Chicago Blues Festival to kick off full force after pandemic cancellations, constraints

After three years of pandemic blues, the Chicago Blues Festival is back in full force, and the free, four-day star-studded affair kicks off Thursday in Millennium Park with hometown hero Wayne Baker Brooks.

“Words can’t express the way I’m feeling about it. Music is how I get my emotions across,” said Brooks, who leans into a bit of advice the late blues legend Albert King passed along when Brooks was 19 and trying to decide between playing drums and guitar.

“He said: ‘A guitar player comes a dime a dozen, so if you go play the guitar, play the f--- out that m----- f-----,’ and I hold that in my heart every time I play a note,” said Brooks, 53, who chose guitar, like his father, late Chicago blues legend Lonnie Brooks.

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The vibe this year will be electric, to say the least.

Blues Fest, as it’s known, was canceled in 2020 and 2021, and scaled down in 2022.

Now, the full force of the largest free blues festival in the world is ready to hit the lakefront with decent weather in the forecast.

“We’ve been able to do it properly this year,” said Carlos C. Tortolero, who heads up organizing the festival for the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

Nearly 50 acts will be spread across three stages this year, down from a pre-pandemic number of six stages — a change meant to eliminate sound bleed.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times file

The Jay Pritzker Pavilion will serve as the main stage and feature big names like John Primer and the Real Deal Blues Band at 7:45 p.m. Friday and Los Lobos at 7:45 p.m. Sunday.

A separate stage, labeled Rosa’s Lounge after the famed North Side blues bar, will showcase local musicians and emerging artists who perform at the bar. The full schedule can be found online.

A third stage, the Visit Mississippi Juke Joint Stage, sponsored by the state of Mississippi, will feature talent from the state that birthed many of the genre’s greatest artists. Many of them later made Chicago their home, like Muddy Waters.

Mud Morganfield, son of Muddy Waters, is playing at 7:45 p.m. Saturday at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion.

“A third of Chicago’s population is African American, many of whom came here from Mississippi. That connection is critical for us in terms of highlighting that history,” said Tortolero. “And so many Chicago blues guys retire back to Mississippi. There’s always been a real back-and-forth between the two locations.”

Pritzker Pavilion will be the only stage to host music Thursday, beginning with Brooks at 5:30 p.m. But all three stages will be active Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Tortolero expects about 180,000 people to attend the festival, with about 32% of the total coming from out of state, including thousands of international travelers.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times file

The festival will be free, but there will be a cap on attendance, and people will be allowed on the festival grounds on a first-come, first-served basis.

Blankets, chairs and strollers are allowed and festgoers will be allowed to bring in food and non-alcoholic beverages. Attendees will be wanded by security officers and have their bags checked.

Tony Mangiullo, owner of Rosa’s Lounge, which is coming up on its 40th anniversary, said he’s been involved with Blues Fest since shortly after it was created in the 1980s during the administration of the late Mayor Harold Washington.

“To be there and offer people the music we love is just exactly what we love to do. If I could do it every day, I would. I’m serious,” he said.

Rosa’s has operated a tent with musicians in previous years; this will be the first time the blues bar will operate a stage.

“We try to really cover the whole spectrum of the blues and try to make it as inclusive as possible, and we want people to enjoy that, come on out and soak it all in,” said Mangiullo, who said he’s excited to showcase young talent like Stephen Hull and Ivy Ford.

Performers at the Pritzker Pavilion will be happy to hear that pandemic restrictions allowing only essential staff backstage have been lifted this year.

“It’s a big party back there, and you never know who’s going to show up at Blues Fest, or when people like Keith Richards or John Mayer will drop in,” Tortolero said, noting the two musicians have done so in the past.