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Blues festivals are music festivals which focus on blues music. Blues is a genre[1] and musical form that originated in African-American communities in the Southern United States around the end of the 19th century. It has elements of traditional African music, American folk music, spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads.[2] Blues has since evolved from unaccompanied vocal music and oral traditions of slaves into a wide variety of styles and subgenres, such as country blues, Delta and Piedmont, Chicago, West Coast blues. World War II marked the transition from acoustic to electric blues and the progressive opening of blues music to a wider audience, especially white listeners.

List of blues festivals

North America

Canada

Main article: List of blues festivals in Canada
Name City First
year
Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival Fredericton 1991
Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival Salmon Arm 1991
Ottawa Bluesfest Ottawa 1994
Bluesfest International Windsor Windsor 1995
Edmonton's Labatt Blues Festival Edmonton 1999

United States

List of blues festivals with name, first year, last year, city, and reference(s)
Name First
year 		Last
year 		city Ref(s)
Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival 1969 intermittent Ann Arbor
Billtown Blues Musical Festival 1990 present Hughesville [3]
Blast Furnace Blues Festival 2011 present Bethlehem [4]
Blues Masters at the Crossroads 1998 present Salina [5]
Boundary Waters Blues Festival 2001 present Ely [6]
Bradenton Blues Festival 2012 present Bradenton [7]
Briggs Farm Blues Festival 1998 present Hazleton [8]
Chicago Blues Festival 1984 present Chicago [9]
Cincy Blues Fest 1992 intermittent Cincinnati [10]
Crossroads Guitar Festival 1999 intermittent various [11]
Dusk Til Dawn Blues Festival 1991 present Rentiesville [12]
French Quarter Festival 1984 present New Orleans [13]
Heritage Music BluesFest 2000 present Wheeling [14]
Highland Jazz & Blues Festival 2003 present Shreveport [15]
Memphis In May International Festival 1977 present Memphis [16]
King Biscuit Blues Festival 1986 present Helena [17]
Long Beach Blues Festival 1980 2009 Long Beach
Old Town BluesFest 1994 present Lansing [18]
Orange County Blues Festival 1993 intermittent Dana Point [19]
Pittsburgh Blues Festival 1994 present Pittsburgh [20]
Red Bank Jazz & Blues Festival 1987 2016 Red Bank
San Francisco Blues Festival 1973 2008 San Francisco [21]
Springing the Blues 1990 present Jacksonville Beach [22]
Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival 1988 present Clarksdale [23]
Telluride Blues & Brews Festival 1994 present Telluride [24]
Topanga Canyon Blues Festival 1982 intermittent Topanga Canyon [25]
Waterfront Blues Festival 1987 present Portland [26]

Oceania

Name First
year 		City
Bendigo Blues and Roots Music Festival 2011 Bendigo, Australia
Blues on Broadbeach Music Festival 2002 Gold Coast, Australia
Blues Train 1993 Queenscliff, Australia
Byron Bay Bluesfest 1990 Byron Bay, Australia
Dingo Creek Jazz and Blues Festival 2002 Gympie, Australia
West Coast Blues & Roots Festival 2004 Fremantle, Australia
Marysville Jazz and Blues Weekend 2014 Marysville, Australia

Asia

Name First
year 		City
Himalayan Blues Festival 2007 Kathmandu, Nepal
Kathmandu Blues n Roots Festival 2016 Kathmandu, Nepal
Mahindra Blues Festival 2011 Mumbai, India

