For some, the blues season ends in September.
Nick David is working to change that.
For the third year, David, leader of the blues band Mr. Nick & The Dirty Tricks, is bringing the New England Winter Blues Festival to the Blue Ocean Music Hall in Salisbury. Four bands will perform on Saturday, Feb. 11, beginning at 8 p.m.
"All four bands are very different," David said. "It's probably our most eclectic collection of bands."
Typically, blues fans can attend festivals only during the summer, "because the weather dictates it," David said. Indoor festivals are uncommon.
"There's a lot of really loyal festival-goers," he added. "People that love blues, and love to get out and go."
So, a few years ago, he approached Blue Ocean with his idea. Then he set to work lining up bands and organizing the evening. Since then, it's taken off.
While the majority of attendees come from the North Shore area, blues fans can be found around the state, David said.
"There's a really good blues fan base in Boston," he said. "They are fun-loving people who enjoy music a lot."
The lineup this year includes The Get Backs, Mr. Nick & The Dirty Tricks, The Lydia Warren Band and The Ten Foot Pole Cats.
The Ten Foot Pole Cats offers an "interesting and different" style, David said. "They do a kind of Mississippi-style blues, but with a bit of punk."
The three-piece band includes Jay Scheffler on vocals/harp, Jim Chilson on guitar and Chad Rousseau on drums. They are currently working on their second album. In 2010, they released their first CD, "I Get Blamed for Everything I Do."
Lydia Warren tours internationally and has appeared with B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Johnny and Edgar Winter, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Rick Derringer, Buckwheat Zydeco, Ruthie Foster, and Ronnie Earl, to name a few. Warren has played at the Boston Blues Festival, North Atlantic Blues Festival, Montreal's FestiBlues and many others.
She is "a great singer and outstanding guitar player," David said. "She has a really powerful voice.
"They've got a lot of really cool original stuff," he said.
Mr. Nick & The Dirty Tricks will perform its entire new album, "Oh Wow!" A year in the making, the album was released last week. The four-piece band will be joined by special guests, as well.
The band includes "Lonely" Gus Carlson, Teddy Bukowski and Rick Rousseau, in addition to David. They play "a mix of original rhumbas, jump blues and boogies."
Headlining the festival will be The Get Backs, a newer blues band that consists of some old favorites.
"They are some of the best players in Boston," David said.
The band formed last fall, guitarist Matthew Stubbs said. In addition to Stubbs, it includes Chris Bryant on guitar, Scotty Shetler on saxophone, Johnny "Bluehorn" Moriconi on trumpet, Marc Hickox on bass, Chris Rivelli on drums and vocalist Templeton.
"We love blues, soul and all roots music for the soulfulness and authenticity of expression," Stubbs said. "Most of us have played with different bands."
This is the band's first appearance at the festival.
"We were proud to be offered the headlining spot with our recent collaboration," Stubbs said. "It's always fun to hear and socialize with other bands."
The region has a loyal blues following, Stubbs said.
"It has been strong for years," he said. "There are a lot of great bands and venues. The audiences love to dance and hear good musicianship."
Kathy Aiello, director of marketing for Blue Ocean Music Hall, said the venue is creating a larger dance floor for the festival this year, due to popular demand.
Each band will play for at least 45 minutes, Aiello said.
"It's just a really fun night," she said.
IF YOU GO
What: New England Winter Blues Festival
When: Saturday, Feb. 11, 8 p.m.
Where: Blue Ocean Music Hall, 4 Oceanfront North, Salisbury
Tickets: $22.50. Call 978-462-5888, go online at www.BlueOceanHall.com or visit the box office, open Tuesday through Sunday at 4 Oceanfront North, Salisbury.
