The Central Music Festival Society has a compelling line-up of artists for the upcoming season.

All shows take place at The Elks Lodge. Doors at 7 p.m. with music beginning at 8 p.m. except for the the Food Bank Fiesta, which kicks things off on Sept. 23rd.

This particular show features Nice Horse, Bill Bourne, Ross Stafford and Kaylee Rose.

Prior to the concert, the Red Deer Food Bank BBQcrue will be serving up burgers and dogs in the parking lot from 5 – 7 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. Admission is a $20 donation to the Food Bank.

Organizers point out that a full house could raise $3,000 to be used to stock up just two weeks in advance of Thanksgiving.

Next up is the Matt Minglewood Band on Oct. 7th.

According to his web site, Minglewood’s tunes could be dubbed, ‘Northern Rock with a Canadiana feel, a musical hybrid with one foot steeped in the musical roots of blues and country and the other knee-deep in rock.”

Hailing from Cape Breton, Minglewood is a natural born musician.

“Learning to play the fiddle before he could read, he gravitated toward blues and rock n’ roll as a teen when he fell head over heels for the guitar. It is not difficult to hear the influences of artists such as B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Hank Williams etc. but Minglewood infuses his blues sense with the country and a Celtic element that is in his bones.”

The eventual release of his first album The Red Album in 1976 put him firmly on the map.

“Into his fifth decade, 14 recordings, three gold records, numerous awards and accolades and 50 years of world circling road work, Minglewood is still a rock n’ blues warrior.”

Valdy performs on Oct. 26th.

Valdy, born Valdemar Horsdal in Ottawa, has been part of the fabric of Canadian pop and folk music for over 34 years.

According to his web site, he’s a man with a thousand friends, from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island to Texas to New Zealand, he’s a singer, guitarist and songwriter who catches the small but telling moments that make up life.

One of Canada’s most influential songwriters, Valdy’s composition A Good Song was recorded under the title Just a Man by the venerable Quincy Jones (he sang lead on the recording). Play Me a Rock and Roll Song has been recorded by a few artists, including John Kay of Steppenwolf.

“Along the way, Valdy has taken his music to a dozen different countries, from Denmark to Australia and been an often-invited performer at the prestigious Kerrville Festival in Texas.”

Today, he is based on Salt Spring Island, where he lives with his wife Kathleen, three dogs and a large cat. All three children are grown, flown and doing famously living in or near Vancouver, or Colorado.

Finally, Guy Davis hits the stage on Nov. 11th. Davis has been called ‘the ambassador of the blues’.

He once said, “I like antiques and old things, old places, that still have the dust of those who’ve gone before us lying upon them.”

Blowing that dust off just enough to see its beauty is something Guy has excelled at for over 20 years of songwriting and performing. According to his web site, “It’s no wonder his reverence for the music of the blues masters who’ve gone before him has been evident in every album he’s ever recorded or concert he’s given.”

He has spent his musical life carrying his message of the blues around the world, from the equator to the Arctic Circle.

His work as an actor, author, and music teacher earmark him as a renaissance man of the blues. What music and acting have in common, he explains, “Is that I don’t like people to see the hard work and the sweat that goes into what I do. I want them to hear me and be uplifted.”

Continuing his mission to spread the blues around the world, Davis has also lately been doing more teaching.

“I’ve had beginning and intermediate students, and I try to give them enough of the basics that they can go into a jam session, and create more licks out of the ones they know.

“And I try to give them a bit of my philosophy. To my mind you can treat these songs as recombinant DNA, you can own it and you can create something new with it. And I didn’t sign any papers, but I can claim an ownership to the blues.”

For more information, or for tickets, check out http://www.centralmusicfest.com.

– Weber