Old Town fest brings the rhythm and blues
Outdoors and indoors music will fill four stages Saturday in Old Town Tacoma.
The Old Town Rhythm and Blues Festival marks its 24th year in Old Town Park and nearby indoor venues. The free-outdoor, ticketed-indoor event offers 11 bands that will play from noon until midnight.
“The park is filled with families, kids, (people in their) 60s and above. It’s a wide range of generations,” co-organizer and promoter Pat Ringrose said.
The day begins with a pancake breakfast at 9 a.m. in Slavonian Hall. The syrup flows until 11 a.m. A donation is requested.
At noon, the festival gets under way in Old Town Park on North 30th Street. The outdoor portion of the event is free and features eight groups.
The park also will have a beer garden, as well as arts and crafts vendors. Food vendors include Gateway to India and Bremerton’s Kama’Aina Grill serving Hawaiian food.
At 8 p.m. the music moves indoors to Spar Tavern and Slavonian Hall and becomes a 21 and over ticketed event. A $20 ticket is good for both inside venues.
The festival’s headliner is Seattle-based DoctorfunK. The group last played Old Town in 2013.
“We always get great crowds in Tacoma,” booker and baritone saxophonist Scott Dart said.
The 10-member group is in its 20th year. Half rhythm and half horn sections, the members play covers from bands like Tower of Power, Chicago, and Earth, Wind & Fire. They also perform their compositions of R&B, funk and soul.
“It’s a classic sound from the ’70s but we try to modernize it,” Dart said.
The band will perform three full sets from 9 p.m. to midnight.
“We’re used to putting on a nice long show,” Dart said. Their CDs will be available for purchase.
All proceeds from the festival benefit nonprofit Permission to Start Dreaming.
“If you take the first letter of each word it’s PTSD (which also mean post-traumatic stress disorder.) It benefits our soldiers returning from war suffering from PTSD,” Ringrose said.
The nonprofit puts on the annual Race for a Soldier half marathon in Gig Harbor in September.
OLD TOWN RHYTHM AND BLUES FESTIVAL
When: Noon-midnight Saturday.
Where: Old Town Park, Slavonian Hall and The Spar Tavern, North 30th street between McCarver and North White streets.
Tickets: Free until 8 p.m., $20 for inside shows.
Information: tacomaoldtownrhythmandbluesfest.com, raceforasoldier.org.
FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Old Town Park
Noon: S.A.S.S.
1 p.m.: Jr Hill Band
2 p.m.: Andrea Miller and Friends
3 p.m.: Blues Redemption
4 p.m.: James King & the Southsiders
5 p.m.: The Dean Reichert Band
6 p.m.: Back Porch Band
7 p.m.: The Red Roosters
Indoor venues
8 p.m.-midnight: Driving Sideways (Slavonian Hall downstairs)
8 p.m.-midnight: TD3 (The Spar)
9 p.m.-midnight: DoctorfunK (Slavonian Hall)
This story was originally published July 10, 2015 at 2:00 AM with the headline "Old Town fest brings the rhythm and blues."