Jul 16, 2026 1:34 PM
74th Annual DownBeat Critics Poll: And the Winners Are …
The DownBeat Critics Poll never ceases to amaze! And the 74th Edition offered plenty of accolades for poll veterans and…
Blues is a feeling, and it’ll be in ample supply June 7–9 as the Chicago Blues Festival returns for its 36th edition.
The free festival, which runs 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily and is spread across several stages at Millennium Park in downtown Chicago, hosts countless performers tied to the genre, some touting tradition and others moving to personalize the music, incorporating soul, r&b and folk into their work. Headliners for the festival this year are singer Bobby Rush, vocalist Bettye LaVette and singer/guitarist Ruthie Foster. Find the schedule below.
—Charlie Musselwhite and Bill Boy Arnold
—The Jimmy Johnson Blues Band with Rico McFarland
—Bobby Rush
—Latimore
—Don Bryant
—Bettye LaVette
—Larkin Poe
—A tribute to the late Mike Ledbetter by guitarist Mike Welch
—Ruthie Foster
For additional information about the events, visit the City of Chicago homepage. DB
Clockwise from top left, Mary Halvorson, Patricia Brennan, Adam O’Farrill, Keith Jarrett’s At the Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings, Sheila Jordan and Jaki Byard.
Jul 16, 2026 1:34 PM
The DownBeat Critics Poll never ceases to amaze! And the 74th Edition offered plenty of accolades for poll veterans and…
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