24th Annual Chicago Blues Fest

June 7^th through June 10^th on Chicago's scenic lakefront in Grant Park, the 23^rd Annual Chicago Blues Fest will get underway with one of their biggest lineups to date. This years fest will pay tribute not only to historic blues icons, but it will also highlight the best blues musicians in the modern era. Returning to the stage will be the Queen of Chicago Blues, Koko Taylor.

Chicago has a storied history with blues that goes back generations stemming from the Great Migration from the South and particularly the Mississippi Delta region in pursuit of advancement and better career possibilities for musicians. Each year the organizers choose a theme, generally to honor a recently departed Blues musician. Obviously, Chicago blues acts are common. Also, in keeping with the Blues' influence on other musical genres, there are some Soul, Jazz blues and Blues-rock acts. Since those early beginnings the festival has risen to a status that the City of Chicago bills as the world's largest free concert of its kind

The city's first blues festival was in 1984 and helped open the summer festival season and was dedicated to the music and memory of the great McKinley Morganfield, better known as Muddy Waters who passed away just one year earlier.

Throughout the years the fest has been the benchmark of such events as T-Bone Walker turning 80 years old, it was the night Chuck Berry shared the stage with Keith Richards or the evening the crowd left the park after Little Milton's set singing "Hey Hey the Blues are Alright"; or even the days Janie Hunter did circle dances with the audience and John Lee Hooker did "Boogie chillen" solo for a crowd of thousands of festgoers.

This years Chicago Blues Fest is planning to commemorate the centennials of Roosevelt Sykes and Eurreal "Little Brother" Montgomery. In the tradition of celebrating blues icons annually from Robert Johnson and Bessie Smith to Big Bill Broonzy the festival will explore the deep history and present the brightest exponents within the heritage of the blues.

This years fest will feature a number of events that go beyond musical performances. These educational events will take place at the Route 66 Roadhouse Stage in the center of Grant Park. These events are meant to educate audiences about the past, present and future of the Chicago Blues genre. Musical Artists will include such names as; The Elvin Bishop Group, Bettye LaVette and Bobby Blue Bland.

There are exciting bookings on the smaller stages too, including New Orleans R & B legend Eddie Bo and younger-generation Detroit singer Thornetta Davis, who can pull off anything from a heart-stopping rendition of Percy Mayfield's "Please Send Me Someone to Love" to a streetsy cover of Erykah Badu's "Tyrone." All in all, this is the most musically varied and historically broad festival lineup in years.

If you plan on attending, it would be wise to prepare for all types of weather conditions. I would suggest bringing: an umbrella, sunglasses, sunscreen, a blanket and a folding chair. Go early and stake your claim on your spot of Chicago Park District property for the day. Parking is limited compared to the tremendous crowds expected, so public transportation is a good option.

The blues genre and the City of Chicago have gone hand-in-hand since the '40s, with a mass exodus of transplants coming from the Delta and south in hopes for a better life and potential career in music. Since that time, blues has been an integral part of the city at large, and the annual Chicago Blues Festival celebrates that fact.

Grant Park is the backdrop to six stages and will open daily at 11:00 am with musical performances until 9:30 pm. As the largest of the city's many music festivals, The Chicago Blues Fest will boast one million people in attendance that will enjoy four music filled days on six stages of down and dirty blues Chicago style. The Chicago Blues Festival has been an annual tradition in Chicago for over 20 years and features a variety of local and national talents performing Chicago blues, swing, boogie woogie and delta blues.

Enjoy the music, food and liquid sustenance, but most of all enjoy the people of a great city.