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out there: burnaby blues and roots festival

Jimmy Vaughan play at the SXSW Music Festival Friday March 19, 2010 in Austin, Texas.Lance Dawes/The Associated Press

It's tough to feel the blues when you're sitting in Burnaby's picturesque Deer Lake Park on a sunny August afternoon.

Still, you can soothe all that ails at the Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival, this year featuring guitar masters Jimmie Vaughan, at right, and Kelly Joe Phelps, along with folk duo the Indigo Girls, fearsome bassist and singer Meshell Ndegeocello, and Malian duo Amadou and Mariam – who have toured with Coldplay and U2, performed at a Nobel Peace Prize concert for Barack Obama, and played the opening ceremonies of the last two FIFA World Cups.

Want to stick with the 100-mile musical diet? Don't miss outlaw bluegrass band the Washboard Union, and powerhouse Vancouver blues rock act No Sinner.

"People are always surprised when they haven't heard of an artist and then they say 'Wow,'" says City of Burnaby arts services manager Geraldine Parent. "And the weather is supposed to be amazing, so I think all the stars are aligning for a beautiful day in Deer Lake Park."

Blues and Roots Festival is at Deer Lake Park Saturday

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