{"id":25599,"date":"2018-03-27T10:46:46","date_gmt":"2018-03-27T15:46:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/?p=25599"},"modified":"2018-03-27T10:46:46","modified_gmt":"2018-03-27T15:46:46","slug":"chicago-home-of-the-blues-and-naturally-blues-fest-announce-2018-lineup-season-that-celebrates-chicagos-music-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/?p=25599","title":{"rendered":"Chicago, Home Of The Blues And Naturally Blues Fest, Announce 2018 Lineup Season That Celebrates Chicago’s Music Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"
THE 35TH ANNUAL CHICAGO BLUES FESTIVAL FULL LINEUP CELEBRATES <\/strong><\/div>\n
CHICAGO\u2019S RICH MUSIC LEGACY JUNE 8\u201310, IN MILLENNIUM PARK<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Local and national artists includes: Mavis Staples, a day of special performances in honor of Bob Koester and the 65th<\/sup> Anniversary of Delmark Records; Tribute to Little Walter; Tribute to Gene Barge; Bridges to the Blues celebrating the Year of Creative Youth <\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n
and much more<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n
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Experience Chicago\u2019s blues music legacy at the 35th Annual Chicago Blues Festival<\/strong> happening June 8<\/strong>\u2013<\/strong>10<\/strong> in Millennium Park (201 E. Randolph St.). The Blues Festival will spotlight the great Chicago-born music tradition with live performances by the genre\u2019s leading artists at Millennium Park\u2019s Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the city\u2019s premier outdoor music venue. The previously announced headliners include: Corey Dennison Band; Mississippi Heat with Billy Flynn and Giles Corey; Special Tribute to Bob Koester <\/strong>and the 65th<\/sup> Anniversary of Delmark Records; Selwyn Birchwood; Willie Clayton; Little Walter Tribute; Fantastic Negrito, Kenny Neal <\/strong>and Mavis Staples. <\/strong><\/div>\n
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Chicago is the birthplace of the urban blues, gospel music, house music and more. In 2018 over three consecutive weekends, DCASE will celebrate the city\u2019s music legacy at the Chicago House Music Festival (May 26), the Chicago Gospel Music Festival (June 1\u2013<\/strong>2) and the Chicago Blues Festival (June 8\u2013<\/strong>10) on stage in Millennium Park, at the Chicago Cultural Center as well as in music venues and clubs throughout the city. Chicago is an arts powerhouse and a global destination for music lovers.<\/div>\n
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Headliners on the Jay Pritzker Pavilion <\/strong>stage will perform from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.<\/strong> each evening. Music and entertainment throughout the park will begin at 11 a.m. each day.<\/div>\n
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Friday, June 8 \u2013 Jay Pritker Pavilion<\/u><\/strong><\/div>\n
Throughout the day on June 8, the Chicago Blues Festival will celebrate the 65th<\/sup> Anniversary of Delmark Records<\/strong> and the independent label\u2019s founder, Bob Koester<\/strong>. The festival will offer a lineup honoring 65 years of Delmark Record\u2019s current and legendary blues artists with a tribute to Bob Koester and performances in honor of legendary Delmark artists that include: Sleepy John Estes<\/strong> by Corey Dennison and Gerry Hundt<\/strong>, Big Joe Williams<\/strong> by Jimmy Burns<\/strong>, Roosevelt Sykes<\/strong> by Ken Saydak,<\/strong> Bonnie Lee<\/strong> by Shirley Johnson<\/strong>, Willie Kent<\/strong> by Guy King<\/strong>, Jimmy Dawkins <\/strong>by Billy Flynn and Linsey Alexander<\/strong>, J.B.Hutto<\/strong> by Lil\u2019 Ed and Dave Weld<\/strong>, Big Time Sarah<\/strong> by Demetria Taylor and Tomiko Dixon<\/strong>, Carey Bell<\/strong> by Lurrie Bell and Steve Bell<\/strong>, Magic Sam<\/strong> by Jimmy Johnson and Dave Specter<\/strong>, Junior Wells <\/strong>by Omar Coleman<\/strong>.<\/div>\n
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Delmark Record\u2019s recording artists, Mississippi Heat<\/strong> is a Chicago Blues band led by harmonica master and songwriter Pierre Lacocque, they will be joined by blues guitarists and Delmark recording artists Billy Flynn<\/strong> and Giles Corey<\/strong>. Also part of the Delmark Records family, the Corey Dennison Band<\/strong> will open the evening\u2019s performances. Dennison honed his guitar skills for 12 years as a sideman to Carl Weathersby.<\/div>\n
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Saturday, June 9 \u2013 Jay Pritzker Pavilion<\/u><\/strong><\/div>\n
Marion Walter Jacobs, otherwise known as the legendary blues harpist Little Walter,<\/strong> arrived in Chicago in 1946 and played a huge role in shaping the city as the blues capitol of the world. Little Walter\u2019s influence is inescapable in the music delivered by today\u2019s blues harpists. In fitting tribute, many of these great harp players will gather for the evening\u2019s final set, a Little Walter Tribute<\/strong>, featuring: Billy Branch, Corky Siegel, Rick Estrin, Sugar Blue, Magic Dick<\/strong> and The Sons of Blues featuring Billy Flynn<\/strong> and Sam Lay<\/strong>.<\/div>\n
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Willie Clayton<\/strong> began performing gospel music in church settings as a youngster and since the 1970s has become one of the greatest, gritty R&B and soul artists of his generation with a career spanning more than 40 years. Selwyn Birchwood<\/strong> will start the evening with his fiery guitar and gritty, unvarnished vocals. Birchwood is among the top blues artists today.<\/div>\n
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Sunday, June 10 \u2013 Jay Pritzker Pavilion<\/u><\/strong><\/div>\n
Grammy Award\u00ae<\/sup> winner and longtime friend of the Chicago Blues Festival Mavis Staples<\/strong> will close the festival on the final evening. No stranger to Chicago\u2019s blues and gospel music communities, Staples has been bringing people together across genres and generations throughout her 60-year career. In 2017,Chicago Tribune music critic Greg Kot\u2019s book I\u2019ll<\/em> Take You There: Mavis Staples, the Staple Singers, and the Music That Shaped the Civil Rights Era<\/em> became the most recent One Book, One Chicago selection by the Chicago Public Library.<\/div>\n
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The \u201cReal Deal\u201d Kenny Neal<\/strong> is a second-generation southern Louisiana bluesman and a modern proponent of Baton Rouge swamp blues. His sizzling guitar work, sturdy harp and gravelly, aged-beyond-his-years vocals deliver the blues like no one else. Before Mavis Staples takes the stage, Fantastic Negrito<\/strong> will start the festival\u2019s final evening of performance. His songs are born from a long, hard life\u00a0channeled through black roots music and brought back by his musical forefathers, the Blues musicians of the Delta.<\/div>\n
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Additional Stages<\/u><\/strong><\/div>\n
In addition to the main Jay Pritzker Pavilion, local and national blues musicians celebrating the genre\u2019s rich tradition and heritage will perform throughout the day and evening at:<\/div>\n