Bring on the Chicago Blues Festival!

Photo by Michael Lepek from the 2024 Chicago Blues Festival.

The buzz has been building for the 2025 Chicago Blues Festival ever since we caught wind of the lineup, which is loaded with both long-time legends and exciting young performers like Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, who will be appearing on the Pritzker stage in Millennium Park on both Friday and Saturday night.

Before the action shifts over to the Pritzker Pavillion on Friday, June 6th, the kickoff to the 2025 Chicago Blues Festival is happening in the Bridgeport neighborhood on Thursday, June 5th at the beautifully restored Ramova Theater. Last year’s inaugural event with Shemekia Copeland and Ronnie Baker Brooks was an overwhelming success and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) was wise to continue with this new Blues Fest tradition.

In keeping with the “World’s Largest Free Festival” mantra, this is a free event, which “sold out” quickly as tickets were snapped up soon after the website opened up on May 6th. Besides featuring Bobby Rush and Billy Branch on the entertainment front, there will be a “Living Blues” panel discussion moderated by Dick Shurman who will get insights from several blues scholars starting at 4 pm. At 5:30 pm, Julia Miller of Delmark Records moderates an “Up Close and Personal” panel with Bobby Rush. Billy Branch and the Sons of the Blues take the stage at 7:30 pm and Rush closes out the night in his own imitable fashion starting at 9 pm.

Besides the fact that you get to see world-class talent for nothing, this Opening Night serves as a bluesy reunion of sorts. Many attendees come from out of town so it’s always great to catch up with them every year. The Ramova event seems to be filling the void left when WXRT stopped holding its annual Blues Festival Opening Night show at Buddy Guy’s.

But that’s not to say that Buddy Guy’s is no longer a viable option for blues lovers. Another new tradition is the Big Llou Blues Fest Kickoff and “Fun Raiser” Party, which was held on Wednesday, June 4th at Buddy Guy’s for the second straight year. Hosted by the multi-talented and much sought after vocal talent, Sirius Bluesville DJ, Big Llou Johnson, this event featured a plethora of blues artists including Dawn Taylor Watson, Nora Jean Wallace, Matthew Skoller and rising star Harrell “Young Rell” Davenport while raising funds for the Blues Foundation and Fernando Jones Blues Camp.

Of course, FOMO kicked in big time seeing posts of this event on social media. On the plus side, I’ve added Dawn Tyler Watson to the “must see” list after seeing her kill it on a live video by way of Buddy Guy’s. This Canadian blues sensation will play on the Jay Pritzker Pavillion Stage on Friday, June 6th from 5:15-6:15 pm.

Watson’s just one of the intriguing acts on tap for Friday. The Rosa’s Lounge tent is chock full of Chicago-based talent starting with Ivan Singh at 12:30 pm and Jamiah “Dirty Deacon” Rogers and the Dirty Church Band at 2pm. Rico McFarland comes on at 3 pm followed by Sheryl Youngblood at 5pm. The Mike Wheeler Band closes out the day in their own Chicago bluesy way from 6:30-7:45 pm.

Considering that the Mississippi to Chicago migration played an outsize role in the development of the post-war blues sound, it’s fitting that the Mississippi Crossroads stage is always a popular spot to check out Magnolia state-based talent. The Friday lineup starts with Lady Adrana and LA Band at noon before moving on to Vick Allen featuring the Velvet Soul Band at 1:30. The ever-popular Johnny Rawls’ Soul Review is scheduled for 3pm. They will be followed by closer Eddie Cotton at 4:30 pm.

The State of Mississippi will literally take center stage on Friday night as Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, D.K Harrell and Jonathan Ellison perform with the BB King Centennial Band on the Pritzker Stage beginning at 7:30 pm. While this promises to be a powerful performance, there will be plenty of memorable moments before this tribute commences. Blues legend John Primer takes the stage with harp player Steve Bell at 6:30 pm as he continues to build on his legacy with a new Grown in Mississippi CD. Dawn Taylor Watson is scheduled for 5:15 pm, which comes after a much-anticipated set by Alligator recording artist, D.K Harrell.

Tying all of this together is long-time blues booster and WDCB DJ Tom Marker, who will be emceeing all the action and peppering the introductions with his encyclopedic knowledge about the artists. It’s also hoped that DCASE will be continuing with the trend of honoring departed blues heroes on the big screen between sets.

