Once a year, Festival Park in downtown Fayetteville comes alive with the annual Blues n-Brews Festival, which features some of the best blues music and beer in the region. The Blues-n-Brews festival benefits the Cape Fear Regional Theatre. All the proceeds from the festival go toward helping CFRT realize its mission. According to Liz Thompson, development director of CFRT, many people who attend the festival each year do not even realize that the event helps CFRT continue to serve the community through its many productions and programs. Funds raised through the one day music festival go toward arts education, theater camps, production budgets as well as general operating costs for the theater. This year’s festival is slated for June 2 and promises to offer an interesting new spin on what has become one of the area’s premier events over the last 16 years.

Thompson describes Blues-n-Brews as “a one day festival benefiting CFRT where around 3,000 people come together and taste the best beer in the region and jam to the hottest blues in the area.” General admission to Blues-n-Brews includes five hours of live blues music, a souvenir sampling glass and unlimited beer tastings from nearly 30 different breweries, including some local and regional favorites.

There will also be a plethora of local food trucks and other vendors on hand. Thompson noted, “We are still making some tweaks, but the full brewery and vendor lineup is available online at bnb.cfrt.org”

While the festival promises the same quality interms of its musical acts and beer selection, longtime patrons of Blues-n-Brews will notice something new about the event. According to Thompson, “This year, we decided to do something a little different and give the festival a theme.” That theme is “Music City,” and it ties in directly to CFRT’s 2018-19 season.

Thompson explained the tie-in: “Next year, the theater’s season opens with a new musical entitled ‘Music City,’ which tells the story of three young songwriters trying to make it in Nashville. We thought this offered a unique opportunity to brand the festival as ‘Blues-n-Brews: Music City Edition.’” Thompson went on to explain, “Patrons can expect some great blues but with a little more of a country spin.”

The festival boasts a strong lineup of musical acts that will provide the soundtrack to the afternoon. The general festival opens with a performance by Nattalyee Randall, a veteran of the stage who played both Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone inproductions at the North Carolina Theater. Patrons of the arts in Fayetteville will recognize her from CFRT’s production of “Dreamgirls.” “Nattalyee is a vocal powerhouse,” said Thompson. “She will be singing the blues standards that everyone knows and recognizes.” The Tom Euler Band, which plays progressive blues/rock, is also slated to perform. The band, out of Virginia, was a semi-finalist in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee, earlier this year.

The festival’s music lineup culminates in the evening’s headlining performance by Casey James. James is from Fort Worth, Texas, and is probably best known for his season nine “American Idol” run, when he finished third place behind Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze. James has shared the stage with notable performing artists like Taylor Swift, Alan Jackson and Sugarland. His new album, “Strip it Down,” was released in June 2017 and is available for download on iTunes and can be streamed on Spotify.

There is a fourth band on the bill for the Blues-n-Brews festival, but the performance is only available to those who purchase VIP tickets. Fayetteville’s own Guy Unger Band with lead vocals by Michael Pennink will be playing the first hour of the festival from 4-5 p.m., an hour that is available only for VIPs.

According to Thompson, there are plenty of other perks to purchasing the VIP ticket. Not only will VIP ticket-holders hear great music from The Guy Unger Band, they will also avoid the long lines of the general admission portion of the festival, which means they will get to sample more beer and talk to more brewers than the people who arrive at 5 p.m. Additionally, she said, “The VIP tent is sponsored by 96.5 BOB FM, and they are bringing in fantastic caterers like Carrabba’s and Mash House.” She added, “VIP ticket-holders have access to covered seating as well as complimentary snacks and swag bags. VIPs will also serve as the judges in the Best in Show Beer Tasting Competition.”

The festival is staffed each year by volunteers, and according to Thompson, there are still volunteer positions available. “We need beer pourers more than anything else,” said Thompson. “Volunteer beer pourers make it possible for the brewers to talk to the people sampling their beer about how that beer is made and all of the other things that people who do beer tastings are interested in.”

Volunteer shifts are available throughout the day, and there are major perks that come with volunteering at Blues-n-Brews. Anyone who volunteers for at least four hours at the festival will receive either complimentary general admission to the festival or two complimentary tickets to any CFRT opening-weekend show for the 2018-19 season.

CFRT provides summer theater camps for children, special matinee performances for students in the area, and a brand-new military outreach program that offers free theater classes to military children and families on Fort Bragg. More information on the work of CFRT and the 2018-19 season, which includes performances of “Annie,” “Memphis” and “Trumbo,” is available at www.cfrt.org.

Tickets for the 16th Annual Blues-n-Brews Festival in Festival Park are on sale now. General admission tickets are $40 in advance and $45 at the gate. VIP tickets are $80 and are only available in advance. Tickets are also available for $10 for those who do not wish to participate in the beer tasting. Advanced tickets can be purchased online at bnb.cfrt.org.

The Blues-n-Brews Festival is scheduled for Saturday,June 2, from 4-10 p.m.