The Mayor’s Office of Special Events has made many changes to make this year’s program more intimate and educational for all who attend. New bench and bleacher seating have been added to the some of the stages and The Petrillo Music Shell has a new sound system, both changes guaranteeing visitors will enjoy the sounds of the blues more than before.
But blues music isn’t the only thing the festivalgoers will experience. There will be an art exhibit of traditional Mississippi folk art as well. Featured artists in the exhibit include Willie Kinard and his wooden trucks and airplanes, McArthur Chism and his work using mirrors and crosses made of bottle caps, and Super ChiKan and his custom made instruments. The artists will be on the festival site each day to give demonstrations and sell their work.
Amateur blues artists will be sure to enjoy the Jam Stations at the Mississippi Juke Joint each evening. These sessions will allow musicians who bring their own instruments to play with other musicians. Thursday night’s session will feature rhythm section players, Friday night guitar players, harmonicas on Saturday and vocals on Sunday.
Also new to this year’s festival are Gray Line Blues Tours. These include Behind the Blues, Chicago Club Crawl and Blues By Night tours, which offer a chance to learn about the blues history in Chicago, get harmonica lessons or celebrate the blues late into the night.
There will also be Japanese drummers as part of the Silk Road experience, which will intertwine the cultural ancestry of the orient with sounds of the blues. John Primer, Yoko Noge, Tatsu Aoki and Taiko Drums will be performing at the Louisiana Bayou Station and Social Club for this concert.
The festival, themed “Edition 23” Deep as the Delta with the mystique of the Bayou, will be Thursday, June 8 through Sunday, June 11 and kicks off Blues Season, a month of Blues activities throughout the city of Chicago. The festival is free of charge and will have more than 90 performances on six stages.
Since its start in 1984, the festival’s stages have held performers including Ray Charles, B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Otis Clay.
Despite all the new changes, the Chicago Blues Festival is sure to continue being Chicago’s most popular music festival.
Photos courtesy of the City of Chicago, Mayor's Office of Special Events
Powered by AkoComment 2.0!
