Welcome to Blues on the Fox
Welcome to the Blues on the Fox, the City of Aurora’s intimate Blues festival that celebrates the historic RCA Bluebird recordings made in Aurora in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Each year the City provides top-notch Blues performers from around the country combined with all of the typical elements of a festival—great music, good food, beverages, and Blues music vendors. All of this is offered in a beautiful and relaxed setting in downtown Aurora by the Illinois Fox River. The festival is FREE and open to the public and will commence rain or shine.
Check out the 2008 festival lineup!
Notice
The recent flooding in other parts of Illinois will not affect the Blues on the Fox Festival, June 13 & 14, 2008.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Elvin Bishop to Headline Blues on the Fox June 13th and 14th in Downtown Aurora, Illinois
Aurora, Illinois. Blues on the Fox, the intimate Blues festival hosted by the City of Aurora Illinois, celebrates its 12th anniversary with an exceptional entertainment lineup on Friday, June 13th and Saturday, June 14th as part of the summer-long Downtown Alive festivities. The festival will take place at the intersection of Galena Boulevard and Stolp Avenue (“Blues Alley”) in downtown Aurora along the Fox River.
Friday night’s entertainment will be anchored by the internationally-renowned Elvin Bishop (“Fooled Around and Fell in Love”). Festivities will begin with a performance by Chicago blues favorite Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater at 6:45 p.m.
At 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, the Hix Brothers’ Junior All-Stars will kick off the day of performances featuring young Aurora students of the Blues. Acoustic blues artist Corey Harris will take the stage at 3:00 p.m. 2008 Grammy nominee and Detroit legend Bettye LaVette will take the stage next to belt out blues and soul. Next up will be the dynamic Marcia Ball bringing her boogie-woogie, New Orleans-flavored piano. Capping off a terrific evening of entertainment will be blues guitar-shredding Kenny Wayne Shepherd. As a special treat, long-time Howlin’ Wolf guitarist Hubert Sumlin, showcased at last year’s Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Festival will perform with Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Performances will conclude at 10:00 p.m. each night.
Each year the City of Aurora celebrates the rich music history of the RCA Bluebird recordings that were made in the 1930’s at the Leland Hotel in downtown Aurora. In the famous Sky Club, literally hundreds of songs were recorded by John Lee ‘Sonny Boy’ Williamson, Tampa Red, Big Bill Broonzy, Big Joe Williams, Roosevelt Sykes, Yank Rachell and others. These recordings were groundbreaking and set the tone for the early urban Blues that later became so popular and formed the backbone for modern day Rock ‘n Roll. The Blues on the Fox festival commemorates these recordings.
The scenic Aurora downtown acts as a very pleasant backdrop to a two-day festival that provides great music, food, beverages, music vendors and a relaxed atmosphere for the whole family. The festival is free.
Directions to Blues on the Fox
PLEASE NOTE: We are no longer accepting requests to entertain at Blues on the Fox 2008.
