Of course, the Pritzker supplied supe-
rior acoustics, seating and sightlines as
long as you weren’t way in the back of the
open grass section. The tent was a roomy,
shaded improvement for the Mississippi
Juke Joint stage, which had been shoved
in a blazing hot corner when it was in
Grant Park. However, the Crossroads
Stage appeared to have taken its place for
a badly placed stage. The sun poured
down on the small stage and in the 90
degree heat, the chained together chairs
and benches were a sticky mess. The
sightlines were also skewed by milling
crowds and vendor booths. The Harris
Theater rooftop proved to be a cool loca-
tion with lovely acoustics and views.
However, it wasn’t an easy location to
find since it’s technically above the park
and not in it so many visitors simply
skipped it and missed out on the amazing
line-up. Overall, the new location was an
improvement with acoustics, indoor bath-
rooms, a line-up of food trucks next to the
Mississippi stage and better aesthetics
with landscaping and benches. As expect-
ed, the real issue was space. No matter
how creative the layout, there’s not
enough room for both blues fans and
tourists who have no interest in the blues
fest. There were masses of people roaming
the park, and blocking sightlines who had
no idea that the fest was going on. This
made navigating the fest much slower
and more difficult than when it was in
Grant Park. Once the city figures out how
to address this, Millennium Park might be
a blues fest winner.
The line-up presented a varied collec-
tion of classic blues performers and new-
comers who spiced up a typically pre-
dictable showcase. First time blues fest
By Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
BLUES FEST REVIEWED
Photo by Ed Spinelli
Left and Center, Wayne and Ronnie Baker Brooks
the Blues Fest was that a lot of new fans
listened to acts and genres that they may
have never been exposed to. The layout of
the fest took up every inch of the park,
with the Pritzker Pavilion as the main
stage, a tent on the north promenade for
the Mississippi Juke Joint, a small stage on
the south promenade for the Crossroads
stage and the rooftop of the Harris
Theater serving as the Front Porch stage.
Some of these locations worked better
than others.
T
he 34th annual Chicago Blues Fest
reconfigured the largest outdoor
blues fest in the world, musical and
otherwise. The new location of
Millennium Park brought some great
facility improvements as well as spacing
issues, and the creative line-up offered a
fresh perspective of 21st century blues
culture.
As the centerpiece of Chicago tourism,
Millennium Park is one of the most visit-
ed spots in the city. What that meant for
headliners Gary Clark Jr. and Rhiannon
Giddens proved that you don’t have to be
old to honor the blues. Clark, who was
groomed on Texas blues growing up in
Austin and honed much of his skill at the
legendary Antone’s Blues Club. Although
grounded with a solid blues foundation,
he actually plays a blues/rock/soul
hybrid with a sprinkle of hip hop.
Closing out the fest on Sunday, Clark
ignored the heat in a leather jacket and
wool fedora, allowing his presence and
prolonged guitar effects to supply enough
cool for the packed audience.
With his lanky frame commanding the
stage, he played a layered set that showed
he’s keenly aware of his star power.
Highlights were his evocative take on
Elmore James “Can’t Stop Loving You”
and the riveting “Travis County,” an orig-
inal from his 2012 Black and Blu album that
details his experience of being stopped by
cops for walking around his hometown as
a black man. Accented with searing riffs,
it’s an effective protest song, which is the
hallmark of real blues. Despite an over
reliance on distortion and flashy effects,
Gary Clark represented the past and
future of the blues well.
Rhiannon Giddens started her career
resurrecting long forgotten folk and coun-
try blues with her Grammy Award-win-
ning ensemble, Carolina Chocolate Drops.
What started as a tribute to black
Piedmont region fiddler Joe Thompson
developed into an illustrious career pre-
senting African American folk music that
melded strings, jug bands and country
blues to enthusiastic audiences. Giddens
new
solo album, Freedom Highway,
expands her focus to include bluegrass,
Continued on page 26
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847-754-6003
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IN AUG
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