The Big Event: Kalamazoo Blues Festival

Festival season is in full swing and the next big event up in downtown Kalamazoo is the Kalamazoo Blues Festival.

Vicky Kettner of Downtown Kalamazoo Inc. says the festival season is off to a good start.

“The weather has cooperated in such a way that we’re getting reports of record attendances so far, and only hope that the rest of the season will continue with these successes,” she says.

Brought to the Arcadia Creek Festival Place by the Kalamazoo Valley Blues Association the festival is expected to bring 10,000 people downtown to hear the featured 22 bands over the three day event.

The festival is a fundraiser for the Kalamazoo Valley Blues Association. It brings in the funds so it can continue to sponsor events such as the annual Blues Fest, now in its 18th year.

Some of the acts coming to town this year include the eccentric, quirky, and sometimes irreverent Tas Cru; Mississippi Heat with Chicago bluesman Carl Weathersby; and Duke Robillard, formerly of The Fabulous Thunderbirds.
 
Local favorites Seventh Son, a seven-piece band with harmonica, guitar, keyboards, bass, drums and two saxophones will cap off the event Saturday night. Seventh Son is the oldest blues band in Kalamazoo. 
   
The Blues Fest takes place 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Thursday, July 7; 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, July 8; and from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday, July 9.

Tickets are available online and at the gate.

Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Vicky Kettner, Downtown Kalamazoo Inc.