For four days, enjoy the largest free blues festival in the world! Five stages and more than 500,000 blues fans take over Grant Park, proving our city is the "Blues Capital of the World." Past performers include Bonnie Raitt, Ray Charles, B.B. King, the late Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy and the late Koko Taylor. The theme for this year is Rollin' Up The River, celebrating the blues with a musical journey up the Mississippi River.
The 30th Annual Chicago Blues Festival will open on June 6 with a concert at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park before moving to Grant Park for three full days of music. The headliners for June 7-9 will perform at the Petrillo Music Shell.
May & June Pre-Events
May is "Blues Month" in Chicago! Enjoy numerous Chicago Blues Festival preview events at the Chicago Cultural Center, Daley Plaza and various Chicago Public Library and Park District locations. Click here for the complete schedule.
June 6: Opening Night in Millennium Park
- 8 p.m. - Shemekia Copeland with Quinn Sullivan (headliner)
- 7:10 p.m. - Jamiah On Fire & The Red Machine
- 6:30 p.m. - Fernando Jones' Blues Kids of America
June 7 Headliners: New Orleans, Louisiana and Mississippi
- 8:30 p.m. - Bobby Rush and his Blues Band
- 7:05 p.m. - Irma Thomas
- 6 p.m. - Earnest "Guitar" Roy
June 8 Headliners: Chicago by way of Memphis, Tennessee and St. Louis, Missouri
- 8:10 p.m. - The Memphis Soul Revue starring The Bar-Kays with special guests Eddie Floyd and Sir Mack Rice
- 6:30 p.m. - Otis Clay and the Platinum Band feat. Uvee Hayes
- 5 p.m. - Ronnie Baker Brooks
June 9 Headliners: Sweet Home Chicago
- 8 p.m. - Chicago Blues: Old School, New Millennium
James Cotton, John Primer, Billy Branch, Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater, Lil' Ed, Deitra Farr, Demetria Taylor, Matt Skoller, Billy Flynn, Johnny Iguana, Felton Crews, Kenny "Beedyeyes" Smith - 6:35 p.m. - Jimmy Johnson Band
- 5:30 p.m. - Shirley Johnson
Festival Highlights
- Music on five stages: The Petrillo Music Shell, Bud Light Crossroads Stage, Pepsi Front Porch, Mississippi Juke Joint and the Windy City Blues Society Stage
- June 8: Panel discussion and cenetennial celebration of Pinetop Perkins on the Mississippi Juke Joint Stage
- June 9: 60th anniversary of Delmark Records on the Petrillo Music Shell and the Bud Light Crossroads Stage
- June 9: special tribute to Chicago bluesman Magic Slim on the Pepsi Front Porch Stage
Photo credit: City of Chicago, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
