Bob Dorr and the Blue Band to Perform Tonight at Waukee Fest Street Dance

Submitted by the Waukee Area Arts Council

The Waukee Area Arts Council announces Bob Dorr and The Blue Band will kick off Waukee Fest with a street dance tonight beginning at 7:30 p.m. at 6^th and Walnut in Downtown Waukee.

The evening will include a beer garden, beverages and pizza. The dance will serve as a fundraiser for the Waukee Area Arts Council. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the gate.

“The theme of this year’s Waukee Fest is Celebrate the Past,” said Ashlee Adams, Waukee Area Arts Council Board member. “Bob Dorr and The Blue Band played for the Jaycee’s Waukee Street Dance back in the 80’s, in fact they played for 11 years! So this is really Celebrating the Past! We are thrilled they are able to come back and Bob Dorr and the Blue Band are also excited to be returning to Waukee.”

Bob Dorr and The Blue Band started in Cedar Falls, IA in the summer of 1981! In the Blue Band's 30 year history, the group has averaged playing 125 dates a year, traveling mainly 300 miles from its base in Cedar Falls, IA playing the majority of those dates in Iowa but also making appearances in Minneapolis, Omaha, Kansas City, and Chicago. For 15 years the band made trips to Colorado ski resort areas and also traveled to Sun Valley, Idaho. The band was also invited to the International Bluestock Celebration in Memphis, TN where they appeared at B.B. King's nightclub on Beale Street.

The Blue Band has opened shows for B. B. King, Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor, Bobby Rush, Robert Cray, Roomful of Blues, Tower Of Power, Leon Russell, Duke Robillard, Maria Muldaur, Little Charlie & The Nightcats, Asleep At The Wheel and many others. Career highlights include a 25-year run at the Iowa State Fair, five appearances at the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, and two appearances at the Kansas City Jazz & Blues Festival. The Blue Band has also appeared on the internationally distributed Beale St. Caravan radio show, produced by the Blues Foundation in Memphis.

There have been over 25 Blue Band album releases, including five vinyl records. The band was one of the first Iowa groups to have music released on CD in 1987. In 2006, to celebrate the Blue Band's 25th Anniversary, Iowa Public TV released a two-DVD set spanning the group's history and including footage from 12 different years. The 25th Anniversary concert has been broadcast across Iowa on IPTV numerous times.

Waukee Area Arts Council would like to thank Gilcrest Jewett, Waukee Fest and Domino’s Pizza for their support of this event.

For more information about this and other events, visit our website www.WaukeeArts.org or contact the Waukee Area Arts Council at info@WaukeeArts.org, PO Box 790, Waukee, IA 50263, or call 515-402-7870.