Chicago Blues Festival

2008-04-16 20:17:00

When I went to the Chicago Blues Festival it rained. When a friend of mine went, it rained. If you are going to Chicago, bring an umbrella or a broad brimmed hat.

The rain is the only bad thing that I can think of, though.

The Chicago Blues Festival is always the best of the festivals around and the only one worth traveling to in these days of high fuel prices.

Blues season in Chicago is from the first week in April until the middle of May. During this time the town is full of great acts, and not just those who perform specifically in the free festival venues. Blues stars from all over the country come to enjoy the festival, so they try to get a local gig to help pay for the costs.

Johnny Winter will be performing with James Cotton. If you think these two are well past their prime, you might be right, but I've seen them both recently and they still have a lot of ass kicking left in them.

One of the performers will be Harmonica Hines. He's not well know outside of Chicago, but he's a damn good harp player and a very nice person who was willing to talk to a beginner harp player about 15 years ago and give him some good advice.

If you can't go to Chicago, some of the shows are streamed on internet audio in previous years. I haven't been able to find out where I can tune into the shows. If you know, please tell me so I can post it here.

Chicago Blues Festival