Five Fun Facts About the Chicago Blues Festival
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Blues music may have gotten its start in the muddy delta of the Mississippi, but few places in the United States have done more to advance this quintessentially American art form than Chicago. For proof of the Windy City’s proud blues tradition, look no further than the annual Chicago Blues Festival.
Since its inception in 1984, the Chicago Blues Festival has become one of Chicago’s flagship festivals and the largest free blues festival in the world, providing hours of entertainment to hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. Just a few of the famous names that have appeared at the Chicago Blues Festival in past years include B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Bo Diddley, among other musical legends.
In preparation for this year’s 26th annual Chicago Blues Festival (June 11th-13th), I’ve put together five fun facts about the festival that will help turn even the greenest blues fan into a true blues hound.
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1) You never know who will be there!
The Chicago Blues Festival is definitely the best place to see the world’s greatest blues musicians, but over the years it has also become a place for other famous performers to strut their stuff. One of the most notable Blues Festival collaborations came in 1986 when rock and roll icon Chuck Berry joined forces with the Rolling Stones’ legendary guitarist Keith Richards for a special headlining performance.
2) You can make a few hundred thousand new friends.
Since its first year, when 165,000 people showed up to pay tribute to the late Muddy Waters, the Chicago Blues Festival has ballooned in attendance, eventually amassing an unprecedented 800,000 visitors in 2007. Is there really anything better than singing and swaying with nearly a million blues fans on a beautiful summer day?
3) The Chicago Blues Festival has gone high tech.
When it comes to festivals, I never like to be too organized. Sure, I might take a look at the schedule to make sure I don’t miss anything important, but for the most part I enjoy just walking around and taking in the scene. Of course, I’m probably in the minority, which is why the Chicago Blues Festival has released its very own iPhone application.
The Blues Festival iPhone app features an array of tools to help visitors get the most blues action possible, including live schedule updates, artist descriptions, a color coded map of the festival, and a direct link to the Blues Festival Twitter feed. Plus, since we don’t want to go through another Great Chicago Fire, the app has a cool “Encore Flame” that the audience can use instead of a cigarette lighter.
4) The Chicago Blues Festival is also about education.
The “Blues in the Schools” program, originally developed by Chicago musician Billy Branch in 1978, is a unique opportunity for Chicago-area students to learn about the culture and history of blues music, as well as how to write and perform their own blues songs, under the direction of professional blues musicians.
Thanks to retired Chicago school teacher Kay Jones, Blues in the Schools has operated as an extension of the Chicago Blues Festival since 1988. In the 21 years since, a performance by students in the Blues in the Schools program has been the traditional opening act for the festival.
5) Did I mention it’s free?
There are a ton of great concerts in Grant Park during the summer, most notably the mega-sized music festival Lollapalooza, but few of them offer hours upon hours of entertainment for absolutely free. Granted, you will still have to pay 8 dollars for a strip of 12 “food and beverage” tickets (one of Chicago’s patented summer festival rip-offs), but I really don’t mind spending $20 on a few drinks if it means I get to sit in the sun all day and listen to music.
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Bottom line, if you’re in Chicago from June 11th – 13th, there’s no excuse to miss out on the Chicago Blues Festival. So download your iPhone app and start strumming your electric guitar now, because I’m planning on seeing you there!