(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – Walter “Wolfman” Washington, the New Orleans singer-guitarist who has his own unique blend of blues-based R&B and funk, headlines this year’s two-day Blues and Funk Festival at MCLA, on Saturday, February 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the Venable Gymnasium. Boston-based soul singer-songwriter Jesse Dee opens the festival on Friday, February 7, 2014, at 7:30pm. Warming up the crowd for Washington on Saturday night are Berkshire trio T-Bone Daddy and the MCLA Jazz Band. Opening for Dee on Friday night will be the Berkshire’s own Rebel Alliance and MCLA’s Jazz Band. 

While still in his teens, Walter “Wolfman” Washington joined the band of New Orleans R&B legend Lee Dorsey (“Ya-Ya,” “Working in a Coal Mine”). For 20 years, he played guitar in Johnny Adams band. He has been leading his own group since the 1980s. In 2012, he garnered a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Big Easy Music Awards.

T-Bone Daddy has ties to MCLA: the band’s frontman Tyler Fairbank (guitar, vocals), is the chair of MCLA’s Board of Trustees, and Jeff Link (bass, vocals), who teaches music at MCLA, is director for the College’s jazz band. (Lou Parreault rounds out the trio on drums and vocals.

Tickets to the 9^th Annual Blues and Funk Festival, a production of MCLA Presents!, are $15 for a two-night combo pass or $10 for general admission each night. Non-MCLA student tickets are $5 each night. Tickets each night for MCLA alumni are $8, $5 for staff and faculty, and members and students enjoy free admission.

Food and drink will be available for purchase both nights. Tickets may be reserved by calling MCLA Presents! at (413) 662-5204.

MCLA Presents! is a program of MCLA’s Berkshire Cultural Resource Center (BCRC), a collaborative project with MASS MoCA and the City of North Adams. The BCRC provides professional development training, resources and support to the artists, art managers and creative workers of Berkshire County.