News Release

For release March 10, 2004

2004 Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival Keb Mo, Jonny Lang to highlight festival

July 2-5, 2004

PORTLAND, Ore.—Plan now to attend the 2004 Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival, presented by First Tech Credit Union. The 17th annual blues festival opens at noon on Friday, July 2, and concludes at 9 p.m., Monday, July 5, in Portland, Ore.

The festival is the second largest blues festival in the nation. It annually attracts more than 120,000 blues fans from throughout the world who enjoy 100 performances on four stages.

This year's stellar line-up includes:

* Grammy Award-winning bluesman Keb Mo, the gospel-infused blues of the Holmes Brothers and the rock-boogie-blues of Canned Heat will kick-off the festival on Friday, July 2.

* Jonny Lang, the acclaimed young bluesman, will perform on Monday, July 5. Lang, 22, already has two platinum-selling albums and a Grammy nomination under his belt.

* Enjoy blues, rhythm and blues, and funk from the Gulf Coast states of Texas and Louisiana on Saturday, July 3. The A&E Front Porch Stage will host the Zydeco Swamp Romp, a day-long celebration of this Cajun-blues musical-hybrid featuring Rosie Ledet, Leroy Thomas & the Zydeco High Rollers, and more to be announced.

* Winners of the recent International Blues Competition in Memphis will perform on the A&E Front Porch Stage on Sunday, July 4. Blues fans will also hear the Journey to Memphis finals, which determines the regional designee to compete in next year's IBC.

* Bill Rhoades' annual Harmonica Blow-off, featuring national and regional blues harmonica aces backed by an all-star band, will perform, Sunday, July 4. The evening will end with spectacular fireworks over the Willamette River.

* The Northwest Film Center will again present Reel Blues, a series of blues films at 10 p.m., Friday, July 2, and Saturday, July 3.

* Last year's Blues Cruises on the Willamette River were so popular that festival organizers will offer more Blues Cruises this year. Hear the Holmes Brothers and Canned Heat on the late-night Hoodoo Moon Blues Cruise, Friday, July 2. Listen to the music of New Orleans on the Midnight Mambo Cruise, Saturday, July 3. Or enjoy afternoon Blues Cruises on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

* Look for in-depth educational workshops and the Ethos Blues Lab for children.

"The workshops give the festival a cultural depth that doesn't exist at other festivals," says Lisa Wiebe, director of development at Oregon Food Bank.

Daily admission to the festival is $5 and two cans of food. The festival is the major annual fund-raiser for Oregon Food Bank, a charitable nonprofit agency. All festival proceeds benefit Oregon Food Bank's work to eliminate hunger and its root causes.

Four-day pass available Blues fans may purchase a four-day festival pass in advance for $15 (plus a $1 service fee) from TicketsWest.com, 503-224-8499 or 1-800-992-8499, beginning May 1. TicketsWest.com will also sell Blues Cruise tickets for $15 for afternoon cruises (plus a $1 service fee) and $25 for evening cruises (plus a $1 service fee), beginning May 1.

The festival is the winner of the prestigious Keeping the Blues Alive Award from the national Blues Foundation and the recipient of the Ovation Award as Oregon Best Festival, Civic Celebration or Community Event.

Oregon Food Bank is the hub of a network of 20 regional food banks and 832 hunger-relief agencies in Oregon and Clark County, Wash. Last year, the Oregon Food Bank Network collected 59-million pounds of food and provided emergency food boxes to an estimated 780,000 people, served 4.4-million emergency meals and helped thousands more through supplemental food programs.

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For more information, visit www.waterfrontbluesfest.com and www.oregonfoodbank.org

Contacts:

Jean Kempe-Ware, public relations manager
Oregon Food Bank
503-419-4170 (office)
503-572-7588 (cell)
jkempe-ware@oregonfoodbank.org

Peter Dammann, talent coordinator
503-283-3225
damray@europa.com