Blues

Buddy Guy Tribute

Get your Route 66 kicks when various statewide talents entertain with multi-genre concerts, square dancing, spoken word, drumming, and hands-on crafts during the three-day family fun festival Great Performers of Illinois (July 18–20).

Synchronize your watch for the special tribute to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Buddy Guy: Buddy Guy Tribute Concert & Award Presentation, featuring Jimmie Vaughan & his Tilt A Whirl Band with Lou Ann Barton and other special guests.

Blues History

HEistory of Chicago blues audio tour

Get a behind-the-scenes look at Chicago’s blues scene with the History of Chicago Blues Audio Tour, narrated by Buddy Guy. Download it onto your MP3 player, or use it interactively online, to explore 10 historic blues sites including Maxwell Street, Record Row, and Muddy Waters’ former home. Uncover the impact of Chicago blues on popular music and culture during this free 50-minute, music-filled tour.

Chicago Blues Archives

Pore over lots of blues-related artifacts at the Chicago Public Library’s Chicago Blues Archives at the Harold Washington Library. Dig out rare performances and interviews from the Chicago Blues Festival and the Chicago Public Library’s “Speakin’ of the Blues” series. Listen to club performances by John Lee Hooker, Taj Mahal, and Willie Dixon from Chicago radio station WXRT’s Blues Breaker Specials. Or watch 1970s videos from Chicago’s public TV station WTTW including a very special Muddy Waters piece.

Chess Records

Transcend time at the landmark Chess Records building—now Willie Dixon’s Blues Heaven Foundation—which inspired the Rolling Stones’ song “2120…,” and where blues stars like Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon helped launch the iconic Chess Records label. Hear their experiences, walk the stairs to the studios where they recorded, and learn about how this unique foundation is now giving back to the community.

Sidebar

Key to Icons

	Free
	Kid Friendly
	Wheelchair Accessible

Key Information

Buddy Guy Tribute Concert & Award Presentation
Featuring Jimmie Vaughan & his Tilt A Whirl Band with Lou Ann Barton
Sunday, July 20, 8 pm
Great Performers of Illinois
(Friday, July 18–Sunday, July 20)
Jay Pritzker Pavilion Millennium Park
312.742.1168
FREE.
greatperformersof
illinois.com

Chicago Blues Archives
Mondays–Thursdays 9 am–9 pm, Fridays – Saturdays 9 am–5 pm, Sundays 1–5 pm
Harold Washington Library Center
400 S. State Street 312.747.4850
Blues Archives Website

Willie Dixon’s Blues
Heaven Foundation
Mondays–Fridays 10 am–4 pm, Saturdays 10 am–2 pm
2120 S. Michigan Avenue
312.808.1286
www.bluesheaven.com
suggested donation $10

Other resources

• Centerstage Chicago
• Metromix
• Now Is
• Time Out Chicago