Springs Preserve toasts adults with Brews & Blues Festival

With many family-friendly activities offered throughout the year, the Springs Preserve wanted something special just for the adults.

The sixth annual Brews &Blues Festival, featuring local, regional, domestic and international brewers, is that event.

“We have our Black History Month celebration or Asian Heritage Month event,” says Tom Bradley, a public information officer with the Springs Preserve. “These are all family events. This (Blues &Brews Festival) is something for the grown-ups to come and have fun.”

The festival is scheduled from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Springs Preserve, 333 S. Valley View Blvd.

Tickets start at $35 for general admission in advance and $40 for day-of show tickets. The cost includes a sampling mug with unlimited beer samples. VIP admission is $75, and includes the indoor lounge and food.

Worried about drinking too much and being unable to drive? Not to worry. The Springs Preserve has that covered with complimentary taxi vouchers of up to $50.

For $15, people can purchase a designated driver ticket, which includes a complimentary nonalcoholic beverage ticket.

Bradley says this is the first year that a portion of the ticket sales will go to Keep Memory Alive, which supports the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health.

About 20,000 people attend the event on average, Bradley notes, depending on the weather.

One year, when the event was held in June and the temperature was 109 degrees, attendance fell.

“But the following year when it was 90 degrees, it was better,” he says. “Believe it or not, the date makes a difference. When people see it’s the first weekend of June, they automatically assume it will be too hot, opposed to the last weekend of May, in which they think it will be nice.”

With that, Bradley says, the event has moved from June to the last weekend of May.

Participating breweries and distributors range from Brooklyn Brewing, Sierra Nevada and Great Basin, to Dogfish Head, Belukus and Speakeasy.

But the brews are just one part of the event.

The festival includes live music from two local bands: John Earl’s Boogieman Band and The Diane Kallay Band, along with a traveling group, The Homemade Jamz Blues Band.

“Generally speaking, we try to have at least two local acts and then get a headliner from somewhere else in the country,” Bradley says. “John Earl’s was here last year, and Diane Kallay was the year before.”

There aren’t any auditions.

“We usually get interest from the bands who want to play,” Bradley says.

Through listening to music, watching YouTube videos and other research, the organizing team picks the band it wants for the year.

“We discuss it internally,” he says. “Budget plays a role in the decision.”

It was through this process that they heard about local blues musician Diane Kallay.

Kallay, who started her career in Buffalo, N.Y., before moving to Las Vegas a few years ago, enjoys playing at the Springs Preserve because she says it’s a top-notch venue.

“A sound technician can be a vocalist’s best friend or worst enemy,” she says. “But these guys (at the Springs Preserve) are very professional and great to work with.”

When she got the call from Bradley the first time, she was excited for the opportunity.

“He said he had checked out my music and was interested in having me,” she says.

Kallay has played at other venues and events around town such as The Sand Dollar Lounge, Saddles ’n’ Spurs Saloon and the Railhead inside Boulder Station.

“But the Springs Preserve is such a high-profile venue,” she says. “It allowed me to recruit more bands and pass out information about my upcoming shows.”

Along with strengthening her fan base, she connected with other blues musicians playing at the event.

“You realize it is such a small community,” she says. “You get to talking and you realize you’ve played with some of the same people.”

When they asked her to return, she jumped at the opportunity.

Contact reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5201. Follow @mjlyle on Twitter.