Emancipation Day Reading Limestone City Blues Festival 14 minutes Next Salsa in the Square

Grab your wristband now, and get full access to 4 days of raw, gritty, unrestrained live performances.

In its 26th year, the Limestone City Blues Festival continues to celebrate live music with a new, expansive experience, including 2 main stage events in Springer Market Square, shows in Confederation Park, club gigs- over 60 concerts in total, taking place all over Downtown Kingston.

NEW THIS YEAR.

We’re happy to feature an artisan market, introduce a licensed area in Springer Market Square, and showcase amazing local food vendors! Look for refreshing drinks from: The Caesar Co., Something in the Water, Fine Balance, and MacKinnon Brothers. Hungry? Enjoy the show with some delicious food from Kingston favourites Bubba’s, Mio Gelato, and Tacos Tacos by Lore & Fer.

Meet the 2023 headliners

Jeremie Albino

Saturday, August 26

9:00 pm

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Jeremie Albino

There’s no counting the worlds Jeremie Albino has travelled to get to where he is today, and no telling which ones he might head to next. Born and raised in the bright and booming metropolis of Toronto, his heart led him out of the city and into Prince Edward County, where country living and a decade of working on farms gave him the time and space to hone his songwriting skills. His music nods to all manner of troubadours who rambled down similar paths throughout history—he nods slyly to the legendary blues singers who inspired him, offers a soft and insightful touch with his folk songs, and stomps and swaggers through soulful rock ‘n’ roll.

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His latest album Tears You Hide (2023), produced by Albino’s long time collaborator and manager Crispin Day, is a memento to family, resilience, and the road ahead. Albino sees the album as a catalogue of feelings from times passed. The deeply personal and documentary nature traverses Albino’s development as an artist.Experiences with tragedy, grief, and love tumble throughout, grounded in moments of joy and the hope it brings— a house party, a tumbleweed, tears in a mother’s eyes, an open door, a faceless angelic voice.

With his debut album, Hard Time (2019), Albino was a supporting act for JD Mcpherson and then St. Paul & The Broken Bones on his first round of US tours. In 2020, he accompanied Shovels & Rope on tour through the UK and Europe, later collaborating with Michael Trent who produced Albino’s EP, Past Dawn (2022). He’s performed alongside contemporary country trail-blazers Orville Peck and Cat Clyde. The nomadic lifestyle suits him and reverberates on stage. Strumming with abandon alongside an erupting vocal chorus, his magnetic spirit landed him as one of the best performers from AmericanaFest 2019 by Billboard.

During his time as a farmer in Prince Edward County, Albino experienced first hand the importance of a supportive and collaborative community, currents that carry his music. A testament to this is Blue Blue Blue (2021), a collaboration with vocal powerhouse Cat Clyde. In a cottage in rural Quebec, they recorded a collection of covers and originals over a weekend, paying homage to the great storytellers of the past. Yet encounters with loneliness led to the EP, Past Dawn (2022). Contemplative and experimental, Albino is a patient companion throughout, ready to lift spirits when need be and able to lower the tempo to rest when it feels right

Roosevelt Collier

Friday, August 25

9:00 pm

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Roosevelt Collier

Soft spoken by nature, South Florida-bred Roosevelt Collier does his hollering on the pedal steel guitar. Brought up in the "sacred steel" tradition of the House of God Church, Roosevelt built his reputation alongside his uncles and cousins in The Lee Boys, known for their spirited, soul-shaking live performances.Seated front and center, "The Dr." leaves an indelible mark on listeners, flooring audiences with his lightning-fast slide work on the pedal steel.

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At festivals, he is a regular "Artist at Large," performing alongside many of music's most prestigious acts, from the Allman Brothers, Tedeschi-Trucks, Los Lobos , the Del McCoury Band and countless others. In 2017, Roosevelt debuted his new project Bokanté - a "World Music All-Star Band" created by Snarky Puppy founder Michael League and featuring the vocals of Malika Tirolien.

As a bandleader, Roosevelt leads his world famous "get-downs" featuring a mixture of "superstars and church folk", his own "Jimi Hendrix Experiment"-style all-star trio, and in 2018 will release the long-awaited Roosevelt Collier debut record, featuring an incredible mixture of blues, gospel, rock, and funk all rolled up by producer and bandmate Michael League.

Main stage performances

Durham County Poets

Thursday, August 24

8:00 pm

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Durham County Poets

Durham County Poets are a “BAND” in the truest sense of the word. Each member writes and arranges and brings something unique to the table. Be it blues, soul, folk, R&B or gospel, it all weaves seamlessly together to create a truly authentic contemporary Canadiana sound. Their fourth album, Hand Me Down Blues was nominated for a JUNO AWARD and remained on the Roots Music Canada charts for a year. They are now back in the groove with OUT OF THE WOODS, featuring 11 originals and one Dylan cover, where every song tells a story and touches the heart.

