The Desoto Tiger’s Testimony performs at the 32nd annual Chenango Blues Festival. They are returning again this year to East Park on Thursday, August 20 for the festival’s unofficial kick off. (Photo by Cindy Tiley)

NORWICH – The 33rd annual Chenango Blues Festival returns to Norwich, from Thursday, August 20 through Saturday, August 22, bringing diverse, high-caliber blues performances and an energy that has sustained the event for more than three decades.

Festival weekend begins with an unofficial kick off on at an expanded free Summer Concert Series at East Park on Thursday, August 20, starting at 6 p.m. This year's opener features New Orleans bandleader and keyboardist John “Papa” Gros followed by the return of Desoto Tiger's Testimony, whose performance last year was a hit. New this year, camping at the fairgrounds will also open early on Thursday.

On Friday, August 21, the music moves to the Chenango County Fairgrounds for a free-admission show featuring Dustin Arbuckle & the Damnations at 5:30 p.m., Roomful of Blues at 7:15 p.m., and blues-rock guitarist Larry McCray at 9 p.m.

Eric Larsen, President of the Chenango Blues Association who put on the festival, noted that Friday's show has always been free, “we want the shows to be accessible to as many people as possible,” he said. “It is a free community show, and we get a great turnout for it.”

Saturday, August 22, brings a full day of music to the fairgrounds beginning at 11 a.m. and running through the evening. The parking lot opens at 9:30 a.m. and festival entry beings at 10:30 a.m. This year's lineup includes a mix of rising artists, regional favorites, and legendary figures in blues and soul music across two stages.

General admission tickets for Saturday can currently be purchased in advance for $40 through Monday, August 18, going up to $50 beginning Tuesday, August 19. Children 17 and under are admitted free with an adult. VIP tickets for Saturday have already sold out. RV sites are also sold out, but tent camping remains available.

Among the most anticipated performers is Booker T. Jones, a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner.
“We absolutely love to bring in the legends of the music,” Larsen said. “Booker T. and the MGs were progenitors of soul blues, they basically invented that style. He’s a platinum selling artist, a multi-Grammy winner, he’s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He’s just an icon really. To be able to bring those people in is very gratifying for us.”
Also performing is blues harmonica great Charlie Musselwhite, appearing with the trio GA 20. Musselwhite, a major figure in Chicago blues since the 1960s, has won dozens of Blues Music Awards.
“Charlie Musselwhite is another legend,” Larsen said. “These are the top echelon of performers.”
The festival will also feature The Record Company, a Grammy-nominated blues-rock band, as one of its three headliners closing out the night.
“It was actually hard to decide who would close the festival,” Larsen said. The headliners, Booker T. Jones, Charlie Musselwhite with GA-20, and The Record Company, he said, “they’ve all headlined festivals all over the world.” “They've all been great about it. They just love to play. They're here for the fans,” he added.

Larsen said the festival's original spirit of “by fans, for fans” is what keeps artists and audiences returning each year.

More information on tickets, camping, performers, and festival details can be found at ChenangoBluesFest.org.