Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival

17/10/2024

We can't say enough good things about Ticket Tomato! They are an excellent partner.

"Locally owned, women led, community centered. That’s Ticket Tomato! Here we believe in the power of giving back. We prioritize working with nonprofit organizations to uplift communities through banquets, concerts, fundraisers and more!

Whether it’s registration for free events, discounted ticket fees, customer service, or extra accessibility accommodations, we’re here to support our clients with whatever they need.

Are you planning an event as a nonprofit organization? Contact us at [email protected] for inquiries. 🎟️🍅"

10/10/2024

SAR…..
Winthrop photographer Steve Mitchell captured this amazing image this past Monday in Winthrop:
"I was totally engrossed in shooting the Auroras to the North on Monday in the . I took a break and turned my focus to the SW to grab a shot or two of the Milky Way and noticed a bright red band crossing through it. After a bit of online sleuthing I realized that I captured what is known as SAR (stable auroral red), a more rare occurrence that happens in conjunction with stronger geomagnetic storms.
One for the memory books……"

SAR…..
I was totally engrossed in shooting the Auroras to the North on Monday in the . I took a break and turned my focus to the SW to grab a shot or two of the Milky Way and noticed a bright red band crossing through it. After a bit of online sleuthing I realized that I captured what is known as SAR (stable auroral red), a more rare occurrence that happens in conjunction with stronger geomagnetic storms.
One for the memory books……

07/10/2024

Proud to partner with our local Methow Valley School District #350 supporting their music program. The future is bright!

Winthrop Music Association Gives Back, Providing Generous Support for MVSD Programs and Partners

In a heartfelt press release, the Winthrop Music Association recently announced its significant contributions to local programs, made possible by the generous support of festival attendees at this year’s Winthrop R&B Fest.

Winthrop Music Association - With a commitment to fostering community through music in the Methow Valley and beyond, the Winthrop Music Association Board of Directors has allocated funds to various deserving organizations:

Methow Valley School District Music Program: $3,800 to enhance music education for local students.

Liberty Bell High School Boosters: $5,000 to support festival parking and community initiatives.

Tommy Zbyszewski Methow Valley Education Foundation Scholarship: $1,000 honoring the memory of a local firefighter lost during the 2015 wildfires.

The Cove Food Bank: $5,400 to support their mission of providing assistance to those in need within the Methow Valley.

Room One: $2,600 for their vital social services in the Methow Valley.

Washington Blues Society Musician Relief Program: $750 to assist musicians in need.

The Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival is brought to you by Winthrop Music Association (WMA), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization formed in 2005 whose mission is to BUILD COMMUNITY THROUGH MUSIC. We believe that music is a catalyst for joy, connection, and healing.

Since its inception in 2005, the non-profit Winthrop Music Association has contributed over $100,000 to support these and other local organizations, helping to enrich our community and preserve the cultural fabric of the Methow Valley.

Please join us in thanking the Winthrop Music Association for their unwavering support and commitment to enhancing the lives of community members through music and outreach.

For more information about the Winthrop Music Association and its initiatives, please visit: https://winthropbluesfestival.com/

05/10/2024

With support made possible by YOUR contributions during this year’s festival the Winthrop Music Association Board of Directors — in keeping with its mission of building community thru music in the Methow Valley and beyond — is pleased to provide grants to several organizations. Read more about it in our newsletter!

Email from Winthrop Music Association Winthrop R&B Festival News - Save the Date July 18-20, 2025 Winthrop R&B Festival News - October 5. 2024 Thank you for helping us help others   With support made

27/09/2024

Great interview with Christone "KINGFISH" Ingram.

"I don’t think it’s fully fallen out of favor, but we are in an ever-evolving world. I would say in the U.S., people do sometimes look at the blues as yesteryear music, so that I think limits the demographic of people who expose themselves to it. But I do think in the last few years, there have been some artists who have come on the scene, who have somehow melded a more mainstream sound together with the blues. And it’s been great for the music. You’ve got Gary Clark Jr., Eric Gales and myself, for instance, who I think are pushing what people think of the blues to be.

