Chicago has a long-standing tradition of showcasing blues and jazz musicians. The annual blues and jazz festivals are free and open to the public.
Each summer, hundreds of thousands of fans and blues icons gather in Millennium Park to experience some of the best in the genre. This three-day festival features up-and-coming artists as well as some of the genre’s most famous alumni.
The Chicago Blues Festival
The Chicago Blues Festival is one of the largest free music festivals in the world and has been held annually since 1984. It celebrates the blues, soul and jazz-blues genres for three days on four stages that in the past have hosted Bonnie Raitt, Ray Charles, B.B. King, the late Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor and Shemekia Copeland.
It started out as a single stage in Grant Park but now it’s a sprawling event that brings together some of the best blues musicians from across the country. In addition to the main stage, there are other stages located in Millennium Park, the Austin and Bronzeville neighborhoods as well as the River Walk.
The Chicago Blues Festival is a must-do in Chicago during the summer months. It’s a great opportunity to soak up some blues while enjoying the city’s amazing skyline. You can also enjoy food and beer from many of the city’s best purveyors. And you can even check out some of the city’s best blues clubs while there to make sure you don’t miss a single performance.
The Chicago Jazz Festival
The Chicago Jazz Festival has become a Labor Day weekend tradition that promotes all forms of jazz with free music. The festival showcases local talent alongside national and international artists to encourage and educate a jazz audience of all ages.
The origins of jazz in Chicago date to the city’s industrial might, which attracted workers from across the country during the first two-thirds of the twentieth century and especially during the Great Migration of African Americans from the South to Chicago. The city’s nightclubs, dance halls, and cafes became the musical meeting places of a new generation of talented performers.
Early pioneers of the genre included pianists Tony Jackson and Ferd La Menthe “Jelly Roll” Morton, who explored fresh improvisational possibilities that led to a fusion of ragtime with the acoustic music of the swing era. Later, musicians from New Orleans and the Mississippi Delta flocked to Chicago because of its rich club work and its ability to record on the emerging inexpensive specialty labels.
The Chicago Gospel Festival
The Chicago Gospel Festival is held on the first weekend in June each year and is a free event to attend. It’s a great way to see local and national artists.
The genre of music we call “gospel” evolved from the spirituals, hymns and blues that slaves sang on plantations in the south. It also owes its roots to rhythms and chants that African people brought with them to the New World.
One of the city’s earliest pioneers in gospel was Thomas Andrew Dorsey, better known as the “Father of Gospel.” He came to Chicago from rural Georgia and played jazz piano for years before turning his talents to writing songs that combined the call and response style of singing with blues and R&B rhythms, which he called “gospel” music.
Dorsey, along with Martin, helped make gospel music a national phenomenon in the 1930s and beyond. However, he and his successors had to face the challenge of expanding their audience to white audiences, who were not familiar with the genre.
The Chicago Soul Festival
The Chicago Soul Festival celebrates soul music and its legacy in the city of Chicago. The event is held every year in June and includes a series of concerts and performances on the Navy Pier Beer Garden and Polk Bros Park.
The two-day free music festival showcases a variety of artists who embrace both classic and contemporary interpretations of soul music. They include LeftJones (with Oliv Blu and Nola Ade), Danielle Juhre, Cole DeGenova and Tamarie T.
This festival is a great chance to see a diverse lineup of musicians in one venue, as well as the opportunity to support a nonprofit organization. The live music performances are free to attend and the event features a variety of vendors, including unique items for sale, raffles, merch giveaways and drinks.
The Chicago Soul Festival is a great way to get to know the city of Chicago and its rich history of music. It also provides the perfect opportunity to experience some of the best Chicago has to offer in terms of shopping, dining and entertainment.
