Press Release
UChicago’s Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts continues its tradition of celebrating and promoting the rich cultural landscape of Chicago’s South Side with the 2nd Logan Center Bluesfest, a three-day festival of concerts, workshops, film, poetry and conversation, October 19-21, 2018. The Logan Center Bluesfest honors the South Side roots of the Blues tradition and will feature a range of programming by award-winning local and national musicians hosted throughout the Logan Center, located on the University of Chicago campus at 915 E. 60th Street in Hyde Park/Woodlawn. Launched in 2017, the Logan Center Bluesfest is a centerpiece of the Logan Center’s year-round commitment to Blues music and has included the standing-room-only Eddie Shaw Tribute concert this past spring and continues with an ongoing Blues in the Café series to premiere this fall.
“We are pleased to build on the success of the inaugural Logan Center Bluesfest that was inspired by Billy Branch and so many other great Chicago Blues legends, and present programming that welcomes musicians, artists, and audiences from multiple generations to celebrate the future of the Blues,” said Bill Michel, Executive Director of the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts.
Among the range of programming presented at this jam-packed weekend are concerts by Grammy Award® winners Chris Thomas King and Charlie Musselwhite, plus Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton, and John Primer with Steve Bell; a night with Sisters in the Blues: Deitra Farr, Leanne Faine and multiple Blues Music Award-winning and Grammy-nominated artist Ruthie Foster performing at the intersection of Blues & Gospel; a presentation by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Tyehimba Jess with legendary Blues poet Sterling Plumpp & beloved Chicago Blues ambassador, harmonica master Billy Branch; Tony Award®-winning actor/director/writer Ruben Santiago-Hudson joined by Grammy-nominated composer/ musician Bill Sims Jr. to explore the influence of the Blues on playwright August Wilson; screening events with the producer of the award-winning PBS documentary,American Epic, and a multi-media program with Media Burn exploring the archives of Barry Dolins; a book release event for “Bitten by the Blues” with Alligator Records’ Bruce Iglauer; plus youth and adult music and poetry workshops, including an intergenerational Blues poetry workshop with avery r. young and performance by Fernando Jones’ Blues Kids of America; a Blues Brunch with Johnny Iguana and Michael Caskey, Pro-Am jams, live interviews, and more!
“The Logan Center Bluesfest allows us to bring together voices that speak to a national and local history of Blues music. The Festival is carefully curated to open up conversations between artists that will allow audiences from across the city to hear Blues in a new way by providing a variety of contexts about the progression of the music,” said Leigh Fagin, Deputy Director of Programming and Engagement, Logan Center.
Added Logan Center Bluesfest Program Director Matthew Skoller, “The Blues as a genre is not a synonym for depression nor is it just house rockin’ music to promote the sale of BBQ and beer. They indeed go really well together but the Logan Center Bluesfest will honor the depth of the impact Blues has had on the world. We’ll investigate the intersections where Blues meets other art forms and disciplines and examine its effects on other musical genres. بلاك جاك And we’ll explore definitions of what Blues really is and where it came from with an emphasis on the voices of the people whose ancestors brought us this music. لعبة قمار اون لاين Above all, though, the Blues is a celebration of life and the Logan Center will be a joyous place to spend the weekend! قمار على النت ”
The 2nd Logan Center Bluesfest is generously sponsored by The Jonathan Logan Family Foundation and The Reva and David Logan Foundation.
Ticketing
As with the inaugural Bluesfest in 2017, the majority of programming is free and open to the public, with reservations recommended for interactive workshops. Evening headliner concerts and the Blues Brunch are ticketed, and new for 2018 will be a $35 Bluesfest Pass enabling entry to all three ticketed evening concerts. To purchase a Bluesfest Pass or individual tickets, and to RSVP for free events, please visit tickets.uchicago.edu.
About the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts
The Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts opened its doors at 915 E. 60th Street in 2012 as both a physical manifestation of the University of Chicago’s commitment to the arts and the power of art to have impact in the community, and to make art more accessible to South Side residents, the University community, and beyond.
Situated in the dynamic Woodlawn neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side – at an intersection between the University of Chicago, distinguished cultural institutions, and a robust community of artists – the Logan Center has become a creative home for University students and faculty; neighboring youth and families; South Side cultural institutions; and local, national, and international artists. Serving this diverse community of artists and art enthusiasts, the Logan Center boasts 184,000 square feet of state-of-the-art spaces for learning, making, and presenting art across disciplines, including: a 474-seat performance hall, 129-seat screening room, two student theaters, an exhibition gallery, digital production labs, a costume shop, a production shop, visual art studios, numerous teaching and practice rooms, and more.
For more information, please visit: https://www.loganbluesfest.org/