Understand something: the blues is going to be around forever. It’s life, and there’s always going to be some people in pain, and this is a musical genre that speaks directly to that. When Gary’s gone, Eric’s gone, and when I’m gone, there’s gonna be some other kids out here having it on. That’s the beauty of the blues."

We love ya "KINGFISH" !

Now an L.A. resident, the Mississippi-born blues prodigy channels Jimi Hendrix, Muddy Waters and more as he prepares for a new album and a powerful show at the City National Grove of Anaheim.

24/09/2024

Music for the win! According to Dr. Francis Collins, music gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Dr. Collins’s book, “The Road to Wisdom,” is out now!

20/09/2024

🎻🍎 Winthrop Cidergrass Music Festival 🍎🎻
Mark your calendars: OCTOBER 18-20th
The town of Winthrop is hosting its second annual Cidergrass Music Festival at the big Red Barn.

Join in for a celebration of bluegrass music and artisanal cider!

Featured artists:
🎶 Tony Furtado Band
🎶 Joe Craven Band
🎶 Never Come Down
🎶 Bigfoot Mojo
🎶 Four Rivers String Band
🎶 The Horsenecks
🎶 The Pine Hearts
🎶 The High Seagrass
🎶 The Misery Whips
🎶 Gobblers K**b

Featured Ciders:
🍎 Booth Canyon Orchard
🍎 Methow Valley Cider House
🍎 Ole Swede Cider
🍐 Pear Up Cider
🍎 Rootwood Cider Co
🍎 Snowdrift Cider Company
🍎 Steelhead Cider
🍎 Union Hill Cider Co.
🍺 Old Schoolhouse Brewery

🎟️ Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cidergrass-music-festival-tickets-841655162247

Send a message to learn more

05/09/2024

Peter Dervin Photography has started to send in some photos of our weekend. Here's a few to start!

Thanks Peter Dervin Photography

02/09/2024

Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival is excited to partner with Gator Boy Productions to bring Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble to Seattle next Saturday.

Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble are a tour de force in rhythm and grooves, serving up smooth vocals and harmonies with joyfully uplifting energy. Their shows are always memorable, always fun, and you can count on them delivering 100% and then some. This is down home Zydeco, direct from Louisiana -- with roots in French, African American, and Afro-Caribbean styles -- interpreted through Curley's family for generations and influenced by his contemporary sensibility. Blues, R&B, and modern beats merge past and present to create an environment that welcomes everyone to the party, and beckons eager bodies to the dance floor. Come get you some Louisiana love!

Aurora Borealis (16708 Aurora Ave N, Shoreline, WA 98133)

Tix $25 adv https://www.tickettomato.com/event/8904 / / $30 door

Showtime 8pm / Zydeco Dance Lesson 7pm / Doors 6:30pm

Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble Presented by  Gator Boy Productions Saturday, September 7, 2024 6:30 pm — 11:00 pm 6:30 pm - Doors Open 7:00 pm - Zydeco

30/08/2024

How cool is this? Diggin Dirt was a HUGE hit at the festival this year. If you feel like making a road trip this weekend they will be performing at the Oak Harbor Music Festival - a free festival.

In the meanwhile, enjoy. Thanks Shine for the capture.

Diggin Dirt was a crowd favorite exploding out of the gate at Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival 2024.

27/08/2024

This precious human is celebrating a birthday today. Please help us wish a very special Happy Birthday to the one and only Ms. Polly O'Keary !!!

We sure love you Polly.

Photo: Tom Forker

22/08/2024

IT'S BACK! SR 20 North Cascades Highway reopened at noon today (Aug. 22) between Granite Creek and Easy Pass trailhead (milepost 148-157) after having been closed since Aug. 4 for fire activity and then a mudslide.

Before you start your engines, a few things to know:
* Fire crews continue to work in the area in response to the Easy Fire and a 35 mph advisory speed zone has been posted between milepost 150 and 154.
* Please do not pull over or attempt to pass through this area and remain alert for fire and maintenance vehicles exiting and entering the roadway.
* Beginning 7 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 26, there will be flagger-controlled traffic with a pilot car between milepost 150 and 154 so maintenance crews can continue to clear basins and restore drainage. The road will remain open without a pilot car during non-working hours.

