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For further information contact Steve Simon at 340-693-8120 or at <a href="mailto:stevesimonlive@yahoo.com"><b>stevesimonlive@yahoo.com</b></a> or go to <a href="http://www.stjohnbluesfestival.com"><b>http://www.stjohnbluesfestival.com</b></a>

February 25, 2007 - St. John, USVI - Internationally acclaimed concert producer Steve Simon presents The 5th Annual Coors Light St. John Blues Festival with 7 live Blues shows over 5 days beginning on Wednesday, March 21st and running through Sunday, March 25th.

The Festival's main concert is scheduled for Saturday evening, March 24th at 7:00 pm in the Coral Bay Ball Field on St. John and stars New Orleans' Blues legend Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen, Memphis's "Prince of Beale Street" Billy Gibson & The Billy Gibson Band, International Blues Competition winner Joey Gilmore & The Joey Gilmore Blues Band, and St. John's own Queen of the Blues, T-Bird.

"In just five short years, the Coors Light St. John Blues Festival has become the single largest entertainment destination event in the Virgin Islands", stated Festival founder and producer Steve Simon. "We are so honored that a 'Who's Who' of the Blues world will be coming to St. John this year to help us celebrate our 5th anniversary," Simon said.

The luminaries attending this year's Blues Festival include Bill Wax, the proprietor of XM Satellite's Bluesville, Chip Eagle, the publisher and editor of Blues Review Magazine, Jay Sieleman, Executive Director of The Blues Foundation, Paul Benjamin, President of North Atlantic Blues Records, Pat Morgan, manager of Pinetop Perkins........just to name a few.

"We are dedicating this year's Blues Festival to the Blues Foundation's HART Fund which provides financial assistance to Blues artists and their loved ones in times of illness and special needs," stated Steve Simon. "For many years the HART fund has made a difference in the quality of life of some of the Blues world's elder statesmen and we are very proud to be part of that effort this year," Simon said.

THE 5th ANNUAL COORS LIGHT ST. JOHN BLUES FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Wednesday - March 21st

Opening Blues Festival Party

Mongoose Junction Courtyard - Cruz Bay

Starring: Danny Morris

8 pm - Admission is Free

Thursday - March 22nd

Compass Rose - Cruz Bay

Starring: 2 Blue Shoes

8 pm - Admission is Free

Friday - March 23rd

Shipwreck Landing - Coral Bay

Starring: Rob Peck

8 pm - Admission is Free

Saturday - March 24th

Compass Rose - Cruz Bay

Starring: Mitch Woods

2 pm to 6 pm - Admission is Free

Saturday - March 24th

Skinny Legs - Coral Bay

Starring: 2 Blue Shoes

2 pm to 6 pm - Admission is Free

SATURDAY - MARCH 24th

THE 5TH ANNUAL COORS LIGHT ST. JOHN BLUES FESTIVAL

Coral Bay Ball Field - Coral Bay

Gates open at 6 pm

Show starts at 7 pm

Starring:

Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen

Billy Gibson & The Billy Gibson Band

Joey Gilmore & The Joey Gilmore Blues Band

T-Bird & Friends

Advance tickets: $25 Tickets purchased at the gate: $30

(CHILDREN UNDER 18 ADMITTED FREE)

Food & Beverage service will be available all evening.

Bring a blanket, bring a chair, but please be cool......no coolers.

Advance ticket sales are available on St. John at:

Connections - Cruz Bay

Connections - Coral Bay

Chelsea Drugs - Marketplace

Advance ticket sales are available on St. Thomas at:

Modern Music - Havensight

Modern Music - Nisky Center

Chelsea Drugs - Red Hook

Sunday - March 25th

Closing Blues Festival Party

The Beach Bar - Cruz Bay

Surprise Guest Artists all Afternoon

4 pm to 7:30 pm

The 5th Annual St. John Blues Festival is brought to you by Coors Light, Theodore Tunick & Company, Holiday Homes, American Paradise Realty, First Bank, Sun Dog Cafe & The Gecko Gazebo Bar, The Inn at Tamarind Court, Pirate Radio, Sunny Fm, Isle 95, and Steve & Helen Simon.

For further information contact Steve Simon at 340-693-8120 or at <a href="mailto:stevesimonlive@yahoo.com"><b>stevesimonlive@yahoo.com</b></a> or go to <a href="http://www.stjohnbluesfestival.com"><b>http://www.stjohnbluesfestival.com</b></a>

Anyone going to this should DEFINITELY check out Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen. He plays pretty much every year at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest and is amazing!!! You won't be disappointed!

