On a beautiful weekend in the famous Millennium Park, Chicago hosted its annual Blues Festival, sprawling across four stages and four days. Here’s what I saw:
Thursday, June 5th: The weekend started at the Ramova Theatre in Bridgeport with two panels and two performances. Double-billed in both a panel and performance was the legendary blues man Bobby Rush. Rush spoke with Julia Miller, president of Delmark Records, for about an hour, covering everything from the massive shift in how music is made from his start to now, and the importance of the individuals you work with in a studio. After being a part of 33 albums, stretching from his debut in 1979 until now, Rush has always been in the studio, never spending more than three years between albums.
Before Rush played his set, Billy Branch and his band, the Sons of Blues, fired up the crowd with some fantastic harmonica trills and powerful solos. Rush then performed for over an hour to a very receptive crowd, taking advantage of the beautiful Ramova Theatre floor.
Friday, June 6th: The first full day of festival activities did not disappoint, with music spanning over eight-and-a-half hours. I started the day at the Rosa’s Lounge stage. Named after the famous Chicago Blues venue, it held a lot of the more modern blues artists to be seen at the festival. Rosa’s Lounge was created by Tony Manguillo, who after befriending Buddy Guy and JR Wells at a gig in his home of Milan, Italy, moved to Chicago to start a venue dedicated to the music he had fallen in love with. Jamiah “Dirty Deacon” Rogers and the Dirty Church Band jumped onto the stage at 2:00 pm with the highest-energy show of the day. Setting the bar extremely high for the rest, Rogers and his band tore through 75 minutes of rock and the blues to a thunderous crowd. With only a dual humbucker telecaster, six-string bass, and drum kit, the Dirty Church band sounded like a full studio recording. Rogers, 30 years old, jolted the crowd near the tail end of his set with a nearly eight-minute rendition of “Come Together” by the Beatles with his outstanding bandmates Zay Lydyn on bass and Tyvon Rice behind the drums. You can find upcoming tour dates at his Instagram @deacon_denzel
I continued to jump around the stages, sticking around a little longer at the Jay Pritzker Pavillion for Dawn Tyler Watson singing her poetry of heartbreak and turmoil with her great band making their guitars cry the same as the audience. Following Watson, I scoped out some tunes from Eddie Cotton, Rosa’s Lounge veteran Sheryl Youngblood, and the great Mike Wheeler Band.
I started the final stretch of the night with Chicago Blues Legend Steve Ball on harmonica playing with the renowned John Primer. Primer made two appearances this weekend, once playing in this duo with Ball, and on Saturday with his Real Deal Blues Band. Running through a handful of Muddy Waters tunes, originals, and other covers, Primer let Ball take the lead on harmonica. It was incredible watching a master at his craft, making it sound like an other worldly instrument at times. Replacing what would be another guitar, vocal line, or organ lick, as Ball held nearly a dozen harmonicas in his belt constantly creating and complimenting Primer’s great guitar work.
After that great showing, the B.B. King Centennial Tribute took place with D.K. Harrell making his return to the main stage, along with a whole band of world class musicians. Playing through King’s “Live at the Regal” record in full, Harrell led a few tunes along with Jonathan Ellison taking a few on vocals. Ellison stated that he could never replicate the guitar talent of King, saying “it’s time for me to do my own thing,” and left his mark on the crowd shredding through three songs. As the night was nearing a close, everyone was getting antsy for the main event, the first sighting of Cristone “Kingfish” Ingram at the Chicago Blues Festival. At about 8:45, with only 15 minutes left before the noise curfew, Kingfish took the stage to a standing ovation. Watching Harrell, Ellison, and Kingfish trade solos back and forth was the highlight of the day, with contagious smiles spreading across D.K. and Johnathan’s face making their guitars have a conversation with one of modern blues greatest. Ingram will be on tour this summer and fall, you can find tickets here.
Saturday, June 7th: A lighter day at the festival for myself, but with the addition of the Harris Theatre Rooftop Terrace Stage, there was still plenty to see. I began at the Crossroads Stage, hearing the likes of Jesse Robinson who now fronts the B.B. King Blues Band. Continuing the Crossroads Stage delta blues presence as Robinson hails from Jackson, Mississippi. His crew of phenomenal musicians paved the way for Vikie Baker, The V Souls, & The Groove Crew the following set. Baker, a seasoned blues singer, has recently come out from a hiatus, not releasing any new music in between her 2007 record “I Could Show You” and her most recent LP, 2022’s “Talkin’ In Your Sleep.” Making my way over to the pavilion, the crowd was growing quickly for the Denis LaSalle Women in Blues Tribute set. A collection of four powerhouse vocalists and a band led by the second sighting of Johnathan Ellison, it was a highlight of the day. Nellie Travis, Thornetta Davis, Nora Jean Wallace and Mzz Reese all paid homage to the Queen of Blues herself after his passing in 2018. Another Mississippi born legend was honored at this festival, singing songs from her 30 albums across her five decades in the industry.
John Primer appeared with his full band at 4:30 at the crossroads stage, playing a mix of delta & Chicago blues classics, paying respect to the city where he got his start at the Maxwell Street Market. Moving across Millenium Park, I caught Joe Barr and the Platinum Band at the Rosa’s Lounge Stage for the back half of their set. Leading my way out of the tented stage were the tunes being played by Latimore, the Blues Hall of Fame member. Throwing together a combination of blues standards and originals, he set the stage for Cristone “Kingfish” Ingram to make his return. Kingfish took the stage at around 7:45, playing through 4 tracks off of his most recent album, “662,” released three years ago. Hammering home just how impressive his guitar skills are, Ingram shredded and sang until the close of the day at 9:00.
Sunday, June 8th: Headlining the final night of the 2025 Chicago Blues Festival was Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Member, and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Mavis Staples. Staples, who I had the pleasure of seeing at Hancher Auditorium in 2023, took the festival by storm with every musician and attendee watching her perform. Before her great show, there were plenty of familiar faces around the festival. Johnathan Ellison made his third, and final, appearance playing at the Crossroads Stage at 3:00, right after another weekend regular, Nellie Travis, performed. Harell “Young Rell” Davenport also made his second appearance after tearing down the house at the Pavilion on Saturday. Davenport was the youngest billed musician performing at the festival, but carried himself with a veteran presence on stage. You can find his upcoming tour dates around the U.S. here.
While listening to the Nick Alexander Blues Band at the Rosa’s Lounge Stage, a slight hiccup hit the festival with a nearly two-hour long weather delay. Waiting out the rain, anticipation was building for Mavis Staples as people prayed for the clouds to clear. Staples took the stage on time at 7:45 to a clamoring and damp crowd. Holding each attendee’s attention for the whole set, Mavis sang through some Staples Singers classics like “City in the Sky” and “Respect Yourself.” She included a great cover of Tom Waits’ tune “Chicago” and ended her 12-song set with Eddie Hinton’s “Everybody Needs Love.” Staples has a busy 2025 lined up, already playing a dozen gigs including a brief tour in Japan. She continues her international tour with some dates in Europe, jumping around Canada’s jazz festivals, and a handful more U.S. dates later this year.
It was incredible seeing such talented and world class musicians up close, performing their art for grateful crowds. The 2025 Chicago Blues Festival maintained the tradition that makes the blues such a special community, while ushering in new faces that will be the future of the genre.