Electric Blues Rocker Damon Fowler Headlines Cocoa Village’s BBQ & Blues This Weekend

By  //  June 2, 2016

Florida BBQ Championship

ABOVE VIDEO: Jim Elser, Vice President of the Florida BBQ Association, announced that Historic Cocoa Village’s BBQ & Blues has been chosen to represent the FBA Florida State Championship June 3-4 during the Historic Cocoa Village 6th Annual BBQ & Blues Festival at Cocoa’s Riverfront Park.

BREVARD COUNTY • COCOA, FLORIDA – BBQ & Blues features “An Evening with Damon Fowler” on Saturday June 4 on the Craig Technologies Stage at Riverfront Park.

Damon Fowler started wowing audiences with his musical exploits as a teenager, building a reputation as one of the hottest young players on the scene.

Adding songwriting and vocal skills to his repertoire over the years has brought him many accolades, with critics extolling his originality and maturity as well as his technical guitar expertise. In 2008’s “Best of Tampa” poll, Creative Loafing magazine named him “Best Guitarist…and Slide Guitarist…and Lap Steel Player…and Dobro Player.”

Fowler’s guitar work has been compared to Johnny Winter and Jeff Beck, while his slide guitar has a hint of the late Duane Allman. He can play fiery guitar runs with the best of them, but it’s his lyrical work on lap steel and Dobro that makes him stand out among the legions of guitar heroes. And to his list of accomplishments we can now add the release of his third solo project with Blind Pig Records, Sounds of Home.

BBQ & Blues features "An Evening with Damon Fowler" on Saturday June 4 on the Craig Technologies Stage at Riverfront Park.
BBQ & Blues features “An Evening with Damon Fowler” on Saturday June 4 on the Craig Technologies Stage at Riverfront Park.

Friday night June 3 will be “locals’ night” at BBQ & Blues with Big Blues Machine opening up for our Friday headliner, the “Josh Miller Blues Revue.” On Saturday, Riverfront Park will be smokin’ with hot BBQ in the park and cool Blues on the Craig Technologies stage. The line-up for Saturday features Soalcoast, the Balkun Brothers, the Pitbull of Blues, Doug Deming and the Jewel Tones and an Evening with Damon Fowler.

Also not to be missed are the People’s Choice judging at 11 a.m. Saturday, the Kids Fun Zone, various street entertainments, a vendor village showcasing the work of talented local artists and crafters and the 5 p.m. awards ceremony to honor the very tastiest in Florida BBQ. A dozen BBQ vendors will be on hand to delight you with their culinary wares.

More than 50 pro teams will be competing at the sixth annual FBA sanctioned Historic Cocoa Village’s BBQ & Blues, the 2016 State of Florida BBQ Championship. This event is a World Food Championship BBQ Qualifier as well as an American Royal Invitational, Sonny’s Smokin’ Showdown Invitational and Jack Daniel’s World Championship qualifier.

Admission is free and partial proceeds go toward supporting music in schools through Brevard Schools Foundation.

BBQ & Blues is sponsored by Brighthouse Networks, Craig Technologies, Econolodge Port Canaveral Area, CH2MHill, Visit Space Coast, the City of Cocoa, Excell Coatings, Sonny’s BBQ, the Orndorf Wealth Management Group and Space Shirts.

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The Historic Cocoa Village Association represents the majority of the merchants in Cocoa Village. The HCVA’s mandate is to help promote and encourage growth of the Historic Cocoa Village community, and the City of Cocoa in general, by organizing and hosting community events and activities in the Village. Funds raised support various promotions, general advertising and tourism development.

The HCVA’s most prominent events include four Art and Craft shows, the Spring and Fall Central Florida Car Shows and BBQ & Blues. The HCVA also partners with the City of Cocoa and Cocoa Main Street in the presentation of various other community supportive events and activities throughout the year.

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Jim Elser, Vice President of the Florida BBQ Association, announced that Historic Cocoa Village's BBQ & Blues has been chosen to represent the FBA Florida State Championship June 3-4 during the Historic Cocoa Village 6th Annual BBQ & Blues Festival at Cocoa's Riverfront Park.
Jim Elser, Vice President of the Florida BBQ Association, announced that Historic Cocoa Village’s BBQ & Blues has been chosen to represent the FBA Florida State Championship June 3-4 during the Historic Cocoa Village 6th Annual BBQ & Blues Festival at Cocoa’s Riverfront Park.