This double-bill features Elvin Bishop’s deep blues picking and slide guitar with Bob Welsh’s piano and guitar and Willy Jordan’s soul singing and cajun playing. Wee Willie Walker, winner of two 2016 Living Blues Music Awards and Critic’s Poll Comeback Artist of the Year, will be joined by Terrie Odabi, one of the most dynamic blues and soul women to have emerged from the Bay Area. Backing Walker and Odabi is the Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra, a full eight-piece band.

Dick Shurman leads a pre-concert interview with Elvin Bishop.

Blues guitarist Eric Noden and harmonica virtuoso Joe Filisko have been performing and recording music as The Roots Duo for well over a decade. Their original blues songs, train imitations, and harmony singing are reminiscent of the 1920s and 30s when acoustic music was prevalent. A few of their influences are Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Big Joe Williams and Sonny Boy Williamson, and Mississippi Fred McDowell and Johnny Woods.

Professional and amateur musicians alike are invited to join this one-of-a-kind jam session led by multi-award-winning blues drummer Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, son of the Grammy Award-winning blues drummer and singer Willie “Big Eyes” Smith (1936-2011).

Billy Branch leads a pre-concert panel discussion with Jimmy Johnson, Eddy Clearwater, Corky Siegel, Lil’ Ed, and Melody Angel.

Three-time Grammy nominee Billy Branch hosts friends from across Chicago including Jimmy Johnson, Eddy Clearwater, Corky Siegel, Lil’ Ed, and Melody Angel. Backed by the Sons of Blues, Branch and friends will present unforgettable collaborations for old and new blues fans alike.

Mike Ledbetter has earned a reputation for being one of today’s best blues vocalists. As a trained opera singer and one who has sung in every conceivable genre, Ledbetter channels his range, intonation, and phrasing into what he feels is the most emotional music, the blues. This trio features Ledbetter on guitar and vocals, Dan Carelli of the Sons of Blues on guitar, and Steve Dougherty on drums.

Fruteland Jackson performs Americana, acoustic blues, folk, and traditional singer-songwriter styles from around the world. He is a three-time Blues Music Award Nominee and a recipient of the Blues Foundation’s “Keeping the Blues Alive” award.

Students from Fernando Jones' Blues Camp Day workshop perform.

In this lecture-demonstration, Eric Noden will demonstrate and discuss the guitar styles of Big Bill Broonzy, Papa Charlie Jackson, and Kokomo Arnold. This workshop is meant for 18+. Deeply rooted in the music of 20s & 30s blues pioneers, singer/songwriter and guitarist Noden’s style, favored by early bluesmen like Charley Patton, Reverend Gary Davis, and Blind Blake, is one that only a few contemporary bluesmen have mastered.

Learn about warming up one’s voice before singing emotion and lyrics from Terrie Odabi, 2017 Blues Music Award nominee for Best Soul Blues Female Artist and Best Emerging Artist Album.

This workshop includes interactive singing, basic definitions of blues music and oral history, an introduction to various styles of playing the blues, and a Q&A period. Fruteland Jackson grew up in Chicago and created the award-winning All About the Blues Series’ Blues in the Schools program.

In this lecture-demonstration, attendees will learn about the styles of traditional harmonica players from Sonny Terry to Sonny Boy Williamson. Joe Filisko is a master of all the classic blues harmonica styles. His highly prized work and expertise have earned him the rare honor of having his name on one of Hohner’s instruments — the just-released specialty harmonica, the Thunderbird. Filisko was awarded the “Harmonica Player of the Year” in 2001 by the Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica.

Chicago Bluesman, author, educator, and founder of Blues Kids of America Fernando Jones presents an afternoon of intimate, hands-on music instruction for student musicians ages 10-15, culminating in a Blues Kids showcase performance from 3:30-4:00 p.m. All ages are welcome to watch the performance.

The Midwest Premiere of “Horn from the Heart: The Paul Butterfield Story,” the first documentary about the legendary blues harp player. Will include a pre-screening performance of Paul Butterfield songs by local blues legends Corky Siegel and Sam Lay plus a post-screening discussion with John Anderson (filmmaker), Sandy Warren (film producer), Corky Siegel, Sam Lay (original band member), and Mark Naftalin (original band member and UChicago alum).

Panelists include Billy Branch, Deitra Farr, Melody Angel, and Mike Ledbetter, moderated by UChicago Professor Mickie Dietler.

UChicago alum Mark Naftalin (AB ’64) is an award-winning American blues pianist. He appears as a band member on the first five albums by Paul Butterfield Blues Band alongside Elvin Bishop and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.