Modesto Gets the Blues

Expect some good down-home blues and family fun if you head to the Modesto Blues Festival on Saturday.

Ten bands will play throughout the day on two stages -- one outdoors at Mellis Park and the other inside the neighboring King-Kennedy Memorial Center. Headliners are the MoFo Party Band and Highway 61.

Organizer John Black said he moved the event from Graceada Park to Modesto's west side to attract a more racially diverse crowd.

As always, the festival is free.

"We're trying to reach the folks that don't have the money for high ticket prices," Black said.

The festival is the final event in Modesto's monthlong Graffiti Summer, which celebrates Modesto native son George Lucas' nostalgic 1973 film "American Graffiti."

Based in Fresno, the MoFo Party Band performs a mix of old-school Chicago blues and West Coast jump. The group has toured Europe, visiting Poland and Belgium, among other countries.

"They're one of the best bands ever," Black said. "They're one of the hottest blues recording bands there is."

Highway 61 plays everywhere from Stockton to Fresno, performing high-energy blues. The group has shared the stage with such artists as Tommy Castro, Little Charlie & the Night Cats, Chris Cain and Eddie Kirkland.

Black says he likes that Highway 61 has an old-style sound with horns and saxophones, plus a fabulous singer in Deanna Del Rio. He said she has a great, sexy voice like Etta James.

Other bands scheduled to perform include Ron Hacker and the Hacksaws, Big Earl and the Cryin' Shame, the Mercury Blues Band, Debbie Smith and the Blue Diamond Band, the Penetrators Blues Band and the Modesto All Stars.

"Bring your blankets, bring your lawn chairs," Black said. "If you're worried about people dancing in front of you, we beg you to get up and start dancing. We don't stop the dancing. It's a dance party."

The event also will include vendors selling everything from jewelry to massages and artwork, nonprofit informational booths and food. Among the culinary highlights are Turlock's Corvette Barbecue, which cooks food in a Corvette car that's been converted into a barbecue pit.

Following the festival, an after-party will be held at Clayton's restaurant in downtown Modesto beginning at 9 p.m.

"It's the biggest blues party of the year," Black said.

Read on for the schedule of the Modesto Blues Festival:

MODESTO BLUES FESTIVAL MAIN STAGE

12-12:45 p.m. -- Mercury Blues Band

1-2:30 p.m. -- Big Earl & the Cryin' Shame

2:45-4 p.m. -- Ron Hacker and the Hacksaws

4:20-5:45 p.m. -- Deanna Del Rio and Highway 61

6-7:45 p.m. -- Mofo Party Band

KING-KENNEDY MEMORIAL CENTER

1- 5 p.m. -- Debbie Smith and the Blue Diamond Jazz Band, Penetrators Blues Band, Modesto All Stars, Lady Liz and more.

WHAT: Modesto Blues Festival

WHEN: Noon-8 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: Mellis Park and King-Kennedy Memorial Center, 601 Martin Luther King Drive

ADMISSION: Free

CALL: 537-1516

ONLINE: www.jbpresents.com