Lionel Young will headline this year’s Bessie Smith Strut.Lionel Young, a fiddle-playing bluesman, will headline this year’s Bessie Smith Strut, June 11, as part of the Riverbend Festival.
He will play on the main stage outside the Bessie Smith Cultural Center with Ike Stubblefield at 5:30 p.m., according to talent and production coordinator Joe “Dixie” Fuller.
Stage III, on M.L. King Boulevard under the railroad trestle, will feature Hadden Sayers, followed by Joe Louis Walker.
An after-party will take place at Track 29 featuring Dawes with Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek opening. Dawes opened the 2011 Nightfall Concert Series and was one of the first acts booked at Track 29, which opened in September.
Track 29 co-owner Adam Kinsey said he wanted to partner with Riverbend, and the strut seemed like the best option.