The Mimbres Region Arts Council's (MRAC) unparalleled Silver City Blues & Bikes Festival, the last remaining FREE Blues Festival in the Southwest, moves into its third decade of success with Taj Mahal, Blues Hall of Famer, Lifetime Achievement and 2-time Grammy award winner headlining with his trio Saturday night, May 28. The festival kicks off in Gough Park the evening of Friday May 27 and runs through Sunday evening, May 29, featuring New Orleans daddy of all brass bands, the Dirty Dozen headlining. Presented in and around Silver City's Gough Park, and venues throughout the town, the Silver City Blues & Bikes Festival will offer a total Blues & Bikes fan experience to music-lovers, families, travelers, and bikers alike.

The MRAC is thrilled at the extraordinary opportunity to present internationally renowned blues powerhouse Taj Mahal in Silver City, New Mexico. Composer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Taj Mahal is one of the most prominent and influential figures in late 20th century blues and roots music. Though his career began more than four decades ago with American blues, he has broadened his artistic scope over the years to include music representing virtually every corner of the world - West Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, the Hawaiian islands and so much more. What ties it all together is his insatiable interest in musical discovery. Over the years, his passion and curiosity have led him around the world, and the resulting global perspective is reflected in his music. Says Taj Mahal, "I apply the warrior energy to the blues."

Born in New Orleans's Treme neighborhood 35 years ago as the house band for the Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure Club, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band revolutionized the New Orleans brass band by incorporating funk and bebop into the traditional style. DDBB is today a world famous music machine, whose name is synonymous with genre-bending romps and high octane performances. They have revitalized the brass band in New Orleans and around the world, progressing from local parties, clubs, and festivals in their early years to touring nearly constantly in the U.S. and in over 30 other countries on five continents. Says the New York Times, "... their ability to be funky - to play complex syncopated rhythms with a carefree flair that automatically makes listeners want to get up and dance - has never been in doubt. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band continues to be a national treasure: steeped in both the past and the present, impossible to categorize, and mighty funky."

For details, tickets, photos and additional information visit our website at: www.mimbresarts.org, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/mimbresarts.org, or call us at 575-538-2505.