Downchild Blues Band Bring 50th Anniversary Tour to NB

Toronto’s legendary Downchild Blues Band celebrate 50 years with performances planned for Fredericton and Moncton in the spring of 2020.

Matt Carter

Downchild Blues Band are one of the longest running and most storied Canadian blues acts of all time. Formed in 1969, the group have released more than 30 albums, have been called “one of the greatest blues bands in the world” and are even credited as the inspiration behind The Blues Brothers. Calling them legendary is actually an accurate statement.

This past summer, Downchild kicked off its 50th anniversary with a street party in downtown Toronto that attracted more than 10,000 spectators and included guest performers Dan Aykroyd, Paul Shaffer, David Wilcox and several others. Currently on the road throughout Central and Western Canada, the band will swing east in the new year to deliver performances in Nova Scotia, PEI and New Brunswick.

Much of the band’s current lineup have been performing together for over 25 years. These include lead singer and harmonica player Chuck Jackson, Pat Carey on tenor sax, Mike Fitzpatrick on drums, Gary Kendall on bass, and former American super-group rocker Michael Fonfara (of Rhinoceros/Lou Reed fame) on keyboards.

The band have also announced that this upcoming series of 2020 dates will feature a number of surprise special guests soon to be announced. Stay tuned for that. Tickets on sale October 24.