Entertainment & Attractions

Rich Berry

Rich Berry has been a practicing singer/songwriter for more than 40 years. His sound gravitates to what he loves best, the old Delta acoustic blues with a tasteful mix of original songs. Rich plays rhythmic guitar, bottleneck slide resonator, a hypnotic harmonica and a driving rhythm on a foot box to further deepen the rich sound he produces — his smooth yet soulful voice reflects a life fully lived.

Berry has performed at numerous venues, including the Greater Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival (King Biscuit), the International Blues Challenge, Memphis, TN, Simply The Blues Train and Festival, the Kansas City Blues and Jazz Festival many more. Visit Rich Berrry’s Web site.

Blue Cat Creole Band

The Blue Cats are a Kansas City-based band whose nucleus has played together off and on since 1971. They have maintained a successful reputation with their outstanding vocals and harmonies, strong instrumental abilities and a stage presentation that appeals to crowds of all ages and musical interest.

The Blue Cats perform a wide variety of styles that combine blues, Creole, rockabilly, R&B and just plain ol’ foot stompin’, toe tappin’, fun music with an energetic stage performance that's not to be missed. Get ready for a good time with the Blue Cats!

Dan Coyle

KCRiverFest fan favorite Dan Coyle returns to KC as a stop on “The Strange Death of Jim Morrison Tour” of Spring/Summer 2010. During his live shows, he “deftly works his guitar to expose the finer points of interest in his songs and oftentimes surprises us with string drenching rifts” (Red Onion News). His sophomore effort, “Random Thoughts and Incomplete Sentences,” is a “beautiful collection of thoughtful lyrics and spellbinding guitar.” After quietly writing songs all winter, Dan is looking forward to recording his upcoming album. We’re thrilled to have Dan back as he makes thousands of new friends at KCRiverFest 2010. Visit Dan Coyle’s Web site.

Head East

Gold record award winning Head East has appeared in more than 5,000 concerts over the past 25 years. From St. Louis to Seattle and Dallas to Detroit, Head East has performed in every major city and market in North America. Stadiums such as the L.A. Coliseum, Arrowhead and Royals in Kansas City, Bush in St. Louis, County Stadium in Milwaukee and the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas have all reverberated to the exciting sounds of Head East! With the keys to the cities of St. Louis and Milwaukee and the all time biggest selling album in the history of St. Louis, you know that with Head East you are in for an incredible show.

Led by founding member, keyboardist, and producer Roger Boyd, Head East brings an overwhelming amount of talent and experience to the stage! Roger has assembled some of the best musicians and singers in the country to keep Head East one of the hottest, most exciting live shows touring today! Visit the Head East Web site.

Fast Johnny Ricker

Fast Johnny Ricker is a melt-down, guitar driven, psychedelic blues-rock power trio excursion. Johnny has played or shared the bill with many artists including Johnny Winter, The Fabulous Thunderbirds w/ Jimmie Vaughn, Double Trouble, Junior Brown, Sonny Landreth, Charlie Musselwhite, Nick Lowe, Leon Russell, George Thorogood, Commander Cody, Bo Diddley and many others. Johnny has played festivals on the same bill with Bob Dylan, Joe Walsh, Albert King, Jonny Lang, Luther Allison, Etta James and The Red Devils. The band has performed from Chicago to Texas to Nashville.

Stephen Davis, former Rolling Stone Magazine music editor and author of Hammer of the Gods and Bob Marley called Johnny the “Best electric guitar in the Midwest,” adding “Wear flame retardant in your hair ’cos this band is hot.” Visit the Fast Johnny Ricker Web site.

Sneak Peek at the Zambelli Fireworks KC Pyro Spectacular

Come out July 3rd for a fun, brief “sneak peek” version of our massive July 4th fireworks show by Zambelli! This six-minute preview show is one-third the length but 100% of the excitement of our main show July 4th. Proudly known as the “First Family of Fireworks,” Zambelli is one of the oldest and largest American fireworks companies. Today, the family name is synonymous with quality, creativity and safety. The magic of Zambelli pyrotechnics has been televised around the world, on “MSNBC Investigates,” the Odyssey Network, the Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel and the British Broadcasting Company. Visit the Zambelli Fireworks Web site.

