Shinyribs, a blues, R&B funk, soul and roots-rock supergroup, performs at the 2022 Summer Concert Series at Norwich’s East Park stage. (Photo by Pam Larsen)

NORWICH– This summer marks the 30th Annual Chenango County Blues Festival and 20th Summer Concert Series, according to their website.

Chenango County Blues Association President Eric Larsen said acts this summer will feature genres including bluegrass, blues, reggae, jam band and Americana.

The first concert of the free series is set to kick off on July 6 and will feature Southern Avenue, a Grammy-nominated six-member blues band out of Memphis. Shows will take place at East Park in Norwich and begin at 7 p.m.

The series will feature other award-winning bands like The Travelin’ McCourys, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas and Mr. Sipp.

Southern rock bands like The Outlaws and Bywater Call will also take the stage as well as a cover band called The Garcia Project.

Shinyribs, a blues, R&B funk, soul and roots-rock supergroup is set to return to the East Park stage to conclude the series on August 31.

The association will announce its July 27 performer on July 3, said Marketing Coordinator Pam Larsen. Full descriptions of the featured Summer Concert Series artists are available on the association’s website, and additional artists will be performing at the Chenango County Blues Festival on August 18 and 19.

Decades ago when the Chenango County Arts Council hosted a blues festival in Norwich as a fundraiser, the turnout was not as good as community organizers had hoped it would be, but they still wanted to find a way to keep it going.

In a time that preceded the Internet, Eric Larsen said he, among other event organizers, tried to figure out how to become a music promoter using limited funds and his passion for music and the community.

The county’s first blues festival in 1993 featured a day of four bands and a 300-person audience, Eric Larsen said, but for the summer 2023 festival, he expects to see a collective audience of close to 20,000 people over the course of its 11 days and 24 booked acts.

“We had no idea what we were doing when we started,” he said. “We started out with a one-day event with a couple of hundred people and just kept putting one foot in front of the other, I guess.”

Eric Larsen said the association’s board of directors chooses performers based on those traveling to the northeast during the summertime, recommendations from fans and submissions from artists themselves.

The association is able to provide the free series and book high-profile artists like these using funds from NBT Bank, the R.C. Smith Foundation, the Greater Norwich Foundation and other local sponsors.

“If you look around at other communities our size and even much larger than our size, I don't think you'll see anything that's of the same profile, the same caliber, as what we're able to do here,” he said. “And that's completely because of the support we get.”

There will be food trucks and potentially some nonprofit groups selling items or providing information on-site, Eric Larsen said, and Park Place will set up a beer garden.

Although the series draws about half of its audience from the Chenango County area, Eric Larsen said, it also attracts many people from outside the county to bring people of all ages and communities together.

“We feel like it's a great kind of a calling card for our community, that in Norwich you can come in here and see high-level, national caliber artists for free,” he said. “It really helps showcase the community and put us in a positive light.”