The 14th annual Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival, presented by the Gahanna Convention & Visitors Bureau, is trumpeting high-energy talent for three days of blues and jazz programming on five stages June 15-17.

The 2012 lineup includes Kim Wilson’s Blues All-Stars, featuring 2012 Blues Music Award nominee, singer/harmonica player Kim Wilson, and the 2010 American Smooth Jazz Awards “Best New Artist” jazz trumpeter, Cindy Bradley, performing with Columbus-based Urban Jazz Coalition.

Sean Carney and the Camp Blues Kids will kick off the festival from the Community Stage on Friday, June 15. Carney, winner of the 2007 International Blues Challenge and Albert King Award, has performed at the festival every year since its debut. The Camp Blues Kids (ages 11 and older) are mentored by Carney during Camp Blues, which is held during the week of the festival.

“Every year, it’s a fun challenge to select the blues roster for the festival,” said Bob Thomas, who’s on the festival planning committee and is a Columbus Blues Alliance member. “The Columbus area alone is home to many great musicians, and when we consider the national scene, too, I feel like a kid in a candy shop.”

Topping the blues bill on Friday, June 15, is the Jimi Vincent Band. Since forming in 1989, the band has performed three times at the International Blues Festival and has opened for such artists as Bonnie Raitt, Robert Lockwood Jr., John Lee Hooker, Kenny Neal and others. The band’s latest CD, “Been There, Done That É Won’t Do That Again,” is a mix of original music and classic blues.

Kim Wilson’s Blues All-Stars will perform Saturday, June 16. Wilson, who’s also lead singer and harmonica player for the Fabulous Thunderbirds, has put together the Blues All-Stars, a six-piece band that will showcase Wilson as a diverse blues virtuoso.

As one of the world’s top harmonica players, many have referred to Wilson as the “King of Chicago Blues harmonica.” On Sunday, June 17, singer/guitarist Ray Fuller and the Bluesrockers will headline the Blues Stage.

Fuller, a graduate of Gahanna Lincoln High School, learned from and played with such blues artists as Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker.

Highlighting the jazz scene will be the Tony Monaco Trio, who will take the stage Friday, June 15.

Monaco, a Hammond B-3 jazz organist, was something of a keyboard prodigy, starting on the accordion at age 8.

By the time he was 12, Monaco had decided on his career as a jazz organist. During his teen years, he played in Columbus jazz clubs, and he continued his rise to prominence under the tutelage of famed local organ artists Hank Marr and Don Patterson.

Festivalgoers should plan on grooving with New York City jazz trumpeter Cindy Bradley and Columbus’ jazz septet, the Urban Jazz Coalition, on Saturday, June 16.

From her NYC base, Bradley has performed internationally while releasing two CDs in the past three years.

In 2009, she released “Bloom,” a collaboration with Grammy-winning producer Michael Broening, and most recently “Unscripted,” a collection that showcases her stylistic diversity. On Sunday, June 17, the festival’s jazz theme will feature a variety of father-son and father-daughter performances, as a celebration of Father’s Day.

On Sunday, June 17, the Columbus Jazz Orchestra will take the stage as it features pianist Bobby Floyd, along with his daughter, Bobbi Floyd Townes, on vocals.

The orchestra also will invite the children of some of its musicians to perform. The members of the Columbus Youth Jazz Orchestra will join in the festivities when it turns the spotlight on some of the band members’ fathers.

Coming from the Pittsburgh jazz scene and performing as a father-son team, Tony Janflone Sr. and the Tony Janflone Jr. Quartet will celebrate the day as part of Gahanna’s jazzy salute to fathers.

Janflone Sr. is well-known in Pittsburgh for a variety of musical talents. In addition to being an accomplished guitarist, he encourages aspiring musicians through his years of experience as a top instructor of guitar.

Janflone’s star pupil is son Tony Janflone Jr., who has been playing since age 9. Janflone Jr. currently plays with his own group, the Tony Janflone Jr. Quartet.

“Since Sunday’s performances fall on Father’s Day, I feel that the festival should embrace the occasion,” said Louis Tsamous, musician-services coordinator for the Jazz Arts Group. “All of the jazz acts that day will feature either father-son or father-daughter combinations.”

For more information, visit www.creeksidebluesandjazz.com or call the GCVB at (614) 418-9114.