The opening act of the entire three-day festival was Lady Adrena and the LA Band. Following her performance on the Visit Mississippi Crossroads stage, Adrena spoke to the Chronicle about what blues means to her home state.
“Mississippi is the birthplace of the blues, the birthplace of America’s music. And America’s music foundation is the blues. Think about your Muddy Waters and Clarksdale, Ground Zero in Biloxi. We have a lot of blues clubs, staples that are just tourist attractions,” Adrena said.
The Jackson, Mississippi, native talked about what the blues meant to her as an artist.
“Oh, man, the blues is my life. A lot of my songs are really my experience in life. Love through it all. Hurt, pain, joy,” Adrena said. “It’s me. It’s the blues. I just sing the blues from my heart and my experiences and some other people’s experiences.”
The first day on Friday, June 6, at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion stage kicked off with a styling and profiling performance from D.K. Harell.
Friday night was headlined by a tribute to B.B. King. On what would have been the blues musician’s 100th birth year, Mayor Brandon Johnson proclaimed June 6, 2025, to be B.B. King Day. What followed was a host of emotional and electric renditions of the late blues legend’s hits by Jonathan Ellison, a returning D.K. Harrell, and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram.
The second day featured another tribute at the Pavilion. The Women in Blues Tribute honored the late Denise LaSalle, the late former “Queen of Blues.” Following Mayor Johnson’s proclamation making June 7 Denise LaSalle Day, the tribute featured artists such as Mzz Reese, Thornetta Davis, and Nora Jean Wallace with classy, sassy, and star-studded performances.
Saturday also featured an extra venue space at the Harris Theater Rooftop Terrace with a set-list titled, “Next Generation of Blues.”
One of many powerhouse performances included BandWith, a music group from the West Side of Chicago in East Garfield Park. The performance included timeless hits from Etta James to Donell Jones. Two of the group’s vocalists, DeAngelo Davis Jr and Blake Schaffer, reflected on their performance at the historic festival.
“I was very nervous. But once I got up there on stage and I showed the best of me and I gave it my all, I understand that this is where I need to be,” Davis Jr said. “This is a place I can really perform. I can really show myself and I can really tell people about my passion and my energy and show them about the person that I am.”
Schaffer said in the interview that the Rooftop Terrace audience took him by surprise.
“This was a great opportunity for me. To be a part of this was something outrageous. I didn’t expect there to be so many people here to support us. But the fact that there are, it really encourages me and also BandWith to keep coming up here. I would love to come back up here again to perform,” Schaffer said.
During the band’s set, fellow vocalist Harmoni Smith performed a rendition of Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind.” Smith said in an interview why she chose the timeless hit.
“It’s talking about love in the saddest way possible. It just hits the spot that some of us, if we haven’t experienced love, we can still connect to. And I think that’s what music is all about. Having different experiences and being able to connect. I think that’s what blues does,” Smith said.
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram returned to headline Saturday night with a supersonic, psychedelic performance highlighted by the artist performing in the Pavilion crowd for a portion of his set.
Although a temporary downpour delayed afternoon performances on day three, it certainly didn’t slow down the festivities. From Miss Jody on the Mississippi Crossroads stage to the 75th anniversary celebration of Chess Records by the Willie Dixon Blues Heaven Foundation, the excitement never wavered.
On Sunday, June 8, the final day of the festival, produced insightful reflections of the entire weekend. Yolanda Clay-Moore, the director of External Affairs with Visit Jackson, said that witnessing one-of-a-kind artists is a constant reward for the many times she’s attended the festival.
“And one of the things that resonates with me when I come here is the opportunity to see some legendary people, whether they’re past or for the future. I’ve seen legendary artists on these stages,” Clay-Moore said.
Chicago’s very own Mavis Staples closed out the festival with a homecoming performance that had the entire Pavilion on its feet.
Lorie Smith, a media strategist for 1690 WVON AM Radio, said the blues is a genre and cultural influence. “The short answer is it is a genre, but it is also a culture. Notice you have every single generation here enjoying the blues. So it doesn’t speak to one generation in particular, as much as it speaks to the culture at large,” Smith said.
Helena Washington Clopton, an audience member and a Chicago North Side native, said the blues is strictly internal.
“You’re born with the blues. The blues is in you. Blues, rhythm, gospel, it all go together. We invented that music. That’s our uplifting. That’s our national anthem. It gets us through our bad days. Our good days. It’s healing,” Washington Clopton said.
Jamiah “Dirty Deacon” Rogers, a day one performer at Rosa’s Lounge stage, said the blues is something more spiritual.
“It’s a religion. And not to say that it’s that deep, but we all know music is a spiritual thing, and this is just like surfacely speaking. And if you want to know what I’m talking about, just go watch the movie “Sinners,” said Rogers.
The history and cultural impact of the blues have stepped back into the public spotlight recently with the release of “Sinners,” the 2025 blockbuster film by director Ryan Coogler. The period piece is set in the Mississippi Delta region in the 1930s, the birthplace of the blues. The Coogler’s film was given an extended stay in IMAX theatres by public demand.
Blues legend Buddy Guy was given a role in the film and recorded the song “Travelin” for the soundtrack.
Teeny Tucker, a blues artist from Columbus, Ohio, said the blues must be preserved.
“If we don’t continue to do blues, I think that the American roots music will get lost in its history. Like so much other black history has gotten lost,” Tucker said. “We can’t afford to give it away. We can’t afford to push it off on somebody else. We gotta keep preserving it and making sure that our people stick with it and share it and make sure that it lives on.”
Copy edited by Vanessa Orozco