Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival Sept. 8-9-10

ann arbor BLUES & JAZZ FESTIVAL Sept. 8·9·10

Miles Davis - Howlin' Wolf - Charles Mingus - Muddy Waters - Archie Shepp - Bobby "Blue" Bland - Sun Ra - Hound Dog Taylor and the House Rockers - Roscoe Mitchell & Joseph Jarman - Koko Taylor - Dr. John - Junior Walker & the All-Stars - CJQ - Seigel-Schwall Blues Band - Luther Allison - Freddie King - Sippi Wallace with Bonnie Raitt - Otis Rush - Leo Smith & Marion Brown - Lightnin' Slim - Boogie Woogie Red, Lefty Diaz & the Boogie Brothers - Little Sonny - Mojo Boogie Band - Mighty Joe Young with Lucille Spann - whew! All at Otis Spann Memorial Field (next to Huron High, the site of the free concerts this summer and of the two Ann Arbor Blues Festivals of 1969 and 1970), three days, five shows, blues & jazz all day and up to midnight too. . . double whew!)

September 8th is the day the first Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival kicks off out in the park, and the music won't stop except to party and sleep a few hours and eat a few bites in the morning and then back at it again, the finest blues & jazz music that could be brought to Ann Arbor for those three days will be here to get you off. The poster on the opposite page can tell you about the individual shows, but the best way to deal with this particular festival is to cop your series tickets now so you won't miss one lick of this jam-packed weekend.

Tickets for the Festival are now on sale at the Michigan Union, both Salvation Records stores, Ned's Book Store in Ypsilanti, or by mail from The Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival, Box 381, Ann Arbor, Mi. 48107. Only certified checks and money orders will be accepted.

Series tickets sell for $15.00 ($3.00 a show average) and will be released in Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County only until August 1st, when they'll go on general sale around the state. There may be individual tickets sold later, but The Rainbow Corporation, producers of the event, intends to sell at least the first 7000 tickets (maximum capacity is 15,000 per show) on a series basis, and hopefully more than that.

"Our hope is that people will relate to the event as a whole and not just as a string of individual concerts," Peter Andrews of The Rainbow Corporation told The Sun. "The closer we can come to selling out the Festival via series tickets rather than individual ones, the better off everybody will be, as far as we can tell right now.

"The problem with individual tickets is that once one show out of the five is sold out before the others, it means that no more series tickets can be sold past that point. Or if an evening show sells out fast - which is very likely, although we've tried very hard to give an even balance to the whole thing - then the afternoon show the same day will get the douse, because we definitely will not sell any individual tickets for the afternoon shows. It's too much of a hassle for everybody there, because it would mean that the afternoon crowd would have to clear the field completely and those who had nighttime tickets let back in one at a time in order to make sure that everybody who bought an evening ticket got in."

There will be individual tickets for the Friday, Saturday and Sunday night shows, and all-day tickets good for both shows on Saturday and again on Sunday, but there will be none of these tickets on sale until much later in the summer (if at all). When they are made available the night time performances will go for $4.00, with $7.00 set for the all-day tickets.

In addition to the performers, the Festival will include, expanded for the greater number of people, the same services available at the Ann Arbor Free Concerts, plus more. Sound, lighting and stage management will be provided by Vulcan Sound, who provides the PA system for the Free Concerts. The Psychedelic Rangers will be there directing traffic, giving directions and information, helping anyone who needs help, and making sure that no one is dealing bogus dope to our people.

The Tribal Council Food committee will provide good natural food - fruit, juice, "crunchy munchies", as well as hot rice and vegetables, at reasonable prices. Additional refreshments will also be available through standard concession stands. Drug Help will be there to handle any medical or drug crisis problems that may arise during the Festival.

Past Blues Festivals (1969 and 1970) featured such artists as Mississippi Fred McDowell, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Big Mama Thornton, B.B. King, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, who the Festival site is named after, and many others. There will be a special dedication service during the Saturday afternoon concert, MUSIC OF CHICAGO, with Lucille Spann, Otis Spann's widow (now featured in Mighty Joe Young's band) as special guest of honor.

The previous Blues Festivals were produced by University students, and although a huge artistic success, the 1970 Festival lost $30,000. There was no festival in 1971 because of fear of another financial loss. Earlier this year. Pete Andrews went to University student groups with proposals for this year's Festival, but was turned down because of paranoia fears on the part of the University of groups of barbarian invaders descending on the Festival in search of another Woodstock.

"We don't expect any trouble of that kind, however," Andrews said. Only 15,000 tickets will be sold, and the Festival is hoped to sell out well in advance and anyone without a ticket will not be admitted. A fence will be constructed around the Festival site to insure that those who purchased tickets will have adequate room.

All profits, if any, will be used by the Rainbow Corp., as seed capital for non-profit, self-determination projects and programs in the area of music and culture in the rainbow community. Part of the profits will go to the Ann Arbor People's Ballroom and the Ann Arbor Community Parks Program as well as to the University Activities Center and Project Community, co-sponsors of the Festival. There are also allotments in the budget for salaries for the Psychedelic Rangers and the people who will work at the food stands.

The Rainbow Corp. is a nonprofit, multi-media organization, whose purpose is to work in the management, booking, and production of musical groups and events and to generate funds for alternative programs in the rainbow community. The organization is composed of John Sinclair, Pete Andrews, and David Sinclair. Pete Andrews has had considerable experience in the production of musical events; he has worked with the Community Parks Program for the past three years, and this past year worked with UAC/Daystar producing concerts at the University of Michigan to help raise funds for various student organizations. In January, 1970, Pete along with David Sinclair organized the FREE JOHN SINCLAIR benefits which filled both the Grande and Eastown Ballrooms for two consecutive nights. Pete and David also worked together on the huge JOHN SINCLAIR FREEDOM RALLY which took place at Crisler Arena December 10, 1971, and which resulted in the release of John Sinclair from Jackson Prison three days later. Subsequent discussions between the three resulted in the formation of the Rainbow Corp. and the production of the Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival, which we hope is the first in a series of many "people's" events.

Starting Friday, July 28. there will be an hour long show about Blues & Jazz every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday on WNRZ featuring John Sinclair and Hawg Tate. We aren't sure of the times yet, but listen to WNRZ for announcements. Don't forget to get your tickets soon. See you at the Festival.

ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE.

(caption images)

Joseph Jarman

Koko Taylor

The Rainbow Corporation John Sinclair, Peter Andrews and David Sinclair.