I would LOVE to be able to see him on St. John! Is this festival the same time of year every year??? Sounds awesome! I wish I could be there!!!!

nothintolose

p.s. he is playing the first weekend of Jazz Fest (http://www.nojazzfest.com/index.php) this year and so is Bonnie Raitt so I am sure they will play together some too - that is always a treat!

Right on, Nothintolose...RIGHT ON! The STJ Blues Festival is every March...but the weekends seem to vary. We were lucky enough to catch Jon Cleary & TAMG at the Beach Bar a few years ago on the final night of the blues festival. Since then, I have become a HUGE fan!!! I was soooooo excited when I saw that they are returning this year. Jammin' at the Beach Bar to the blues...can't beat it!!! I am also way fired up to see Joey Gilmore!!! WOW...great line up this year! We are overnight on Scubadu St. Patty's Day weekend to catch Foxy's Music Festival...that's gonna be another humdinger!!! Gotta love March!

Jen
6 Days, baby...6 days!!!

So I am sitting here listening to Eric Lindell thinking about the fact that the STJ Blues Festival Starts today and wishing I was there

JC - can't wait to here your report! I hope Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen give you a GREAT show!!!!

We are getting close to Jazz Fest so I will get my fix soon enough. When the DBFT is all on STJ, at least I'll be at Jazz Fest doing something other than wishing I was on STJ with that krewe.

nothintolose

How is the Blues Festival going? Jon Cleary is tonight!!! I wish I was there!!!!

nothintolose

Did anyone attend? Any reports??

Just got back from STJ on Monday and I'm still catching up on the work that was left behind so I haven't had time to even look at the forum until now...

I was there and it was wonderful.

The St. John Blues Festival for me was like a trip into the past and the small music festivals of the 60's that some of us were lucky enough to attend. It was a beautiful evening with a slight breeze and stars in the sky. I wondered where everyone would park, but in typical St. John fashion, even though there was no formal parking protocol, everything just kind of fell into place and there was plenty of room beside all the roads around the ballfield to park.

The crowd was very mellow, with most folks bringing in beach chairs and being careful to not get in anyone else's way. The stage was set in the southeast corner of the ballfield and there were food, drink and souvenir booths set back at the fence in front of the Moravian Church. A bottle of water was $1 and the beer was $2. I think it's been 20 years since I paid that little for beverages at an event like this.

The ballfield was nearly half full by the time T-Bird took the stage at a little past 7. When they started with "You Got to Move", a favorite of mine as done by the Stones, the tone was set for the evening. T-Bird was great, the band was tight, and the crowd was really into it. After a short break, Joey Gilmore and his band followed and they burned the blues into the night. At one point Joey introduced his keyboard player, Daryl, who picked up a guitar and played for the next couple of songs. Wow - that cat should step away from the keyboards and take up lead guitar on a full-time basis.

After another break and a trek through the bathroom lines (2 port-o-johns for the men, 3 for the women), the Billy Gibson Band took the stage. By now, I would guess that 3/4 of the ballfield was filled with people, most sitting, though the area in front of the stage became more and more packed with dancers as the night progressed. There were a lot of folks at the back swaying to the music as well. Billy Gibson's set seemed a little bit of a letdown to me as Joey Gilmore turned out to be such a hard act to follow. We took a break from the festival and headed down and across the road to Sputniks.

Now THAT turned out to be a great move, as Inner Visions was playing on the patio there. If you've never seem Inner Visions while on St. John, you owe it yourself to seek them out. They are just a great reggae band, very tight, and with beautiful music to play. We stayed there for about a half hour, and would have stayed longer except that we really wanted to see John Cleary.

So - back into the festival we went, and returned to our beach chairs just as JC and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen hit the stage. Monster Gentlemen??? The guitar player must weigh at least 400 pounds so that was no exageration. They were fantastic. Rollicking New Orleans style music that moved the body and soothed the soul. The band was very tight and the sound system was perfect as it had been all night long.

After midnight, but far too early for many, the party ended. Everyone meandered back to their cars, or one of the many taxis that were waiting and after only a short time, we were in the parade of vehicles heading back to Cruz Bay. What a great night - certainly the highlight of another amazing visit to our little island...

Awesome report Randy - thank you. Made me wish I was there. As for the price of drinks - Steve Simon is a classy guy with a big heart - he doesn't do this stuff for the money. We need more guys like him not only on St. John, but everywhere!

Island photog Steve Simonsen has posted a portfolio of from the Saturday concert at http://web.mac.com/ssimonsen/iWeb/StJoh ... ccess.html

Also linked from News of St. John.