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“The Durham County Poets are more than just a blues band. They are a collective of talented artists, each well versed in their own field, who combine their influences and styles to create a single cohesive unit capable of some amazing music.” — Terry Parsons, Toronto Blues Society.

Jerry Leger & The Situation

Saturday, August 26

8:00 pm

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Jerry Leger & the Situation

"Worn-in songs and poetic melancholia of a welcome stranger, with a laconic style that lives somewhere between Blue Rodeo and Lucinda Williams." - Brad Wheeler, GLOBE & MAIL.

“Jerry Leger has that spark in him that all the great songwriters have. He's the real deal.” - RON SEXSMITH

In 2005, a nineteen year old Jerry Leger cut his first independently released album. In the sixteen years since then the singer-songwriter has recorded 10 additional albums under his own name.

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In 2014 he was signed to the Cowboy Junkies’ label, Latent Recordings, releasing the critically acclaimed Early Riser that same year. His second Latent release, Nonsense and Heartache, followed in 2017. A year later the two-album set was picked up by Proper Records for distribution in the U.K and Europe, leading to extensive touring throughout the continent, in the process opening up a whole new audience for Leger’s finely crafted songs. With his next Latent album, 2019’s Time Out for Tomorrow, Leger began to receive positive notices in such high-profile music magazines as Uncut and Rolling Stone. Released in March of 2022, Nothing Pressing (produced by Michael Timmins) presents his work in two starkly contrasting soundscapes; solo acoustic recordings (with little embellishment) and prime roots rock 'n' roll featuring his long-time band The Situation. Paired with such evocative lyrics are wonderfully crafted melodies, soulful vocals and the spirit and energy of a mature songwriter, comfortable in his skin and growing as an artist with every release.

Bywater Call

Friday, August 25

8:00 pm

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Bywater Call

Meghan Parnell and Dave Barnes are the driving force behind Bywater Call, a powerhouse 7 piece southern soul, roots rock bank out of Toronto, Ontario.  Formed in 2017, they have been Maple Blues nominated and Independent Blues Award nominated and have made waves in the Canadian festival circuit. They have toured Europe extensively and in May and June of 2022, they were featured on the mainstage at the Netherlands’ premiere blues festival, Moulin Blues. Meghan has been referenced as one of the best blues and roots singers out there. In November 2021, Meghan was a featured performer at the Women’s Blues Review at Roy Thomson Hall.  Bywater Call’s highly anticipated sophom:

Rob Lutes

With special guest Rob MacDonald

Friday, August 25

7:00 pm

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Rob Lutes

Since the release of his first album Gravity in 2000, Rob Lutes has steadily built a collection of exquisite songs that inhabit the intersection of blues, folk, Americana, and the contemporary singer-songwriter genre. As skilled delivering a Piedmont blues classic as he is performing his own acclaimed original songs, Lutes's masterful fingerstyle guitar work and soulful voice bring an unmistakable intensity to his live performances.

Malenfant and Medford

Saturday, August 26

7:00 pm

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Malenfant and Medford

Theresa Malenfant and Scott Medford have been performing together in a band for about twenty years and a few years ago decided to also work as a duo. In 2019 they competed in the International Blues Challenge (IBC).1 Long story short, they won second place in the Solo/Duo category! According to Malenfant, one of the criteria that set the duo apart was the inclusion of two original works of music; one of which was written by Medford.

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Vocal powerhouse Malenfant, a native of Dieppe, New Brunswick, grew up surrounded by a musically-talented family. She made her singing debut at the age of fourteen and was soon singing duets with the great Dutch Mason. She’s an ECMA and Canadian Maple Blues Award winner and has earned the nickname “Queen Bee of the Blues” and when you hear her first note you’ll know why.

Scott Medford, based in Hampton, New Brunswick, has been a professional musician and guitar teacher for over 25 years. Medford is highly regarded in the maritime music scene for his commitment to stylistic and technical mastery and his impassioned guitar voice.

Now Malenfant and Medford have become one of the most popular blues duo acts in the Atlantic Provinces. They have an intuitive way of working with each other, and the mutual respect and admiration for the other’s abilities is evident from their stage performance.

Schedule

2:00 pm

Pat Johnson

Bluegrass / Country

3:00 pm

Reckless & Banded

Pop / Rock / Indie

4:00 pm

Nicholas Campbell & the Two Metre Cheaters

Rockabilly / Honky tonk

5:00 pm

Jeff J Gaulton

Delta Blues / Rock

6:00 pm

Big Mo & the Blues Mission

Blues

8:00 pm

Durham County Poets

Blues

5:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Aqua Terra

Where: 1 Johnson St.

