Masterful Cincinnati Boogie Woogie piano stylist Ricky Nye is much loved in his hometown. In CityBeat's Best of Cincinnati issue this year, readers voted Nye "Best Local Musician," which he also won last year. And there's a pretty good chance he has more Cincinnati Entertainment Awards and CAMMY awards (the old Enquirer program) than any other musician in the area. All year, Nye (who founded the internationally-flavored Blues and Boogie Summit concerts, which took a break in 2012 but may make a comeback soon) performs about four nights a week in area clubs, bars and restaurants, his ace chops and entertaining performances helping to woo Cincinnati into loving him. (He's also a super-nice guy, so that probably helps too.)But Nye has also been working on earning love (and spreading the good word of Boogie Woogie Blues) elsewhere. Nye travels to Europe (which has a larger fan base for his particular brand of Blues) annually to perform numerous shows, particularly in France (this past fall, Nye also played a few shows in Switzerland along with his French itinerary). During one previous visit, Nye snatched up a trio of French musicians with whom to play and record, christening the group Ricky Nye and the Paris Blues Band. Besides during Nye's visits overseas, the Paris Blues Band has also recorded albums with Nye, including 2008's superb Ville Du Bois, a self-titled release from 2011 and last year's Jump Steady, which came out at the same time as France's Fabrice Eulry & The Rolling Twisters' Twistin' At Ray's, which Nye co-produced in Cincy, and the annual Blues and Boogie Summit highlight compilation album recorded at the 13th annual event in 2011.  This visit, the band will be performing to promote their latest recording, Singing in My Soul, by Oxford, Ohio, singer Lisa Biales and featuring Nye and the PBB on backing. The album is a mix of Blues, Gospel, Roots and Pop, featuring covers of songs by Mississippi John Hurt, Sippie Wallace, Peggy Lee, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and others. Click here to read more and to purchase the release. For the past few years, Nye has been bringing his Paris Blues Band — Thibaut Chopin (upright bass), Simon Boyer (drums) and Anthony Stelmaszack (guitar). — to the Cincinnati area to do a handful of shows. Since last Friday, Ricky Nye and the Paris Blues Band (usually with Biales singing) have been touring the heck out of the region, playing Rabbit Hash, Ky., and Oxford, Ohio, and also doing an episode of Northern Kentucky radio station WNKU's "Studio 89," where the band played and was interviewed live on the air.Tonight, the "tour" picks up at Chez Nora in Covington's Main Strasse district. Nye and the Paris Blues Band play at 7:30 p.m. and there is no admission charge. Tomorrow (Thursday), Nye and Co. head back to Oxford for a performance at the Oxford Community Arts Center (showtime is 8 p.m., tickets are $10 and it's BYOB), then set off for Worthington, Ohio, for a Friday show at Natalie's Coal Fired Pizza and Concert House. Nye and his French pals close out the mini-tour on Saturday with a sold-out show at the Baker Hunt Art and Cultural Center in Covington, Ky. Click here to find out more about Nye and his various projects and here for his official site.

