For twenty-five years Chicago has been hosting a yard party for our blues friends around the world. Literally thousands of blues fans congregate on our front lawn (Grant Park) to enjoy the music, friendships, information, t-shirts and all things blues.
While I’m not a big fest fan, the occasion does allow me to meet blues musicians and media friends from all over the world. I’m sure I am obnoxiously proud of Chicago and its place in the genre, but our guests don’t seem to mind because they also hold Chicago in high esteem when it comes to blues. Just as happens with your own yard parties however, Monday comes and it’s business as usual. Many of our guests will go home and wait for the occasional summer fest to bring the blues around to them. This, to me means that some of my blues friends from here in Chicago will be out touring all summer, and I will miss them.
What do Chicagoans do when the Fest closes? Well of course we will have our own neighborhood fests. More to my liking however, there will be more than thirty bars, lounges and restaurants featuring live blues on the following Friday and Saturday alone! This is according to the Upcoming Blues page of Chicago Blues Beat.
It will be my honor to show you around the live blues scene in Chicago. Hopefully you will come to recognize the venues and the players. If you are from the Chicago area, I hope you will recognize more opportunities to put down the remote control and come out and hear the best live music on the planet. If you are from one of the distant suburbs of Chicago, like Amsterdam or Los Angeles, then you can check to see when live Chicago Blues is coming to your fest or local venue. Better yet, when you come to Chicago for business, vacation or the fest, you will already be familiar with the scene.
Please check back often. I can’t be everywhere at once, but I am often accused of it. Feel free to turn me on to a new venue or musician serving up live blues. I’m not sure it is necessary to “keep the blues alive” so much as I would like to help you become more alive by experiencing live blues in Chicago.
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