Snooks Eaglin to Headline 7-Hour Bowlful of Blues

Louisiana bluesman Snooks Eaglin, a guitarist who once played with the late Professor Longhair, will headline the seven-hour Bowlful of Blues festival Saturday at the Ojai Bowl in Ojai’s Libbey Park.

Eaglin and his New Orleans All-Stars will follow a variety of acts from around the United States in the sixth annual concert, which begins at 3 p.m. and lasts until 10 p.m.

Included in the event are Jessie Mae Hemphill from Mississippi, Smokey Logg and his band from Texas, and the Los Angeles-based Coco Montoya Band, along with two harmonica masters, Juke Logan and William Clarke.

On the evening before the festival, pianist Jon King Cleary, another veteran of Longhair’s band, will join Ojai music teacher Seabury Gould in a Junior Blues program for children. It will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Ojai Manor Hotel, 210 E. Matilija St.

Kaufer expects a crowd of 1,500 at the Saturday concert. In its last two years in Libbey Park, Bowlful of Blues has sold out.

Admission to Bowlful of Blues costs $15 per person and for Junior Blues, $3. All proceeds will benefit Illusions Theatre, a community acting troupe based in Ojai.

For information about both shows, call (805) 646-7230.