2017 BBQ’Loo and Blues Too!
July 14 @ 5:00 PM - July 15 @ 9:30 PM
Lincoln Park - Downtown Waterloo

Join Townsquare Media Waterloo (97.7 KCRR, K98.5, Q92.3, AM 950 KOEL) and Mainstreet Waterloo for great food, great music, and great fun on July 14 (5:30 pm- 9:30 pm) & 15 (11:00 am – 9:30 pm), 2017 at Lincoln Park in downtown Waterloo.

NEW THIS YEAR: A Steak Cookoff Association (SCA) sanctioned steak competition will be held on Friday evening starting at 5:00 pm. This competition is open to the public and professional cooks. Steaks will be provided. See the applications and rules documents at the links below.

FOOD: BBQ & other great non-BBQ eats for sale Friday night and all day Saturday

FAMILY: Bring the kids for Kids Korner Friday 5:30 to 9:00 pm and Saturday Noon to 4:00 pm. Children ages 6 to 15 can also compete in a Kids-Q barbecue contest on Friday at 5:30 pm.

Prizes and awards totaling $8,100 in CASH and PLAQUES

Prizes & Awards: Barbeque Championship Prizes:

  • Grand Champion – $1,500, ribbon & plaque
  • Reserve Grand Champion – $1,000, ribbon & plaque
  • Honorable Mention Champion – $400, ribbon & plaque

In each Category: Chicken, Pork Ribs, Pork Shoulder/Boston Butt, Beef Brisket

  • 1st Place – $250, ribbon and plaque
  • 2nd Place – $225, ribbon
  • 3rd Place – $200, ribbon
  • 4th Place – $175, ribbon
  • 5th Place – $150, ribbon
  • 6th Place – 10th Place – $60, ribbon

Four great blues bands

Friday, July 14, 5:30 – 9:30 pm: Jeff Banks Band,

2016 Central Iowa Blues Society award winner. BBQ’Loo and Blues Too’s annual tradition of featuring the previous year’s Iowa Blues Challenge winner will be rewarded this year with The Jeff Banks Band (2016). Jeff is an ever present force in the Iowa Blues scene. He is a three time winner of the Iowa Blues Challenge with three different bands.Strong vocals and awesome guitar work will be featured in award winning original compositions along with covers of crowd favorites. Waterloo resident Justin Appel will be playing the keyboards with all the talent that makes him a favorite part of many past and present Iowa Blues bands. Justin is also no stranger to being a part of many Iowa Blues Challenge winning bands.


Saturday, July 15, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm: Rob Lumbard

2016 International Blues Challenge solo album award winner.
Rob is an internationally recognized solo blues artist from Des Moines, Iowa. His Blues/Folk style is heavily influenced by Texas singer/song writers. His latest album “Blues in a Bottle” won the 2016 Blues Foundation Award for best self-produced album at the International Blues Challenge. His work has also been used on several Public Television specials, one of which actually earned an EMMY Award. He has also played with fellow Hot Fudge Label members Bob Dorr and Molly Nova in their band 2 Bobs and a Babe. He is also an Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member.During his career playing Festivals, bars, restaurants, parties and other private events has been chosen to be a warm-up act for some very notable bands. He has appeared with The Band, Lyle Lovett, Jerry Jeff Walker and Leon Redbone to just name a few.


Saturday, 2:00 – 5:00 pm: Joanna Connor

If you would picture Joanna as some one’s mom playing a scorching hot slide guitar it would be an accurate image. She is a Worcester, Massachusetts native that moved to Chicago in 1984 to follow her dream of playing the Blues.Shortly after moving to Chicago she formed the Joanna Connor band. She was able to hone her skills playing on stage with such legends as Buddy Guy, Junior Wells and James Cotton. Although she quickly gained popularity in the Chicago Blues club scene she dedicated a majority of her time and efforts raising her two children. Now her children are grown and out on their own Joanna is playing about 200 shows a year. When not playing festivals and larger clubs she is a 3 night a week mainstay at Chicago’s famous Kingston’s Mines.Her latest album Six Strings is highly acclaimed by entities such as Blues Blast Magazine, Chicago Blues Guide, the Associated Press, Vintage Guitar Magazine and Nelson Brill/ Boston Concert Reviews. This album is inspired by the Blues, Gospel, Bayou genres and also on the song Halstead Street she reached out with some rifts reminiscent of Metallica for a rock inspiration.Since increasing her wider circle of venues she’s playing she has also shared the stage with such great bands as Jimmy Page, BB King, The Doobie Brothers, Kenny Wayne Sheperd, Robert Cray. Los Lobos and the Neville Brothers to name a few.


Saturday night, 6:15 pm – 9:15 pm: Duke Robillard

Duke is an accomplished touring guitarist, studio musician, and award winning artist.Duke is a highly sought after touring guitarist. He toured in 2013 as Bob Dylan’s lead guitarist. Eric Clapton invited Duke to join him at the 2004 Crossroads Guitar Festival. He also toured as lead guitarist for The Fabulous Thunderbirds from 1990-1993. Tom Waits got Duke to play with him in a 2006 U.S. tour. He also toured for many years with the multiple Grammy Award nominated Roomful Of Blues Band that he co-founded with Al Copely. He also tours with his own critically acclaimed Duke Robillard band.Starting in the 1970’s to the present Duke has been an active studio artist recording with such greats as Bob Dylan,The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Randy Bachman, J Geils, Pine Top Perkins, Ronnie Earl, Jimmy Witherspoon, Snooky Prior, Johnny Adams, Roomful Of Blues and many others. He even collaborated outside of the usual Blues/Rock genres with the U.K’s wildly popular band Wham featuring the recently deceased George Michael.As a highly decorated blues artist he is a 5 time winner of the coveted Blues Music Award’s “Best Blues Guitarist of The Year” (Formally the W.C. Handy Award). Other awards include: 2 Grammy Nominations one for his 2007 C.D. Guitar Groove-A-Rama and his 2010 album Stomp! The Blues Tonight. He also earned 3 Canadian Maple Blues Awards in 2001-2003 as “Best International Blues Artist Of The Year”, as well as other numerous awards too many to list here.
There will be an ice carving demo during band breaks & celebrity rib eating contest at 5:30 pm on Saturday in front of the stage.

FYI: Barbeque teams invited to be part of this exciting event in downtown Waterloo. Fill out and return your application form today! Volunteers are also asked to fill out a volunteer application and return it to Main Street Waterloo! All forms to enter contests, become a judge, be a vendor, or request an electric hook-up are found below.

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