W.C. Handy Festival Announces 2015 Headliner Concert
Jun. 15, 2015
The W.C. Handy Music Festival Committee will present their Headline concert Saturday, July 25, 2015 at University of North Alabama’s Norton Auditorium. Booker T. Jones and his phenomenal band will be featured, with an opening performance by Lee Roy Parnell.
Grammy Award winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Booker T. Jones gained worldwide popularity beginning in the 1960’s with his R&B/funk band “Booker T. & the M.G.'s”, a group credited with shaping both Southern and Memphis Soul, and originating “the unique Stax sound” while working as the label’s house band. Their inimitable style led to the release of instrumental records under their own name including their hit single "Green Onions", written by Jones while he was still in high school. The song went to the top of the Billboard charts, sold over a million copies, and has been featured in countless movies. Booker T. has played with or produced the Beatles, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Albert King, Johnnie Taylor, Eddie Floyd, Elton John, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, the Staple Singers, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Al Green, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Johnny Cash, Anthony Hamilton, John Fogerty, Raphael Saadiq, and others including past Handy Headliner the Drive-By Truckers.
Lee Roy Parnell has enjoyed success on the country and blues charts, and is among the elite few who can be identified as a triple threat: an ace guitarist as well as a distinctive singer and hit songwriter. Parnell has garnered the respect of fans and industry veterans alike with his soulful vocals and award-winning slide guitar playing. His music runs the gamut of diversity: Blue-Eyed Soul, Delta Blues, Road House Rock, Southern Boogie, Texas Swing, and Gospel, and defies conventional classification. He draws from a broad range of music sources and combines them with seamless dexterity.
Doors will open for the 2015 W.C. Handy Headliner Concert at 6:30 p.m. Seating is general admission with a reserved VIP area. Tickets for the concert are $40 plus a nominal transaction fee, or $100 for VIP packages. They will be available at local businesses and, starting July 13, at Handy Festival Headquarters at the Kennedy-Douglass Center Annex, 217 East Tuscaloosa Street in Florence, Alabama. They can soon also be purchased on line. Information about the headline concert, ticket outlets, and a contest to win VIP packages will be posted at www.WCHandyMusicFestival.com and on the Handy Festival Facebook page.