Chicago Blues Festival music in Grant Park June 12 to 14

Blues music is always rooted in the struggle, but often is as uplifting as it is entertaining. Each day of the festival tells a different story about life, loss, independence and freedom through blues music.

This year the Blues festival will celebrate the life and work of Robert Nighthawk on the centennial of his birth. In tribute to Nighthawk, you can be a part of “Art of Slide Guitar” session featuring Jeremy Spencer, Lil Ed, John Primer & Elmore James Jr.

Nighthawk, born Robert Lee McCollum, in Helena Arkansas was known as a rambling man. At the age of 15, he hit the road playing his harmonica. His life would forever be altered when his cousin, Houston Stackhouse, taught him slide guitar. Arriving in Chicago in the 1930s, he became a fixture on Chicago’s historic Maxwell Street but always considered the Mississippi Delta his home.

Happy Birthday to Eddie C. Campbell

On Friday June 12th, there will be a special 70th Birthday Party for Eddie C. Campbell! Campbell is considered one of the most distinctive, original bluesman ever and is one of the last of the originators of the West Side sound of Chicago blues still performing. Eddie C. is a master at deep funk blues grooves, mesmerizing audiences with his devastatingly wild, vibrato guitar and powerful, resonating vocals, along with a unique, personal songwriting style. The celebration begins at 8:20pm, Friday on the Petrillo stage in Grant Park.

Women of the Blues

The women of blues are featured on Saturday and Sunday!

Bettye LaVette performs at 8:20pm, Saturday at the Petrillo stage. LaVette is one of the greatest soul singers in American music history and possesses an incredibly expressive voice that exudes a formidable level of strength and intensity as well as vulnerability.

Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings close out the festival on Sunday night.  Sharon Jones was disregarded by record producers in the 1970s but is now considered a legend for making new music sound “old School.” The Dap Kings, sometimes a back-up band to Amy Winehouse, have been sampled by everyone from Kanye West to Jurassic 5, together Sharon and The Dap Kings promise to funkify the Blues Festival.

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The Old Town School and the Mayor’s Office of Special Events celebrate the 30-year anniversary of one of Chicago’s venerated Blues labels, Earwig Music. Join in the celebration all weekend at the fest and for pre-events held at The Old Town School featuring Johnny Drummer & the Starliters and Liz Mandeville & the Blue Points, visit www.oldtownschool.org

Gibson Guitar Crossroads stage in Grant Park pffers music fans with the ultimate guitar experience. A “state-of-the-art” custom trailer will be on-site during the festival with thirteen interactive guitar stations with a combination of Gibson and Epiphone guitars. Each station provides the guitar lover with their own opportunity to jam. Music fans can also register to win a new Gibson guitar.

Younger blues fans will appreciate the Diddly Bow making and story telling sessions as well as the guitar workshop at the Roadhouse and for the up and coming artists and the daily jams at the Mississippi Juke Joint.

For more information on the Chicago Blues Festival and the complete schedule, visit www.chicagobluesfestival.us or call 312-744-3315