 Winter
and Cotton Go Together at the 25th Annual Chicago Blues Festival June
5-8, 2008 in Grant Park
Chicago is setting the stage for the 25th Annual
Chicago Blues Festival, a lakefront tradition in beautiful Grant
Park, June 5-8, 2008, with opening night headliners that honor the
city’s first blues festival.
Just as in 1984, opening night pays tribute to Muddy
Waters featuring headliners Johnny Winter and James Cotton, performing
Thursday, June 5 at the Petrillo Music Shell.
Winter hasn’t performed at the event since
the very first Chicago Blues Festival, creating a much anticipated
and exciting show! For more than 30 years, the native Texan has
been one of the most respected singers and guitar players in the
rock and blues scene. His trademark sound shifts between simple
country blues, to all-out electric slide guitar blues-rock. Winter
has been nominated for several Grammy® awards, and most recently
earned a W.C. Handy award.
Mississippi-born harmonica player James Cotton is
a Chicago Blues Festival veteran. In 1954, Muddy Waters was in need
of a harp player, introduced himself to Cotton and hired him for
his band. Breakin’It Up, Breakin’ It Down is a recently
released album featuring James Cotton, Muddy Waters and Johnny Winter
during a brief tour. This evening’s set will reprise the one
performed at the inaugural blues festival.
In
1984, the very first Chicago Blues Festival took place in Grant Park,
paying tribute to Muddy Waters, who passed away the year prior. The
three-night festival included performers such as Winter, Cotton, Bobby
Rush, Buckwheat Zydeco, Billy Branch, Willie Dixon, Magic Slim, Sunnyland
Slim, John Lee Hooker, and more.
Pinetop Perkins, Honeyboy Edwards and other blues
luminaries in the Muddy Waters vein are scheduled for this year’s
Chicago Blues Festival, while up-and-coming blues performers such
as Fernando Jones and the Columbia College Blues Ensemble pave the
way for the future of Chicago blues.
The festival has grown tremendously, and now features
more than ninety performances on six stages and extended hours of
11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Chicago Blues Festival is known world-wide
as one of the biggest and best Blues events on the planet, drawing
hundreds of thousands of people from around the world to Grant Park,
year after year.
Celebrating twenty-five years will be a memorable
experience for people of all ages, with many exciting acts and programs
featured, including larger seating areas, a children’s program,
folk art from Mississippi, and more! Stay tuned for more headliners
to be announced in the next few weeks!
Chicago Blues Festival is sponsored by 93XRT, Chicago Tribune, CLTV-Chicagoland’s
Television, Dominick’s, Hinckley Springs, U.S. Cellular, WGN-Television
and more generous sponsors to be announced. For more information,
visit www.chicagobluesfestival.us
or call 312/744-3315. For hotel information, visit www.choosechicago.com
|
