considered the ‘coolest band in the world.’ Fandango has the musical chops, the cool shades, the crazy costumes, and of course, the beards.

Sunday’s lineup on Victoria Street has the William K. Tell Orchestra (1:30 p.m.), Voodoo Pawn Shop (2:45 p.m.), Cold Shot (4 p.m.), Andy Earle and the Bandits (5:15 p.m.) and Mike McKenna’s Tone Rockets (6:30 p.m.).

Elton Rohn Tribute

The ticketed event Sunday to close out the festival is An Evening with Elton Rohn at 8 p.m.

The only Elton John tribute band asked to play the Elton John convention in Las Vegas, Elton Rohn was called by Davey Johnstone (Elton’s long-time guitarist and musical director) “the best 70s Elton John tribute in the world.”

Though the daytime portion of the Rock & Blues Festival is free to the public (all costs are covered by the Regent Theatre and the Durham Rock & Blues Festival sponsors), each band will be given a cash honorarium to cover some of their travel and equipment costs. The stage, audio technician and professional sound equipment (including a drum kit to speed up the transition between acts) will be provided by festival organizers.

The downtown will get another dose of music the following weekend for the Convergence Music & Art Festival (September 20), featuring performances from Juno-winning artists TALK and Dizzy.