Orange County Blues Festival

The Orange County Blues Festival was an annual multi-day blues event held in Dana Point, California. Similar to the nearby Topanga Canyon Blues Festival, it attracted some of the major blues artists in the United States.[1] Some of the most notable artists to have appeared there are Canned Heat, Johnny Copeland[2] and Etta James.[3] The Orange County Blues Festival has since been replaced by the Doheny Blues Festival, a newer event that takes place at another location in Dana Point.[4]

History

The Orange County Blues Festival was located at Heritage Park, Dana Point. The festival was created following a discussion between Portland Blues Festival organizer John Vincent and resident of Dana Point, Jim Oakes. With the popularity of outside festivals increasing, the two sought to bring one to Orange County. Due to Vincent's ties, the festival was largely modeled after the Portland Blues Festival. In addition to the main stage for the headlining acts, another stage was set up for school bands play. There was also a fine arts fair with between 35 and 50 stall booths. Some of the proceeds of the festival were to go to a youth recovery program. The promoter for the 1993 event was Eric Jensen.[5]

Issues

In 1994, the organizers of the festival were involved in a legal dispute based on who held the naming rights to the event. Jim Oakes claimed he was the owner of the festival name. Former partners John Christian and John Dew were wanting to organize a rivaling blues festival as well.[6]

The festival was set to go ahead in September 1994 but was halted by a conflicting event. Oakes had applied for a permit for the festival to be held from the 24th to the 25th at Heritage Park, but it was discovered by city officials that a wedding had been booked for the 24th in the same location. City officials informed Oakes that the wedding had first priority. To complicate matters even further, another festival also named the Orange County Blues Festival was set to take place on October 1st at Doheny State Beach. The organizers of the Doheny State Beach festival were the former partners of Oakes.[7]

Past lineups
1993
1994
  • Cancelled
1995

References
  1. Orange Coast magazine November 1993 Page 32, September: OC Exclusive: Blues Festival
  2. Los Angeles Times September 27, 1993 O.C. POP MUSIC REVIEW : Blues' Different Shades : Festival in Dana Point Showcases Regional Styles and Vibrant Local Scene Bill Kohlhaase
  3. Los Angeles Times Etta James 1993
  4. Boyd, Lillian (May 28, 2019). "Preserving the Blues: Dana Point Nonprofit Preserves Culture at Doheny Blues Festival". Dana Point Times. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  5. Orange Coast Magazine November 1993 Page 32 September OC Exclusive: Blues Festival Mark Dowdy
  6. Los Angeles Times July 08, 1994 O.C. Blues Festival Creators Locking Horns in Court Frank Messina
  7. Los Angeles Times September 20, 1994 Dana Point: Wedding Bells Nix Planned Blues Festival by Frank Messina
  8. Los Angeles Times August 11, 1993 Blues Legends and Locals to Mingle at Fest Frank Messina
  9. Harp-L archives project Mon, 12 Jun 1995 Artist Itenerary Update
  10. Los Angeles Times August 10, 1995 Wilson Pickett, Healey Band to Headline 2-Day Blues Fest Frank Messina
  11. OC Weekly Thursday, Sep 16 1999 He Smoked! by Buddy Seigal

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