Claudette King, daughter of B.B. King, coming to Riverfront Blues Festival
The Western News | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 11 years, 8 months AGO
Claudette King, the youngest daughter of blues legend B.B. King, is coming to the Riverfront Blues Festival this summer.
King, also known as Claudette “The Bluz Queen” King, will be among the acts performing during the Riverfront Blues Festival on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 8 and 9. King is expected to be the headline act.
During Monday’s City Council meeting, Blues Festival volunteer Jennifer Nelson requested and was granted a variance by the City Council from the noise ordinance for the sixth annual festival. It was at that time, an exchange between Nelson and City Councilwoman Robin Benson, also a festival volunteer, that the announcement leaked of King’s upcoming performance.
“The best part is she contacted us,” Benson said. “The word has gotten out about the blues festival, and she wants to be a part of it.”
King, a longtime Californian now living in Atlanta, is quick to cite her father as her main inspiration.
Trained in the gospel of the Baptist church from age 13, King says her mentors, in addition to her father, are Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Koko Taylor, Chaka Khan, Mavis Staples, Mahalia Jackson, even Michael Jackson.
On her Facebook page, King says, “I got a bit of everybody inside of me.”
Born Riley B. King, B.B. King was born Sept. 16, 1925, in Berclair, Miss. He is 88.
Trent and Peggy Oelberg are founders of the Riverfront Blues Festival.
ARTICLES BY THE WESTERN NEWS
Man sentenced for vehicle thefts, home burglaries
A Northwest Montana man who stole numerous vehicles from Sanders, Lake and Flathead counties, and burglarized several homes in Troy will spend time behind bars.
Hunter education classes open for registration in Region 1
Hunter education courses are open to registration in several communities across northwest Montana, including Kalispell, Rexford, Pablo, Trout Creek and Bigfork.
Seventh deer tests positive for CWD
Following initial testing, a white-tailed deer in Lincoln County is suspected to be positive for chronic wasting disease, according to a press release from Fish, Wildlife and Parks.