Pat Johnson

8:00 pm - 11:00 pm

BLUMartini

Where: 178 Ontario St.

Rough Mix Jam- Bluesfest Edition

8:00 pm - 11:00 pm

RCHA Club

Where: 193 Ontario St.

Big Mo & the Blues Mission

8:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Royal Tavern

Where: 344 Princess St.

Mississippi Grover, Saul T Doggs, Jeff Dunn

10:30 pm - 2:00 am

The Toucan

Where: 76 Princess St.

Sheff Dogs

2:00 pm

Shawn Dore

Blues / Rock

3:00 pm

Shufflejoint

4:00 pm

Fake Jazz Orchestra

Blues / Jazz / Funk

5:00 pm

Saul T Doggs

Blues / Jazz

6:00 pm

Reconsider Baby

Blues / Jazz

7:00 pm

Rob Lutes

Blues

8:00 pm

Bywater Call

Blues

9:00 pm

Roosevelt Collier

Blues

*7:00 pm - 10:00 pm

BluMartini

Where: 178 Ontario St.

*7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Chris Jackson

*10:00 pm - 1:00 am
Shufflejoint

8:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Caesar & Co.

Where: 177 Princess St.

Five Dollar Dates

5:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Curate Social

Where: 340 King St. E

Dave Barton

*4:00 pm - 12:00 am

RCHA Club

Where: 193 Ontario St.

*4:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Happy Hour TGIF with Jeff Dunn

*9:00 pm - 12:00 am
Zach & Hailiah & Engine 1095

*4:00 pm - 1:00 am

Royal Tavern

Where: 344 Princess St. 

*4:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Paula Wood Band

*9:00pm – 1:00 am
Reconsider Baby

*5:00 pm - 12:00 pm

The Toucan

Where: 76 Princess St.

*5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Bon Evans

*10:30 pm - 2:00 am
The Mill Rights
with special guests Cody Allen James & Good Co.

8:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Tir nan Og

Where: 200 Ontario St.

Shawn Dore Band

11:00 am

Bonecat

Blues / Rock

12:00 pm

Nice On

Funk / Rock

1:00 pm

Wickham Brothers

Funk / Rock

2:00 pm

Soul Motions

Blues / Jazz / Funk

3:00 pm

The Mill Rights

Pop / Rock / Indie

4:00 pm

Foster Shea & Sudac  

Pop / Rock / Indie

5:00 pm

The Codas

Pop / Rock / Indie

6:00 pm

Oakridge Ave.

Pop / Rock / Indie

7:00 pm

Malenfant and Medford

Blues

8:00 pm

Jerry Leger
& the Situation

Blues / Rock

9:00 pm

Jeremie Albino

Blues / Folk

11:30 pm - 2:00 pm

Black Dog Tavern

Where: 69 Brock St.

The Black Dog Tavern All-Stars

*7:00 pm - 10:00 pm

BLUMartini

Where: 178 Ontario St.

*7pm – 10pm
Sweet Pete & the Heat

*10pm – 1am
Shawn Dore Band

TBA

Caesar & Co.

Where: 177 Princess St.

Scott Owen

2:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Curate Social

Where: 340 King St. E 

Jeff J Gaulton

*2:00 pm - 12:00 am

RCHA Club

Where: 193 Ontario St.

*2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Shufflejoint

*8:00 pm – 12:00 am
Bonecat

9:00 pm - 1:00 am

The Royal Tavern

Where: 344 Princess St.

Malefant & Medford

TBA

The Toucan

Where: 76 Princess St.

Sweet Pete & the Heat

9:00 pm - 12:00 pm

Tir nan Og

Where: 200 Ontario St.

Kim Pollard Band

12:00 pm

Malenfant & Medford

Blues

1:00 pm

Hellhound Trail

Blues

2:00 pm

Sweet Pete & the Heat

Blues / Jazz / Rock

3:00 pm

The Fade Kings

Blues / Jazz / Rock

4:00 pm

Engine 10-95

Blues / Rock

11:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Black Dog Tavern

Where: 69 Brock St.

The Black Dog Tavern All-Stars

*11:00 am - 9:00 pm

Caesar & Co.

Where: 177 Princess St.

*11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Pat Johnson

*6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Danny Derue

Listen to our lineup

Homegrown Blues Food

From 5:00pm daily during the 4 days of the festival. Price range varies on a per restaurant basis.

Relive 2022

Presented By

Kingston's Rock Station, broadcasting an active rock format branded.

With generous support from

Produced by

Downtown Kingston BIA, representing +700 Downtown property and business owners

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