Thank you to our crews for all of their work to clear ~7,000 tons of material after a mudslide buried sections of the road on Aug. 11 following a rainstorm. We are grateful for all of your hard work!

22/08/2024

Why so blue?

A common question asked about the stunning hue of the impressive Diablo Lake. So why is it so blue? Or green? Or is it aquamarine?

The answer is simple: glimmering glacial flour is poured in every season by rangers!

Almost but not quite...Diablo Lake, and many of the other lakes in the park complex is fed by hundreds of streams with origins in the steep mountains and glaciers. These streams carry finely ground rock particles called glacial flour. These particles cloud the water and cause the water to have the famous blue hue we know and love. Thunder Creek, for example, carries the drainage from over fifty glaciers before flowing into the Diablo Lake. It is these streams that deserve the applause, not rangers (well...at least not for this reason).





📸| Erika Olsen

19/08/2024

Our hearts continue to be broken over the loss of these three brave souls who gave their lives fighting the Twisp River Fire nine years ago today - August 19, 2015

Winthrop Music Association honors local firefighterTommy Zbyszewski each year by contributing to the Tommy Zbyszewski Scholoarship Fund established thru the Methow Valley Education Foundation - https://mveducationfoundation.org/scholarship/

Tommy graduated from Liberty Bell High School in 2013 and was a MVEF scholarship recipient himself and attended Whitman College studying physics.

Many in our communities were deeply impacted by this event and today may be especially difficult. Please take a moment to honor the fallen by remembering their sacrifice and extending some kindness to those around you. - U.S. Forest Service - Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

14/08/2024

We want to express deep gratitude to Hank and Judy Konrad, owners of Hank's Harvest Foods in Twisp. Hank's has sponsored our festival for a number of years and we are deeply grateful for this important partnership. Hank's has a long history of caring and helping the community of the Methow Valley. They recently sold this beloved store to Rosauer's based out of Spokane. Great article from Methow Valley News.

Thank you Hank's Harvest Foods for all the years of support!

Hank’s Harvest Foods leaves legacy of caring August 9, 2024 by Ralph Schwartz Photos by Ralph SchwartzHank and Judy Konrad at their Finley Canyon home. The Konrads sold Hank’s Harvest Foods to a Spokane-based grocery chain in July. Konrads sell to Spokane chain after 49 years Hank’s Harvest Fo...

06/08/2024

Always a fan fav - Too Slim and The Taildraggers Official Group
Photos: Mitchellimage Photography

06/08/2024

Nice write up and photos by Peter Dervin Photography !

Through the Lens heads west for two top-notch blues festivals: the Waterfront Blues Festival in Oregon and Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival in Washington.

04/08/2024

What a joyful sound J & The Causeways brought all the way from New Orleans!

Thanks Mitchellimage Photography for the great photos.

02/08/2024

How fun! Lady A is performing at the wonderful this weekend and ran into lots of our wonderful musician friends that all say hi to Erika and Winthrop. All have performed at Winthrop. Who do you see? (and thanks Lady A!)

02/08/2024

How cool to have Galactic perform in Winthrop Washington?! We feel fortunate they brought their A-game to the festival with some band members arriving to our little town literally a handful of minutes before show time!! And what a show it was.

Photos: Mitchellimage Photography

01/08/2024

These guys knocked it outta the park playing not one, not two but three sets over 24 hours!!! Chris O'Leary and his fine band brought some serious blues to the festival. How many of you caught their set in the beer garden Saturday night?! Phew. And we are super grateful for the band playing a few more tunes on Sunday before taking off to play in Tacoma that evening. Lucky us!

31/07/2024

The Revival Brothers Band ! What a great kickoff to the weekend with these stellar musicians paying tribute to the great Allman Brothers Band.

Photos: Mitchellimage Photography

30/07/2024

What a way to close out our Main Stage with our Sunday headliner The Record Company !!! They packed a powerful punch.

Photo: Mitchellimage Photography

29/07/2024

Pure heaven having Duffy Bishop back to Winthrop!

Photos: Mitchellimage Photography