2014 recipient of the Keeping the Blues Alive [KBA] award for U.S. Festival, the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary July 3-5 in LeClaire Park, Davenport, Iowa, right next to the Mississippi River. Featuring 27 acts on two stages, the festival includes BlueSKool for the kids (free admission for those 14 and under) and free workshops, with free admission on July 3 for fireworks. Advance tickets for July 4 and 5 are only $20, available online at mvbs.org. This year’s lineup includes George Thorogood, Tinsley Ellis, Savoy Brown, Deanna Bogart, Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience, Nick Moss, Eddie Shaw, Doug Deming and Dennis Gruenling with the Jewel Tones, Dexter Allen, Tad Robinson, Albert Castiglia, Curtis Salgado, Jarekus Singleton, Roy Book Binder, Anthony “Big A” Sherrod, Terry Bean & Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, and many more. Join us for what the Blues Foundation has called “one of the longest-running, most prestigious blues festivals in the world.”
After 30 years, the list of performers at the festival is a virtual Who’s Who in the blues. The laid-back ambience of LeClaire Park is key in this festival’s appeal, and the audience never knows what will happen on stage. Past festivals have included Guitar Shorty doing somersaults and the late Bobby Parker jumping out into the crowd. It’s easy to get up close to the performers when they conduct workshops—think of blues icons like Howard “Louie Bluie” Armstrong or Johnny Shines in such a setting, as they were years ago.
And the performers always want to come back. So many of them know each other and gather like family at the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, creating memorable moments such as Doug MacLeod on stage with Coco Montoya and Junior Wells serenading Jessie Mae Hemphill in the crowd. The blues at the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival is continuous, featuring performances by up-and-comers as well as blues veterans. This is the only major blues festival in the country entirely produced by an all-volunteer organization, the Mississippi Valley Blues Society, and all the profits go to maintaining and expanding the Society’s educational mission.
Check our website at www.mvbs.org for updates on performers and other news. Don’t miss your chance to experience the great blues and ambience of the world-class Mississippi Valley Blues Festival this summer!