Europe

Name First
year 		City
Orkney Blues Festival 2005 Stromness, Scotland
Bluesroute Helmond 2011 Helmond, Netherlands[27]
Holland International Blues Festival 2016 Grolloo, Netherlands[28]
National Jazz and Blues Festival 1961 London, England
Focsani Blues Festival 2016 Focșani, Romania
Blues Peer (Belgium Rythmn 'n' Blues) 1986 Peer, Belgium
American Folk Blues Festival 1962 Europe
Bath Festival of Blues 1969 1969 Bath, England
Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music 1970 Bath, England
Puistoblues 1978 Järvenpää, Finland
Rawa Blues Festival 1981 Katowice, Poland
Liri Blues Festival 1988 Isola del Liri, Italy
Pistoia Blues Festival 1980 Pistoia, Italy
Blues to Bop Festival 1988 Lugano, Switzerland
Notodden Blues Festival 1988 Notodden, Norway
Harvest Time Blues 1990 Monaghan, Ireland
August Blues Festival 1993 Haapsalu, Estonia
Upton Blues Festival 2001 Upton-on-Severn, England
City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival 2002 Derry, Northern Ireland
Dark Season Blues 2003 Longyearbyen, Norway
Callander Jazz and Blues Festival 2006 Callander, Scotland
Stafford Blues Festival 2015 Stafford, England
Blues Nights 1993 Varniai, Lithuania
Blues-Bike Festival Suzdal 2008 Suzdal, Russia
Baltic Blues / Bluesfest 1989 Eutin, Germany
Brunner Blues Festival / Bluesfest 2007 Brunn am Gebirge, Austria[29]
Suwalki Blues Festival / Bluesfest 2007 Poland[30]

See also

References

  1. ^ Kunzler's dictionary of Jazz provides two separate entries: blues, an originally African-American genre (p.128), and the blues form, a widespread musical form (p.131).
  2. ^ "The Evolution of Differing Blues Styles". How To Play Blues Guitar. Archived from the original on July 19, 2010. Retrieved August 11, 2008.
  3. ^ "Billtown Blues Music Festival". billtownblues.org. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  4. ^ "Blast Furnace Blues". Steelstacks.org. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  5. ^ "Blues Masters at the Crossroads". Blueheavenstudios.com. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  6. ^ "Boundary Waters Blues Festival". Elyblues.com. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  7. ^ "Bradenton Bluesfest". Bradentonbluesfestival.org. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  8. ^ "Briggs Farm Blues Festival". Briggsfarm.com. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  9. ^ "Chicago Blues Festival". Chicago.gov. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  10. ^ "Cincy Blues Fest". Cincybluesfest.org. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  11. ^ "Crossroads Guitar Festival". Crossroadsguitarfestival.com. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  12. ^ "Rentiesville Dusk til Dawn Blues Festival". Dcminnerblues.com. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  13. ^ "French Quarter Festival". Frenchquarterfest.org. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  14. ^ "Heritage Music BluesFest". heritagemusicfest.com. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  15. ^ "Highland Jazz & Blues Festival". Highlandjazzandblues.org. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  16. ^ "Memphis In May International Festival". memphisinmay.org. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  17. ^ "King Biscuit Blues Festival". Kingbiscuitfestival.com. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  18. ^ "Michigan Bluesfest". Oldtownbluesfest.com. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  19. ^ Messina, Frank (July 8, 1994). "O.C. Blues Festival Creators Locking Horns in Court". Latimes.com. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  20. ^ "Pittsburgh Blues and Roots Festival". Pghbluesrootsfest.com. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  21. ^ "The San Francisco Blues Festival". Sfblues.com. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  22. ^ "Springing the Blues Festival". Springingtheblues.com. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  23. ^ "Welcome to the Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival". Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival.
  24. ^ "Telluride Blues & Brews Festival". Tellurideblues.com. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  25. ^ "Topanga Blues Festival". Scbevents.org. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  26. ^ "Waterfront Blues Festival". Waterfrontbluesfest.com. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  27. ^ "Bluesroute Helmond". Bluesroutehelmond.nl. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  28. ^ "HIBF – Home". Hollandinternationalbluesfestival.com. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  29. ^ [1][dead link]
  30. ^ "Suwałki Blues Festival". Suwalkiblues.com. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
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