[Slowhand] (OT) Last Surviving Paramount Blues Recording Artist Returns to Grafton

[An English Boy]

Last Surviving Paramount Blues Recording Artist, Henry Townsend, Returns to
Grafton, WI to Perform After 76 Years

GRAFTON, WI -- (MARKET WIRE) -- August 08, 2006 -- Legendary blues recording
artist Mr. Henry Townsend will be returning to Grafton, Wisconsin to perform
at the inaugural Paramount Blues Festival on September 23, 2006. Mr.
Townsend, 96, last recorded for Paramount Records in Grafton, Wisconsin
around September of 1930.

Paramount Records, recorded one-fourth of all the blues material produced
from 1929 to 1932, and is a highly prized label amongst blues collectors.
Blues legends such as Skip James, Charley Patton, and Son House all recorded
in the Grafton studio.

The inaugural Paramount Blues Festival, organized by the local Grafton Blues
Association, a 501(c)(3) non-profit group, will feature local and national
blues acts and international Paramount historians including Gayle Dean
Wardlow, author Alex van der Tuuk, Dr. David Evans, Joe Filisko, Hawkeye
Herman, Steve Cohen, Greg Koch, Reverend Raven, Nora Jean Bruso, Bob Stroger
and Albert Cummings. The festival, which runs from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.,
will include a performance by a "surprise" artist yet to be revealed to the
public.

Townsend, of St. Louis, Missouri, will also be honored by the Village of
Grafton during his visit with the first Walk of Fame stone in the new
Paramount Plaza being constructed in downtown Grafton.

Grafton State Bank, and Alex van der Tuuk sponsor Mr. Townsend's appearance.
For tickets to the Paramount Blues Festival visit www.graftonblues.org or
for more information contact the Grafton Area Chamber of Commerce at
262-377-1650.