Jun 10, 2025 4:13 PM
Theo Croker’s Dream … Manifested!
Partway through his early set at Smoke Jazz Club, Theo Croker blinks the room back into focus. He leans over the piano.…
Bobby Rush is set to headline June 7 at the Chicago Blues Festival.
(Photo: Rick Olivier)
Bettye LaVette is set to headline June 8 at the Chicago Blues Festival.
(Photo: Mark Seliger)
Larkin Poe is set to play June 9 at the Chicago Blues Festival.
(Photo: Courtesy Chicago Blues Festival)
Ruthie Foster is set to headline the Chicago Blues Festival’s final evening.
(Photo: Riccardo Piccirillo)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
To record Dream Manifest (Dom Recs), Croker convened artists from his current and recent past ensembles, plus special guests.
Jun 10, 2025 4:13 PM
Partway through his early set at Smoke Jazz Club, Theo Croker blinks the room back into focus. He leans over the piano.…
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