(June 8-10, 2012) The Chicago Blues Festival is the largest free blues festival in the world and is also the largest of Chicago’s music festivals. The inaugural festival in 1984, celebrating the life of Muddy Waters, attracted 165,000 people and today, the event’s attendance has begun to broach the 1 million mark. Concerts take place over three days in Grant Park in mid June. In conjunction with the festival, organizers also run a “Blues in the Schools” program, which serves to educate Chicago’s youth through music. The Chicago Blues Festival continues to be one of the shining beacons in the effort to keep one of America’s few original art forms alive.

Chicago Blues Festival Information

• Public Transportation: Good (accessible by several subway and bus routes, as well as the Metra Rail, along Grant Park)
• Handicapped Accessibility: Good
• Performances/Programs: More than 90 performances on six stages in three days
• Ticket Prices: Admission is free. Food and beverage tickets are sold in strips of 12 for $8.