Three-time Grammy Award-winning artist Taj Mahal will be playing at Vancouver Island MusicFest this year.
“Taj Mahal is the most important, influential Afro-American acoustic bluesman of his generation,” said Doug Cox, Vancouver Island MusicFest artistic director and executive producer.
The festival will be held at the Comox Valley Exhibition Grounds from July 8-10
Mahal was born Henry St. Clair Fredericks, Jr. and will perform on July 9.
“He is the unifying link between the now-gone blues elders and the current generation of young Afro-American blues artists,” said Cox. “Not only that, he was also world music before world music was cool. His many musical explorations and collaborations throughout his career have been second-to-none and I am thrilled we get to have this master come back to perform at our humble Festival with his band.”
Mahal won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album in 1997, 2000 and 2018.
Mahal was also presented with the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement award in 2014.
Every artist announced so far for this year’s lineup can be found at Islandmusicfest.com.
