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In a announcement today, organizers of the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival revealed that Derek Trucks and his band will perform for the first time in Atlantic Canada as headliners of the 2008 Festival. Trucks joins Buddy Guy on a list of headliners for the September event in Fredericton, with more announcements to follow in coming weeks.

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A DECADE IN THE MAKING: The Derek Trucks band, shown above, has been a work in progress for more than 10 years.

Trucks, a longtime member of the Allman Brothers Band, will perform on September 11 in the Bud Light Blues Tent. A limited number of tickets for the show will go on advance sale on May 6th, available only on the artist's website at www.derektrucks.com.

With the Derek Trucks Band as a 2008 headliner, the Festival continues to book touring acts.

"This is a major coup for Fredericton. Derek Trucks is currently in a league of his own and we've been working for two years to get him to Harvest," says Festival music director Brent Staeben.

"This is a band fans from across the Northeast United States and Atlantic Canada will travel to Fredericton to see. It's a big announcement for the Festival and an important one for the City," adds Staeben.

Last year, Rolling Stone named Trucks one of three new generation "guitar gods," along with John Mayer and John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Ironically, at the same time as the Rolling Stone profile, Trucks was called by Eric Clapton to join his world tour and headline his Crossroads guitar festival last summer. In his autobiography last year, Clapton gushed, saying "Derek's playing was stunning, unlike anything I had ever seen or heard before."

The band has been a work in progress for over 10 years, blending jazz, rock, blues, Latin, Eastern Indian, and other world music into a sound that now defines progressive roots music.

"Derek is one of the most sought after players in modern music today," adds Harvest music director Staeben. "He and his band are blazing a new trail. Rooted in the blues but taking modern rock in a new direction, they are one of the coolest, most fascinating bands around and we know Harvest audiences are going to be very excited about the opportunity to see them live. Having them here places the Festival in unique territory."

For more information on the Derek Trucks Band, visit www.derektrucks.com and harvestjazzandblues.com.