Cincy Blues Fest
is an annual Blues music festival held on the banks of the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is believed to be the largest all-volunteer Blues Festival in the U.S. Over the years it has showcased such famous acts as Lonnie Mack, Otis Rush, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, , Bobby Rush, Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, , , The Chicago Allstars, Bob Seeley, , , and Sonny Moorman, just to name a few.
The festival was originally called the Queen City Blues Fest
, when the parent organization was called the Queen City Blues Society. These names changed in 1993 to Cincy Blues Fest and Cincy Blues Society, respectively. These changes were in name only, the organization remained the same. The festival is also often erroneously referred to as the Cincinnati Blues Festival, Cincinnati, Blues Fest, Cincy Blues Festival, and/or the Cincinnati Queen City Blues Festival.
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CINCINNATI BLUES FESTIVAL TICKETS
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Festival Details
Cincy Blues Fest is held every summer at , on the banks of the Ohio River, in Cincinnati, OH. On Friday the festival gates usually open at 5:00pm and the music starts at 5:30pm. On Saturday the doors open at 2:30pm, and the music starts at 3:15pm. Music continues until midnight, both nights.
The festival usually consists of three to four stages running simultaneously in different parts of the park. On Friday there is the Main Stage at the P&G Pavilion, the "themed" Stage (each year a different theme is chosen) under the arches of the Purple People Bridge, and the Local Stage in the lawn east of the I-471 ("Big Mac") Bridge. On Saturday there is the Main Stage, Arches Boogie Woogie Piano Stage, and the Local Stage.
The
Main Stage
is populated with national and regional blues acts, as well as two local acts that are the winners of that year's
. The
St. Vincent De Paul Local Stage
is made up of the runners-up of that year's challenge, as well as a local all-star jam session at the end of the night on Saturday.
The
Arches Boogie Woogie Piano Stage
host boogie woogie piano players from around the world, and is also the venue for the
International Boogie Woogie Hall of Fame
awards, with a new member inducted each year on that stage.
On Friday the "Arches Stage" is a themed stage, with a different theme each festival. 2007 found that stage renamed the
"King Records Tribute Stage,"
featuring many surviving artists that recorded on the Cincinnati-based
King Records label. In 2008 the theme was the
"AlternaBlues Stage,"
a showcase of regional and national Americana and blues-rock acts that were heavily influenced by the blues. And in 2009 the stage will be called
"The 2009 International Blues Challenge Stage,"
as all the bands that will perform competed at the in Memphis.
The Next Festival
The 2009 Cincy Blues Fest will be held Friday and Saturday, Aug 7-8, , Cincinnati, OH. The acts for this festival have been announced on the website.
Recent Past Festivals
The 2008 event "Sweet Sixteen" was held August 1-2, at Sawyer Point in Cincinnati.
The 2007 event "Once in a Blues Moon" was held August 3-4, at Sawyer Point in Cincinnati.
The 2006 event was held July 28-29, at Sawyer Point in Cincinnati.
Media Links
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