JOSEPH Bronze, Blues & Brews music festival will celebrate its 18th year in the blues bowl at Joseph City Park starting at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, with a hot lineup of musicians that includes headliners Tommy Castro and the Painkillers, who will provide the 8 to 10 p.m. finale.

Nicknamed The Best Little Fest in the Northwest, BB&B will be kicked off by a Jam Night by many festival musicians from 8 p.m. to midnight Friday, Aug. 8, for the fourth year. Jam Night has been moved to the Joseph Community Center because the Thunder Room is being used as a fire command center.

Jam Night, hosted by JP Soars & the Red Hots who hit the main stage at City Park from 6 to 7:30 p.m. the next day will allow festival-goers a chance to get closer to many of the festival musicians during a pre-fest jam session. Its a fun time and some great music, said Wendy McDaniel, a member of the festival committee.

Jam Night is included in the price of a festival ticket, which can be purchased at the door for the advance ticket price of $30; admission for Jam Night-only is $10 at the door.

Gates will open at Joseph City Park at noon on Saturday for the main event.

The lineup of artists includes Jason Matthew Thomas (12:30-1:45 p.m.), Michael Osborn & the Drivers (2-3:30 p.m.) and Tell Mama Etta James Tribute (4-5:30 p.m.), followed by the closing sessions by JP Soares and Tommy Castro and their bands.

In addition to Jam Night, advance tickets are available online at www.bronzebluesbrews.com or locally at The Bookloft, Enterprise; and WC Marketplace and Sports Corral, Joseph. (For additional outlets in the region, see the website.) Tickets at the gate are $35.

A total of 18 beers, including from microbreweries throughout the state and the region, will be available at the festival, as will be a large range of foods from food vendors.

In order to make a musical day at Joseph City Park more enjoyable, bring sunscreen, a lawn chair or blanket, and your whole family. Theres play equipment and a sprinkler for kids to run through, and one of the joys of the festival is seeing children dancing with their parents or grandparents.

For after dark, a sweatshirt or jacket and a small flashlight are advised.

Shuttle buses will run regularly between Enterprise and Joseph and Wallowa Lake all day Saturday beginning about an hour and a half before the festival starts. The last buses will leave the park for Enterprise and for Wallowa Lake when the concert is over (10-10:30 p.m.)

Following is a little bit of information about each of the musical acts at the 2014 Bronze Blues & Brews:

Acoustical opener Jason Matthew Thomas, with special guest Franco Paletta Jason Thomas has been the lead guitarist in the award winning blues band, Franco Paletta & Stingers, for over two years. Jason and Franco led the Stingers to win the Journey To Memphis Competition held at The Waterfront Blues Festival and compete at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.

Michael Osborn and the Drivers Michael Osborn was John Lee Hookers lead guitarist for 13 years. After his stint with Mr. Hooker, one of Michaels songs, Spellbound, was featured on John Lees 1998 Grammy Award winner for Best Traditional Blues recording, Dont Look Back. Osborn has also backed, recorded with, or played with such musical luminaries as Robben Ford, Willie Dixon, Mark Ford, John Hammond, Bonnie Raitt, The Charles Ford Band, Elvin Bishop, Buddy Miles, Charlie Musselwhite and many, many more.

Tell Mama Etta James Tribute This tribute set will feature Lisa Mann, Lady Kat, LaRonda Steele and Rae Gordon, backed by the DK Stewart Sextet, each singing their favorite Etta James tunes.

JP Soars & the Red Hots, winner of the 2008 International Blues Challenge With a very diverse musical background, JP Soars is not a typical blues guitarist. While he loves T-Bone Walker, Jesse May Hemphill, Muddy Waters, Johnny Guitar Watson and Guitar Slim, he also loves Tito Puente, Miles Davis, Hank Williams, Black Sabbath and Slayer. Soars toured the globe and recorded several records with some of the most extreme metal bands in the world before finding his home in the blues.

Headliner Tommy Castro & the Painkillers, named B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, in 2010 Tommy Castro, born in San Jose, Calif., in 1955, first picked up a guitar at age 10. He came under the spell of Eric Clapton, Elvin Bishop, Mike Bloomfield and other blues rock players early on and later fell in love with the blues guitar work of the likes of Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and Freddie King, and singers like Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett and James Brown. By his late 20s he was playing in San Francisco-area blues and soul bands. Tommy Castro & the Painkillers recently released a CD titled The Devil You Know, described as irresistible contemporary blues-rock street level grit and soul by Billboard magazine.

For more information about each of the artists, follow links on the Bronze Blues & Brews website.