NORWICH – Members of the 1960s era British blues-rock band Savoy Brown told Chenango County’s Blues Association members on Saturday that they would cut out time from their vacation in order to fill in for this weekend’s formerly billed headliner, Ike Turner.

Turner canceled last Thursday for medical reasons, his promoters said.

Savoy Brown returns to the 15th annual Chenango Blues Festival on Aug. 18 after performing in the festival’s acoustic tent in 2005. “They told us they had such a great time and were treated so well here that they would be happy to help us out during their vacation,” Blues Festival Hospitality Chairperson Linda Tracey Palmatier said yesterday.

Blues Festival President Eric Larsen said he scrambled between the phone and his computer for about 48 hours in order to come up with a replacement for Turner. “It wasn’t fun, but we are very excited to have Savoy Brown back. People loved them,” he said.