Blues masters arrive in Istanbul for concert

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Billy Branch and his band prepares to give a concert today and tomorrow and it is expected that they will be joined by a special guest, Zora Young.AA photo

The 23rd Efes Pilsen Blues Festival, which has been touring Turkey, will come to Istanbul’s Lütfi Kırdar International Congress and Exhibition Hall today and tomorrow.

Turkey’s first and only blues festival will host blues harmonica master Billy Branch, who has won a number of prestigious international awards, including Grammys and Emmys, and his band The Sons of Blues will perform at the festival. Branch will also be joined by a special guest, Zora Young, from Mississippi. Young began performing blues and R&B at a young age and has shared the stage with leading blues artists such as Junior Wells, Jimmy Dawkins, Bobby Rush, Buddy Guy, Albert King, Professor Eddie Lusk and B.B. King.

Electronic blues guitarist Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King, two of the leading representatives of the Texas Blues style, will join acclaimed drummer Cedric Burnside on stage in Istanbul. Burnside is the grandson of the legendary R.L. Burnside and winner of the Best New Artist Award in 2009 and Best Drummer in 2010 and 2011 at the Blues Music Awards.