South Bend Blues & Ribs Festival

Join us for some of the BEST blues, ribs, and good times, all to raise money and awareness for special needs facilities and programming. The South Bend Blues & Ribs Festival begins with gates opening 12:00 p.m. E.D.T., on Saturday, June 23rd, at Coveleski Regional Stadium . (stadium directions)

This year's headline act is Jimmie Vaughan & the Tilt-A-Whirl Band, featuring Lou Ann Barton. For more than four decades, Vaughan, the guitar slinging Texan has been earning his living rockin' the blues. Vaughan's love affair with blues and rock'n' roll goes back to his childhood in Dallas. While home from school recuperating from a broken collarbone, he began to play the guitar. He began playing around Texas with a series of bands, most notably the Chessman, who opened for Jimi Hendrix. In 1974, Vaughan played with vocalist and harmonica player Kim Wilson and formed the group The Fabulous Thunderbirds. In 1979, the band released their debut album and a fan base grew from there. The Fabulous thunderbirds reached their peak of popularity with the 1986 release Tuff Enuff. Vaughan stayed with the group another four years after that, and his first move following his exit from the band was to cut an album with his kid brother, Stevie Ray Vaughan. Their album Family Style was a hit upon its release in the fall of 1990. Vaughan launched his solo career in 1994 and released Strange Pleasure produced by Nile Rodgers. Vaughan newest release is titled: Blues, Ballads and Favorites. Other acts include the Siegel-Schwall Band, Bernard Allison, Blue Lunch (an 8 piece horn-based 50's swing band from Clevelend), and Elwood Splinter's Blues Band opening.

Funds raised from this event will support the design and construction of Miracle Park, a uniquely designed facility for special needs individuals, and special needs programming within the South Bend Parks & Recreation Department.