The Radio Disney Rockin’ Road Crew

Radio Disney’s talented kids are singing, dancing and entertaining both days of KCRiverFest. Play games and have fun the Radio Disney way! Visit The Radio Disney Rockin’ Road Crew’s Web site.

“We Can Train Any Dog” with Tom Mancuso of Sit Means Sit Dog Training (As Seen on Animal Planet)

Get you and your dog on the right track! Enjoy brief demonstrations of the Sit Means Sit dog training method throughout the day. Visit the Web site for Sit Means Sit.

Edward Judd and John Thompson

As a teenager in the late 1950s Ed was a student of Arnold Jacobs of the Chicago Symphony. Also while in high school, Ed was a scholarship student at the National Music Camp at Interlochen, MI and in three minor symphonies in the Chicago area. More recently he has performed in concert numerous times at the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, MO. Ed is also focused on playing ragtime melodies on solo tuba. He is joined by the inimitable John Thompson.

Sunflower Ragtime Orchestra

Honored to be performing this year at KCRiverFest, the Sunflower Ragtime Orchestra has been playing authentic orchestrated ragtime since 1986. Based in Olathe, Kansas, the SRO has performed at numerous events throughout the Kansas City region, including appearances at the Kansas City Blues and Jazz Festival, Kansas City Spirit Fest, Ragtime Revelry, Old Shawnee Town, Olathe Old Settlers’ Days, the Turkey Creek Festival, and many other public and private shows, dances, and festivals, including Sedalia’s Scott Joplin Festival. Led by conductor, violinist, and reed player Steven Smith, the Sunflower Ragtime Orchestra is proud to present these wonderful and timeless pieces of Americana from over a century ago. Conductor Steven Smith teaches orchestra at Paseo Academy, Kansas City’s High School for the Performing Arts.

TurpinTyme Ragsters

Formed in 1993, the TurpinTyme Ragsters are a 7-Piece Ragtime music ensemble based in Kansas City. They hope to turn the clocks back, musically, to an era of ceiling fans, ice cream socials, and Sunday concerts in the park. Their repertoire reflects the diversity of music from ”turn of the century” America, including songs like ”Dill Pickles,” “The Entertainer,” “Creole Belles,” “Razzamazza,” “Kansas City Rag,” “Easy Winners,” “The Chrysanthemum,” “Peaceful Henry” and “12th Street Rag.” Their music has been featured on KCPT, Kansas City’s PBS station’s production series entitled ”Uniquely Kansas City.” Simply stated, performing the music of Scott Joplin, James Scott, Charles Johnson, Joseph Lamb, Eubie Blake and their namesake Tom Turpin, makes them and their audiences happy. We hope it will do the same for you! Visit the TurpinTyme Ragsters Web site.

broadBAND

The band is broadBAND, and as the clever name implies, all the members are women. As expressed by the September edition of The Entertainer ”’The gimmick’ of having all women in a band is rendered a ‘gimmick’ only because of the dearth of female back-up musicians in the music industry, as a whole — tons of female singers but not so many gal drummers, guitarists, and fiddle players.” But the “gimmick” wouldn’t work if the music was just average — and apparently it isn’t with this group as all of the members of broadBAND have impressive credentials. Individually they have opened for all the biggies in country music from George Jones and Dwight Yoakham to Sara Evans. Some of their songs have been released by major label and independent artists and they have even sang the National Anthem at a handful of televised Nascar Races.

Powerhouse Lead singer Shelly Bush, jaw dropping lead guitarist Paula Jo Taylor, sensational rockin’ lead guitarist Beth Garner and amazing fiddle player Suzanne Rohrer are held together by the rock solid rhythm section of Erin Holiman on bass guitar and Anita Hill on drums. All the ladies are fine singers and the lustrous harmonies are exceptional. Not only is everyone an outstanding musician they are entertainers and everywhere they perform they leave their audience captivated. Visit the broadBAND Web site.

