Who I'd like to meet: The Congress Theater, in conjunction with newly-formed KingTello Presents are proud to announce the First Annual Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival (cbgbfestival.com). While rooted in the foot-stomping influences of bluegrass and blues, the CBGB Festival will transport the concertgoer through the genre-defying evolution of music today. The one-day event will serve as a tribute to two schools of music that continue to shape and inspire contemporary rock, jamband, funk, folk, roots, Americana, and indie cultures.
Against the backdrop of an official Chicago landmark and one of the last of the classic movie “palaces,” fans will be treated to a party with a purpose, featuring 2 stages and 16 bands for less than the typical price of the headliners alone. “Newgrass” legend and longtime Jerry Garcia collaborator David Grisman and his David Grisman Quintet will be sharing the headlining duties with surging festival sensations The Avett Brothers and their massive following of rowdy devotees. The Avett Brothers have recently teamed up with legendary producer Rick Rubin, and signed with American/Columbia Records, home of Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, and The Black Crowes.
Tickets for the festival go on sale on July 19th through the event’s website (cbgbfestival.com), frontgatetickets.com, and ticketmaster.com
The Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Fest will offer a musical reprieve from the merciless Chicago Winter by adapting elements of a summer music festival to the historic and intimate indoor setting. The CBGB fest stands alone as the only music festival experience offered during the Chicago Winter. In addition to 12 hours of 2 stages worth of nonstop music, the day’s activities will also include Chicago’s largest live-art exhibition and indoor gallery, charitable raffles, an improv comedy showcase, and one of the Midwest’s leading alternative DJs.
The main stage will feature the co-headliners, as well as festival favorites Ha Ha Tonka, Chicago Blues giant Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials, Chicago alt-country mainstays Dollar Store and Majors Junction, and country’s Next Big Star Competition winner Billy Childers.
The opening spot on the main stage will feature the winner of “LAST BANJO STANDING,” an online contest that will scour Chicagoland to find the top bluegrass/blues artist.
The Pavilion Stage will feature some of the best musicians from the local Chicago music scene, as well as Nashville bluegrass veterans including Blue Mother Tupelo, Blackdog, How Far to Austin, Mike Mangione, Cobalt & the Hired Guns, Lindsey O’Brien & Friends, Jessica Lee, and Blue Room Hero
And while the festival will serve to break a band or two, festivalgoers will get to save a heart. A portion of each $31 ticket will be donated to the Saving tiny Hearts Society (www.savingtinyhearts.org), an non-profit organization that raises money for grossly under-funded, crucial, life-saving research of congenital heart defects (CHD), America’s #1 birth defect. Nearly one of every 125 babies born in America each year is affected by a Congenital Heart Defect.
About the Congress Theater:
The Congress Theater (www.congresschicago.com) is an official Chicago City landmark and one of the largest and most unique entertainment venues in the entire city. Over a quarter-million music fans visit the Congress each year to see bands such as The Shins, Korn, Prince, The Roots, The Killers, Ludacris or Dave Chappelle in one the last of the city’s classic movie ‘palaces.’
Built in 1926 and designed by Friedstein & Co, the 4,000 capacity theatre features a mix of architectural styles, including neo-classical and Italian Baroque, with an elaborate domed auditorium covered with decorations in stone, terra-cotta, and plaster. In addition to the main theater, the venue also features a spacious four-story Entrance Pavilion, Skybox Suites and private meeting rooms and exhibition areas. The theater is located in the burgeoning Logan Square/Bucktown/Wicker Park area, the seat of the artistic and music communities in the Midwest. It sits perfectly situated, in close proximity to the immense variety of ethic and social communities that it serves, just blocks from the 90/94 expressway, Metra and CTA blue line trains.
Chicago BlueGrass & Blues Festival's Friend Space (Top 20)
Chicago BlueGrass & Blues Festival has 7938 friends.
hey, thanks so much for finding me out here! Sorry I missed the festival- I'm sure it was a blast- the line-up looks amazing, I would love to come and play there someday :0) best...hope to hear from you sometime, sb :)
