Show: August 21, 2026, 3:30 PM and August 22, 2026, 1:00 PM
Tickets: tbca.com or box office (Tuesdays & Wednesdays 12:00-4:30 PM)

Tom Lavin & The Legendary Powder Blues
For over four decades Powder Blues has been Canada’s leading blues band. The mix of swing, blues,
jazz, rock & roll and r & b has an appeal so wide that people from seven to seventy swing side by side at
a Powder Blues concert. Over the years the band has toured non-stop through Canada, the US and
overseas, sharing their feel-good music.

Erja Lyytinen
Hailing from Finland and returning to Thunder Bay is Erja Lyytinen, who is one of the leading blues-rock
guitarists on the international touring circuit. During a recording career spanning more than 20 years, the
High-Flying Finn has released thirteen studio albums as well as several live albums. Lyytinen’s musical
pallet is vast, encompassing the very best of contemporary blues-rock whilst inspired and influenced by
the blues greats of yore. Lyytinen is known for her stellar and energetic live performances.

Solomon Hicks
Solomon Hicks is a thrilling paradox, a sonic contradiction. He’s an old-soul roots scholar who salutes
ancient musical forms – blues, jazz, soul, funk, gospel – but also a renegade gunslinger here to bend,
stretch and scratch them for the modern world. His songs race from earworm originals, past pop covers
torn up with electronica and punky riffs, to reignited blues standards that prove how potent this genre still
is in the right hands.

Mike Wheeler Band
Mike Wheeler has a vast knowledge of music with a voice that’s reminiscent of the late Sam Cooke. He’s
a veteran of the Chicago blues community, playing and writing songs for a variety of Chicago artists
including Peaches Staten, Nellie Tiger Travis, Sam Cockrell, Demetria Taylor, Big Ray & Cadillac Dave.
Mike was a well-known member of Big James & The Chicago Playboys with whom he recorded five
albums. He has travelled the world as an ambassador for Chicago blues music playing in Monaco,
France, Switzerland, Spain and Belgium. He’s shared the stage with Koko Taylor, Buddy Guy, B.B. King,
George Benson, Jimmy Johnson and Shemekia Copeland. Mike was inducted in the Chicago Blues Hall
of Fame in 2014 & 2016.

Jeff Rogers
Singer/songwriter Jeff Rogers’ unmistakably soulful voice often evokes weighty comparisons to the past
– whether that’s Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles or even Otis Redding…. however, his tone, range, phrasing,
and sincerity, all make him unmistakably contemporary – and totally original.

Texas Headhunters
The Texas Headhunters (TXHH) are a supergroup comprised of three of Texas’ fiercest guitar slingers: Ian Moore, Johnny Moeller, and Jesse Dayton. Born from deep roots, old friendships, and a shared reverence for the swaggering soul of Texas blues, this is not your average jam. It’s a movement. A reckoning. A new chapter in the book of American roots music.

Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar
Samantha Martin is the lead singer, songwriter and focal point of this 10 piece, 2x JUNO nominated
group. A dynamic front woman, she possesses a stunning voice that is capable of summoning up tidal
waves of spine-tingling emotion in one instance while delicately bringing out the nuances of a gutwrenching
lyric in the next. A torrid force of nature, night after night she takes audiences to emotional
peaks while leaving them stunned with her sheer pin-you-against-the-wall power.

David Gogo
David Gogo has six JUNO Award nominations, including Blues Album of the Year in 2025! He has been
named Guitarist Of The Year three times at the Maple Blues Awards, was named Musician Of The Year at
the West Coast Music Awards, won Blues Recording Of The Year at the Western Canadian Music
Awards, and received the Great Canadian Blues Award for his lifetime contribution to the blues in Canada
as voted by the listeners of CBC’s Saturday Night Blues. An alumnus of previous Thunder Bay Blues
Festivals, he has performed on stage with the likes of BB King, Johnny Winter, Albert Collins, Bo Diddley,
and Otis Rush. He has been chosen to open shows for ZZ Top, George Thorogood, The Tragically Hip,
Little Feat, Jimmie Vaughan, Robert Cray, Robin Trower and Wishbone Ash.

Nikki Hill
Nikki Hill is sweet seduction, sweeter threat, and smoldering energy. An original force in American music,
she is tender and tough, flamboyant, witty and dangerous. To put it plainly, Hill brings daggers back to
the stage and studio. Overlapping soulful, sensual and bold vocal tones with powerful chrome-plated riffs
and swagger, her voice finds a home in it – a soul singing, bar rocking, roots revivalist, that writes with
frank self-reflection at a dancing tempo.

Spencer Mackenzie
For nearly a decade, Maple Blues Award winner Spencer Mackenzie has been writing and recording true
blues, showcasing the raw emotion and honesty the genre demands. There’s a familiarity and ease with
which he approaches the music, almost as though it flows through rather than from him. The energy of
his work is infectious, permeating through the listener until they, too, feel the heartbeat of the blues.
Spencer Mackenzie previously played the Thunder Bay Blues Festival in 2018 and will be making his
long-awaited return to a Thunder Bay festival stage. With an electrifying presence and a new album tour
on the horizon, this left-handed guitar slinger shows no signs of slowing down, delivering a performance
that leaves audiences buzzing long after the final note.

Marcus Trummer
A young blood with an old soul, Marcus Trummer marries modern sensibilities with tradition in his
distinctive style that encompasses blues, R&B, soul, and roots rock. Marcus Trummer’s debut album,
“From The Start”, draws inspiration from the timeless sounds of the 60s and 70s. With his warm and
emotive vocals, Trummer pays respect to classic soul singers like Bill Withers and Marvin Gaye. His
expressive guitar work channels the impassioned approach of players like B.B. King and Jimi Hendrix.
Packed with raw emotion and honesty, Trummer’s songwriting is not to be overlooked. His thoughtful
lyrics examine universal subjects of love and coming of age, unpacking experiences that resonate with all
listeners.