Bayley Kate

Returning for a record third engagement at KCRiverFest is fan favorite Bayley Kate! Bayley is a young singer/songwriter from the Sunflower State who has performed at many venues in Kansas, Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma. She is most often accompanied by her father and occasionally joined by friends.

Bayley Kate’s first cd, titled simply bayley kate is now available for purchase. Her cd features all original music by Bayley Kate. Ask Bayley what she enjoys singing most and you’re likely to get a very long and eclectic mix of music - folk, Americana, bluegrass and rock.

We’re proud to welcome her back to the Friends of the River Main Stage! Visit Bayley Kate’s Web site.

The Phil Vandel Band

Phil Vandel has traveled the world with his music. In 1997, he became the lead singer for the group, Dixie Cadillacs. With the DC, Phil toured the U.S., recorded an album in Nashville, and shot a video for the single, ”Feels Like Rain”. In 2000, they won the NACA ”Country Entertainer’s of the Year”. In 2007, Phil joined forces with Matt Snook to form VANDELSNOOK. In 2008, they co-wrote a single titled ”Welcome Home”. American Airlines loved the message and became a sponsor for the group. A whirlwind of performances — including KCRiverFest 2009 — quickly followed including a trip to Iraq in 2009. Now, 2010 looks to be Phil’s best year yet as he begins a solo career with the drive of a brand new artist and the soul of one that’s spent a lifetime in the business. Visit The Phil Vandel Band Web site.

First Annual KCRiverFest Canoe & Kayak Invitational Championship

2010 marks the inaugural year of a new tradition: the First Annual KCRiverFest Canoe & Kayak Invitational Championships! Be sure to be at KCRiverFest at 3 p.m. July 4th to watch these river racers challenge themselves and their competitors on the Mighty Missouri! Click here for more information or to register.

USAF Band of Mid-America — The Shades of Blue Jazz Ensemble

The Shades of Blue Jazz Ensemble is a group of 18 professional enlisted musicians whose repertoire ranges from traditional big band jazz, to bebop and swing, to modern jazz. At one of their concerts, you are just as likely to hear the music of contemporary composers as you would the classic sounds of Count Basie or Glenn Miller.  Several of the band’s members are also gifted composers and arrangers, and their compositions are often featured in concert.

The band has backed many jazz greats such as Tex Benecke, Denis DiBlasio, Jamey Aebersold, Mike Smith, Bobby Shew, Allen Vizzutti, Jeff Jarvis, Mike Vax, Vaughn Nark, Bill Porter, Carmen Bradford, Shelly Berg, Joe Morello, Steve Houghton, and Walt Levinsky.  Furthermore, the ensemble is often requested for featured performances at jazz clinics and festivals throughout the country. Whether performing for a head of state, before a capacity crowd in northern Wisconsin, or for our troops at home and abroad, the Shades of Blue reflects the heritage and pride of our great nation and the United States Air Force! Visit the USAF Band of Mid-America Web site.

Zambelli Fireworks Presenting KC’s Pyro Spectacular

Proudly known as the “First Family of Fireworks,” Zambelli is one of the oldest and largest American fireworks companies. Today, the family name is synonymous with quality, creativity and safety. The magic of Zambelli pyrotechnics has been televised around the world, on “MSNBC Investigates,” the Odyssey Network, the Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel and the British Broadcasting Company. Visit the Zambelli Fireworks Web site.

The Radio Disney Rockin’ Road Crew

Radio Disney’s talented kids are singing, dancing and entertaining both days of KCRiverFest. Play games and have fun the Radio Disney way! Visit The Radio Disney Rockin’ Road Crew’s Web site.

“We Can Train Any Dog” with Tom Mancuso of Sit Means Sit Dog Training (As Seen on Animal Planet)

Get you and your dog on the right track! Enjoy brief demonstrations of the Sit Means Sit dog training method throughout the day. Visit the Web site for Sit Means Sit.