Talk of the Town - July 2015

Bay Harbor Fest Honors the Best of the Bay

Gregg Allman is coming to the Bay beachfront, along with dozens of other top musicians from around the region.  Local icons Pat Murphy and Bo&Dee are in the spotlight too - receiving lifetime achievement awards!  ALSO:  Harborfest Schedule and Map

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While legendary musician Gregg Allman is headlining Bay Harbor Fest (July 17, 18, 19) and the slate of performers features bands like Jimmie Hall & Friends, Jaimoe's Jasssz Band  and Frank Foster.   The spotlight will also fall on three local performers. 

While each of the three have achieved the icon status in Bay St. Louis, they've also built enormous and fiercely loyal fan bases across the region.  Receiving Lifetime Achievement Awards on Saturday night are Pat Murphy and Bo and Dee Bridgewater Darensbourg - the latter two best-known simply as “Bo & Dee.” 

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The first Lifetime Achievement Award was presented at the inaugural Bay Harbor Fest in 2013 to Deacon John.  The recipients in 2014 were Jerry and Melva Fisher.  This year the event's producer, Michael Rosato, says that "it's time" to honor Murphy and the Darensbourgs. 

Winner of the 2015 Bay Harbor Fest Lifetime Achievement Award - Pat Murphy. Murphy and the Darensbourgs will be honored at the Main Stage at 7:05pm on Saturday, July 18th (right before Gregg Allman's performance). Photo by Ellis Anderson

Winners of the 2015 Bay Harbor Fest Lifetime Achievement Award - Bo and Dee Darensbourg. The Darensbourgs and Pat Murphy will be honored at the Main Stage at 7:05pm on Saturday, July 18th (right before Gregg Allman's performance). Photo by Allen Reed

Deacon John receiving the first Harbor Fest Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. L to R. BSL Mayor Les Fillingame, Deacon John, Pat Murphy, Kerrie Loya, Michael Rosato. Photo by Ellis Anderson

Jerry and Melva Fisher accept the 2014 Bay Harbor Fest Lifetime Achievement Award

Pat Murphy played his first job as a professional musician in the back room of Trapani’s Knock Knock Bar on Beach Boulevard in Bay St. Louis and went on to build one of the most sought-after bands on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the Pat Murphy Band. 

Bo Darensbourg was already an established guitar player when he first watched Dee perform with her sixteen-piece band in New Orleans in 1961.  Over the decades, the pair have performed across the coast and in New Orleans, sharing the stage with the likes of B.B. King and Fats Domino. 

The awards will be presented at 7:05pm on Saturday night, July 18th, right before Gregg Allman's performance. 

"I'm appreciative and grateful," says Murphy, referring to the award, "but I'm also uneasy about the whole thing.  I'm really excited about seeing Gregg Allman afterward.  There are some other great musicians on the line-up too I'm really looking forward to seeing."

Harbor Fest will close Sunday with a show by Monsters At Large, a band comprised of former members of the Dock of the Bay Band, including Johnny Hozey, Tommy Moran and Darryl Brown.  The "Monsters" will be playing from 5:30 - 8:30pm - it's bound to be a heartfelt hometown show, so don't miss it. 

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What's happening at Harbor Fest!