Once Day One is done, Saturday comes on quickly with another full slate of great blues. The Stefan Hillesheim band takes the Rosa’s Lounge stage at 12:30 pm, which will give early birds the opportunity to catch the German native’s slide guitar wizardry. Hillesheim will be followed by the “Cosmic Blues” of Michael Damiani at 2pm and the always entertaining Lynne Jordan and the Shivers at 3:30 pm before Joe Barr and the Platinum Band come on at 5pm. Blues and Southern soul sensation, Theo Huff, closes things out starting at 6:30 pm.

Meanwhile, over at the Mississippi Crossroads Stage, there’s 2 Blues for You at noon, Jesse Robinson at 1:30 pm and Vicki Baker, the V Souls and the Groove Crew at 3pm. John Primer with his Real Deal Blues Band will be wrapping it up in a big way starting at 4:30 pm. This crew recently played to a packed house at FitzGerald’s “BluesDay” Tuesday on June 3rd to kick off the week’s run of fun for Chicagoans and visitors alike.

Following all these dazzling daytime shows, the action shifts over to the Pritzker Pavillion where there will be a “Women in Blues Tribute to Denise LaSalle” beginning at 4pm.  This event will feature Nellie “Tiger” Travis, Thornetta Davis, Nora Jean Wallace and Miss Reeze with Jonathan Ellison.

This tribute by veteran artists will be followed with a performance by some young guns of the blues as Joey J Saye, Stephen Hull and Harrell “Young Rell” Davenport play at 5:30 pm. They will be followed by Latimore at 6:30 pm with “Kingfish” closing out the night starting at 7:45 pm. This Clarksdale.Mississippi native has been setting the blues world on fire, so this is a performance that you don’t want to miss.

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram is a product of Clarksdale’s Delta Blues Arts and Education Program, so it’s especially heartening to see young Chicago players get their due at the Chicago Blues Festival. On both Saturday and Sunday, there will be a “Next Generation of the Blues” program held on the Harris Rooftop Terrace.

Sunday is always a bittersweet day at the Chicago Blues Festival. While the acts are top-notch, it also means that the jam-packed weekend is quickly ending. But until Mavis Staples belts out the closing notes and Chicago police start dispersing the crowd, there’s a full slate of great music on the docket.

The Rosa’s Lounge stage will blend the best of the old and new with its Sunday scheduling. Harrell “Young Rell” Davenport comes on at noon followed by veteran bluesman Jimmy Burns and his band at 2 pm.  Up-and-comer Nick Alexander plays at 3:30 pm before making way for Sonia Astacio at 5 pm. The “3 by 3 Crew” featuring old pros Freddie Dixon, John Watson, Maurice Vaughn and Tim Taylor closes out the Rosa’s Stage for 2025 with a set that starts at 6:30 pm.

The schedule for the Mississippi Crossroads stage includes Stevie J and the Blues Eruption at noon, Nellie “Tiger” Travis at 1:30 pm, and Jonathan Ellison from 3 until 4:15. Ms. Jody will wrap things up beginning at 4:30 pm.

While this is going down at the Crossroads, the action will be heating up at the Pritzker Stage with Willie Dixon’s Blues Heaven Foundation presenting the 75th Anniversary of Chess Records starting at 3:45 pm. Participating stars include Mud Morganfield,  Mitty Collier, Charles Berry, Jr., Charles Berry III, Melvin Taylor, Louisiana Al, Joe Barr, Steve Bell, Rodrigo Mantovani, Dudley Owens, Rick Hall, Simbryt Dortch, Lady Patice, Mae Koen, Sam Chess, and Joe Pratt.

After that, there’s some hot zydeco music on tap with Louisiana’s CJ Chenier and his Red-Hot Band coming on at 5:15 pm.  Following this spirited performance comes one of the most anticipated acts of the 2025 Chicago Blues Festival with blues genius Lurrie Bell joining jazz saxophonist, Frank Catalano. The recent Set Me Free album that Bell released with Catalano showcases his brilliance on yet another level. Bell and Catalano play from 6:30-7:30 pm before making way for Chicago Poet Laureate, avery r young at 7:30.

As if all of this wasn’t enough, you’ve got 85-year-old Mavis Staples closing out the festival. Volumes have been written about her life, legacy and civil rights activism, so it’s quite the coup to have this living legend circle back to her Chicago roots. Staples takes the stage at 7:45 pm and will captivate the crowd until 9 pm.

So, there you have the lineup for the 2025 Chicago Blues Festival. Considering the recent cuts in arts funding, I’d say that we’re pretty darn lucky to have a free three-day festival with the beautiful Chicago skyline as a backdrop. So, get on out to Millennium Park to make the most of what we've got!