6 Bands to Vie for Festival Slot

Half a dozen Orange County blues bands will be among 40 groups vying for an opening slot at the annual Long Beach Blues Festival in a talent search sponsored by the festival.

Over the next two Saturdays, the groups will perform at Recreation Park in Long Beach, 7th Street and Park Avenue. Three winners will be selected from each day’s field of 20 bands. One group will be selected from the six semifinalists after another contest on Sept. 8 at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Long Beach.

For the first time, the winner of the talent search will perform at the festival, opening the first day’s show. This year’s festival will run Sept. 15-16 at Cal State Long Beach.

Orange County participants in Saturday’s quarterfinals, which begin at 2 p.m., are Black Fin Jones, the Sum Fun Band, All Night Long and Spare Parts. On Aug. 11, the J. Walker Band and the Ken Murray Blues Band will represent Orange County.