By all accounts (from people who actually attended or performed), last month’s huge Bunbury Music Festival was one of the best-run fests of its kind this area has ever seen. Organizer Bill Donabedian no doubt scored some tips from the operators of the big annual Blues celebration, the volunteer-driven Cincy Blues Fest, which has been doing the “well-run music festival” thing at Sawyer Point Park along the riverfront for many years now. This weekend, the Cincy Blues Fest — one of the finest Blues events in the Midwest — returns to Sawyer Point to celebrate its 20th anniversary. That's a remarkable two decades of providing Greater Cincinnati live music lovers with some of the finest Blues being made locally, regionally and nationally, a rare and impressive achievement for any music festival. This year’s main stage national headliners are especially strong — Webb Wilder on Friday and Duke Robillard on Saturday — but the Cincy Blues Fest always has a ton of interesting and engaging artists performing throughout the fest’s multiple stages. Aside from the lineup featuring a few higher quality headliners than the past couple of years (like Robillard, Wilder, Trampled Under Foot, Super Chikan, Sista Monica, etc.), this year’s 20th anniversary celebration isn’t really being overblown, likely because the Cincy Blues Society and the army of volunteers that work the fest always do such an amazing job running the event; it’s already quite special, no matter what birthday the fest is celebrating.  One of my favorite elements of the Blues Fest is its undying support for our local players and singers. This year, Cincy Blues Challenge winners Chris Yakopcic and the Noah Wotherspoon Band have main-stage slots (they’ll also go to Memphis this winter to compete for Cincinnati in the International Blues Challenge). Yakopcic performs at 5:45 p.m. Friday, while Wotherspoon and Co. play at the same time Saturday (following a band of students associated with the Blues in the Schools program, for which the fest raises money).  The three side stages — always creatively programmed — have a heavy local presence. Friday, visit the “Blues: The Next Generation” stage for sets by younger area acts like the Wade Baker Trio, Brian Keith Wallen Band, Scotty Bratcher and (again!) Noah Wotherspoon and his band. The “Next Gen” stage starts at 5:15 p.m. Saturday. Friday "The Next Generation of Blues" stage lineup5:15 p.m. Wade Baker Trio6:20 p.m. Jellico Motel7:05 p.m. Brian Keith Wallen Band8:10 p.m. Carson Diersing Band9:25 p.m. Scotty Bratcher10:40 p.m. Noah Wotherspoon Band As the name suggests, the St. Vincent DePaul Local Stage is chock full of local talent. Friday, the stage features Bad Men on a Mission, Them Bones, the Doug Hart Band, Leroy Ellington’s Blues Band and Blue Sacrifice. Saturday, catch the Blue Birds Big Band, the Gradual Taylor Band, the Leo Clarke Band, The Juice, Chuck Brisbin & the Tuna Project and Balderdash. Friday St. Vincent De Paul Local Stage lineup5:45-6:45 p.m. Bad Men on a Mission7:00-8:00 p.m. Them Bones8:15-9:15 p.m. Doug Hart Band9:30-10:30 p.m. Leroy Ellington’s Blues Band10:45pm-12:00 a.m. Blue SacrificeSaturday St. Vincent De Paul Local Stage lineup    4:30-5:30 p.m. Blue Birds Big Band5:45-6:45 p.m. The Gradual Taylor Band7:00-8:00 p.m. The Leo Clarke Band8:15-9:15 p.m. The Juice9:30-10:30 p.m. Chuck Brisbin & the Tuna Project10:45-11:45 p.m.  Balderdash And perhaps the fest’s most notable and renowned side stage, the unique Boogie Woogie Piano Hall of Fame Stage, on Saturday will feature appearances by Jimmy Rogers, Todd Hepburn, Liz Pennock & Dr. Blues and Ricky Nye, plus players from across the planet. The Boogie Woogie stage closes out with a “grand finale jam” just before midnight. Saturday Boogie Woogie Piano Hall of Fame Stage lineup4:30 p.m. Jimmy Rogers5:10 p.m. Todd Hepburn5:50 p.m. Liz Pennock & Dr. Blues6:50 p.m. Ricky Nye7:40 p.m. Mark Braun8:30 p.m. Rob Rio9:20 p.m. Cynthia Girtley10:10 p.m. Bob Seeley11:00 p.m. Fabrice Eulry11:50 p.m. Grand Finale JamHere are the lineups for the Budweiser Main Stage this weekend:Friday Budweiser Main Stage lineup    5:45-6:45 p.m. Chris Yakopcic7:00-8:15 p.m. Super Chikan8:30-10:00 p.m. Sista Monica10:15-11:45 p.m. Webb WilderSaturday Budweiser Main Stage lineup5:00-5:30 p.m. Blues in the School (BITS) Band5:45-6:45 p.m. Noah Wotherspoon Band7:00-8:15 p.m. Southern Hospitality8:30-10:00 p.m. Trampled Under Foot10:15-11:45 p.m. Duke RobillardTickets are $20 each day (two-day passes are available Friday at the gates for $30), or grab yours early through brownpapertickets.com for a $5 discount. Or you can join the Cincy Blues Society (cincyblues.org), the creators and managers of Cincy Blues Fest, to receive an even deeper discount. Be sure to pick up a copy of this week's CityBeat, which includes a pull-out guide for the Cincy Blues Fest, with artist bios, schedules and more. For further ticket info, updates, details on the new Cincy Blues Fest mobile app and much more, visit cincybluesfest.org.