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Renowned piano player to headline Peach Festival

Ben Waters, performing at Penticton Peach Festival, has hit the stage with The Rolling Stones
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Ben Waters was one of many that turned out in 2015 for the Dream Festival, in support of the Dream Café. He’s going to be one of the headliners at the 2019 Peach Festival. (Western News file photo)

A world-renowned boogie woogie piano player who has worked with The Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and a long list of talented artists will be a headliner at the Penticton Peach Festival.

Ben Waters, recognized as one of the top piano players in the world, brings high-energy performances that lift audiences to their feet to dance the night away. It is exactly what he will be doing on Aug. 9 on the Peach Festival Peters Bros. main stage.

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“I absolutely love this town. It’s absolutely fantastic and this festival is going to be awesome,” said Waters, who has performed at the Dream Café and the Dream Festival. He’s returning to Penticton to perform at the Peach Festival thanks to the sponsorship of Grizzly Excavating.

The award-winning rock and roll pianist has toured the world for 30 years has sold out shows at the Sydney Opera House and the Royal Albert Hall in London.

After some 6,000 gigs Waters is retiring later this year.

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“This will be a show not to miss. Ben’s performances are known to keep people up long after they have gone home because their feet are still dancing,” said Don Kendall, Peach Festival president.

Waters fell in love with music having seen a Fats Domino 60th birthday party on TV. He knew immediately that playing the piano is what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. His aunt and uncle had a large collection of boogie piano recordings and videos that he became obsessed with. Waters would endlessly watch videos of Domino and Jerry Lee Lewis and try to mimic them—teaching himself how to play the piano.

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Captivated by the sounds of the deep south, Waters fell in love with the boogie-woogie, blues and rock and roll sounds.

He worked every venue he could in his hometown in England at the age of 16, then jumped into a professional career at 18 when asked to join Shakin’ Stevens on an international tour.

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Waters is no stranger to Penticton, having previously performed at the Dream Café, where he has sold out 21 shows over a decade, and he was part of the Dream Festival. Last year Waters toured non-stop, including two sold out nights at Ronnie Scott’s in London’s West End with the likes of Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Imelda May, Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp joining him to give tribute to Chuck Berry.

Joining Waters on the stage will be his son, Tom Waters, on the saxophone and two local musicians. Tom is an accomplished musician in his own right, with six studio albums. He has worked with chart-topping bands and musicians including Broken Social Scene, Elliot Randell (Steely Dan), PJ Harvey and Jools Holland.

Catch Waters for free at the Peach Festival on Aug. 9.

For more information on the Penticton Peach Festival visit www.peachfest.com or follow them on Facebook @PentictonPeachFest, Twitter @Peachfest2019 and on Instagram @PentictonPeachFestival.

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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