Edmonton Blues Festival is heading into its 22nd festival with a lineup of international and Grammy Award-winning and nominated artists like Ruthie Foster.
“It’s a lot of fun,” says Cam Hayden, producer of Edmonton Blues Festival. “We have a dance floor for 500 right in front of the stage. But if you’ve never been to a blues festival, this is the one to go to. It’s internationally recognized, it’s really well run and I’m so proud of my volunteers and all the people who run the stage and provide the sound.”
The three-day festival, which began in 1999, takes place at the Heritage Amphitheatre in Hawrelak Park, and this is the first full-scale festival since 2019. The Edmonton Blues Festival was the first Canadian blues festival to win a Keeping the Blues Alive award in 2008 and has been inducted in the Edmonton Blues Hall of Fame and the Calgary Blues Hall of Fame.
Performers that were scheduled for the 2020 festival are slated to finally take the stage, and artists are flying in from the United States, Europe and Australia. The lineup includes names like Toronzo Cannon, Fiona Boyes, Texas Salutes the Blues and The Legendary Downchild Blues Band.
“People will realize at the festival that the blues is not about being sad, it’s about celebrating success and commiserating over possible failures,” says Hayden. “It’s generally more joyful music than sad, and I think that people who have not had experience with the blues will probably discover that they love the blues, they just didn’t know it yet.”
The Edmonton Blues Festival is on August 19 to 21 at Hawrelak Park, located at 9330 Groat Rd NW. Single day tickets and weekend passes are available.
