The Baton Rouge Blues Festival caught a big fish this year.
As 225 details in the cover package for its new issue, Buddy Guy, the festival’s Saturday night headliner, is a seven-time Grammy winner, 2015 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Kennedy Center and Presidential National Medal of Arts honoree.
Guy’s presence at the Blues Festival also resonates because he’s a Pointe Coupee Parish native who lived in Baton Rouge before his career-making move to Chicago in 1957. Known for his explosive guitar virtuosity and impassioned singing, the 79-year-old blues star recently fulfilled a long-held dream by moving home to Baton Rouge.
The Baton Rouge Blues Foundation’s festival committee began courting Guy, festival chair Chris Brooks says, following the even-bigger-than-expected response to 2014’s headliner, New Orleans’ Dr. John. “So we wanted to get another one of the major Louisiana acts,” Brooks says.
Luckily, Guy’s busy touring schedule aligned with this year’s festival dates, says programming chair John Kaufman.
“We couldn’t be happier. He’s as big as it gets in the blues world, he’s from here, and people get to see him for free,” Kaufman says.
Guy will join other local pillars of the blues, such as Henry Gray, James Johnson and Kenny Neal. The 39 acts at the 2016 Blues Festival—which expands to two days this year—also will include Southern soul singer Latimore, swampy, on-the-rise country singer Adia Victoria and classic New Orleans R&B singer-guitarist Walter “Wolfman” Washington.
The festival’s expansion to two days this year is a bold leap. It’s the first time the festival has spanned a full weekend since 1994, but organizers believe the move could help the Blues Festival become a destination event. “[It will] get the hotel rooms booked, see people traveling to celebrate the blues,” Brooks says.
“People want two days,” Kaufman adds. “People who go to festivals plan their vacations around them.”
The festival committee’s increased confidence and resources, as well as marquee headliner Guy, further spurred the expansion.
“This is the right year,” Kaufman says.
Read the full cover story, which includes a lineup of performances, a “How to Festival” guide, a look at the past and present of blues music in Baton rouge as well as other sidebars. Send your comments to editor@225batonrouge.com.
