Bobby Rush, Bettye LaVette, Ruthie Foster to Headline Chicago Blues Festival

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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.

June 7

—Charlie Musselwhite and Bill Boy Arnold

—The Jimmy Johnson Blues Band with Rico McFarland

—Bobby Rush

June 8

—Latimore

—Don Bryant

—Bettye LaVette

June 9

—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



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November 2025
Gary Bartz
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