Aug 29, 2023 11:41 AM
Blindfold Test: Christian McBride
Christian McBride turned 51 this May 31 and is still pushing far beyond what many might consider conventional career…
Soul singer Mavis Staples is set to headline the 2018 Chicago Blues Festival.
(Photo: Courtesy Chicago Blues Festival)Mavis Staples tops the bill for this year’s Chicago Blues Festival at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.
The festival, which began in 1984, is set to run June 8-10 and features Delmark Records marking its 65th anniversary with a spate of performances on Friday. A tribute to Little Walter is on tap for Saturday. And Fantastic Negrito, who won NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Contest in 2015, is among the Sunday performers, with Staples headlining the evening. The Chicago soul singer issued If All I Was Was Black on ANTI- Records in November.
A more detailed line-up is below.
Friday (65th anniversary of Delmark Records Celebration)
5:30-6:15 p.m.: Corey Dennison Band
6:30-7:15 p.m.: Mississippi Heat with guests Billy Flynn and Giles Corey
7:30-9:30 p.m.: Tribute to Those Who Came Before and Bob Koester
Saturday
5:30-6:30 p.m.: Selwyn Birchwood
6:45-7:45 p.m.: Willie Clayton
8-9:30 p.m.: Little Walter Tribute (featuring Billy Branch, Corky Siegel, Rick Estrin, Sugar Blue and more)
Sunday
5:30-6:30 p.m.: Fantastic Negrito
6:45-7:45 p.m.: Kenny Neal
8-9:30 p.m.: Mavis Staples
For more information about the festival, visit
its website here. DB
Christian McBride and writer Ashley Kahn meet for a DownBeat Blindfold Test hosted by New York University’s Jazz Studies program.
Aug 29, 2023 11:41 AM
Christian McBride turned 51 this May 31 and is still pushing far beyond what many might consider conventional career…
Samara Joy brought fans to their feet in the middle of her Newport set!
Aug 8, 2023 3:53 PM
“Something for everybody” was the strategy of the Ed Sullivan Show, the most successful variety show in TV history,…
Ceramic Dog is, from right, Shahzad Ismaily, Ches Smith and Ribot.
Sep 12, 2023 2:03 PM
There’s an unrepentant snarl to Marc Ribot’s voice on twisted tunes like “Subsidiary,” “Soldiers In The Army…
“He was the coolest,” Fortner says of Nat “King” Cole. “Didn’t break a sweat.”
Sep 26, 2023 12:48 PM
Before taking a live Blindfold Test in Indianapolis during the American Pianists Association Awards last April, pianist…
Person’s esthetic took shape in an era when jazz functioned as neighborhood social entertainment and moved with a deep dance groove.
Aug 22, 2023 11:52 AM
When tenor saxophone soul maestro Houston Person talks about his life and career — like the time he was studying at…