Organizers for the 17^th Annual Mammoth Festival of Beers and Bluesapalooza have announced two additions to Mammoth’s popular blues and brews weekend in August.

The Thursday Night Bluesapalooza Jam Fest kicks off the weekend festivities at Sam’s Wood Site, Aug. 2, from 6-9 p.m. with free admission to an all new evening of blues featuring hard-charging blues rocker Shane Dwight and special guests The Bald Eagles, fronted by local artist/designer Larry Walker, with an eclectic mix of retro-rock classics. Food vendors and a cash bar will be available.

On Sunday, Aug. 5, fingerstyle guitar favorite Kenny Sultan will round out the weekend show with his free Acoustic Blues Guitar Workshop, from 4-5 p.m., located in the workshop tent in the Food Court at Sam’s Woodsite. Sultan, a representative for Martin Guitars, will provide guitarists and general music lovers the opportunity to learn some behind the scenes tips, tricks, and licks in the style of Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, and Lightnin’ Hopkins in an informal, interactive workshop. No music experience is necessary. Even participants who do not play guitar will enjoy Sultan’s lively and entertaining presentation while hearing some great acoustic blues riffs. Sultan has done workshops all over the world as Martin Guitar’s special “blues envoy.”

The 17^th Annual Mammoth Festival of Beers & Bluesapalooza features a legendary lineup of blues talent, 20 bands in all including Johnny Winter and Leon Russell, and a grand tasting of craft brews from around the country, Aug. 3-5, outdoors among the pines at Sam’s Wood Site, located on Minaret Road between Main Street and Meridian Boulevard, with California’s Eastern High Sierra as the backdrop.

Advance tickets are on sale now and this year’s event is again expected to sell out. Tickets are available online at www.vallitix.com or www.MammothBluesBrewsFest.com; by phone at 888.825.5484; and locally at the Mammoth Brewing Company Tasting Room (walk-in only) at 94 Berner Street in Mammoth Lakes (purchase tickets at the tasting room with no service charges).

For festival updates and additional information, visit the event’s website, www.MammothBluesBrewsFest.com, or contact the event hotline, 888.99.BREWS 888.992.7397. -Press Release