FOR RELEASE:                               CONTACT:  Betsy Donnelly

July 7, 2005                                       Phone:  (913) 236-7757

                                                            Email:  Betsy22@aol.com

2005 KANSAS CITY BLUES & JAZZ FESTIVAL

DEBUTS AT WOODLANDS

Labor Day Weekend Event Showcases Top Musical Talent

KANSAS CITY – All eyes – and ears – will be on Kansas City this Labor Day weekend when the city’s jazz lovers play host to the first annual Kansas City Music Blues and Jazz Festival. 

The event, which runs September 3-4 at the Woodlands Horse Track, will showcase 24 stellar musical acts over two days.  Show organizers are prepped fill the facility’s 30,000 seats and say it’s the first time the venue has hosted an event of this magnitude.

“New Orleans, Atlanta and other great cities draw crowds from all over the globe to their music festival,” says Mark Valentine, event founder and himself a professional musician.  “Kansas City is crying the blues for an event like this – and it’s going to be huge.”

Considering some of the best jazz musicians in American history got their start in Kansas City, like William “Count” Basie and Charlie “Bird” Parker – it’s only natural the city host this jazz extravaganza, says Valentine.

Doors will open at 11 a.m. with opening acts scheduled for noon till the last encore.  To date, organizers have booked such popular national and local artists as John Lee Hooker, Jr., Sons of Brasil, Big Woody Blues Review, Haji Ahkba, Millage Gilbert, Joanna Conner, KARMA, Old School Knights, Camp Harlow and Boulevard Big Band – with more to come.   

Meanwhile, the Woodlands offers concert-goers a covered grandstand, free parking and patrolled parking lots.  Tickets are $17.50 for the two-day show and can be obtained through TicketMaster at 816-931-3330.

The show is being sponsored by 75^th Street Brewery, Barley’s, O’Dowd’s Little Dublin, the Blue Moose Bar & Grill, KC Online, BNSF Railway, RawhideDirect.com, Big Dude’s Music City, Midland Hospice, Youth Arts Consortium, Pups without Partners and KKFI 90.1 FM.

For more information and up-to-date additions to the show, visit the Kansas City Music Blues and Jazz Festival website at www.kansascitymusic.com.

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