Blues on the Fox celebrates music
Turn away from the stage at RiverEdge Park and up from Stolp Island rises the place where it all began for blues music in the city of Aurora.
Leland Tower, on the top floor deemed the Sky Club, was the site of several high-profile blues recordings in 1937 and 1938 by artists who went on to define the genre in Chicago.
The 1920s skyscraper forms the backdrop for the 21st annual festival, which continues to pay respects to the connections between Aurora and the blues, says Jim Jarvis, vice president of programming and sales for the Paramount Theatre.
Blues lovers can take it all in Friday and Saturday, June 16 and 17, as the festival brings six celebrated performers to the stage at RiverEdge, which is opening its fifth season at 360 N. Broadway.
The atmosphere of the festival starts with great jams and brings on good times, Jarvis says, especially when an estimated 13,000 blues fans get together over two days.
"You put all these folks together and everyone comes out and celebrates the music," Jarvis said. "For two days, we just rock it out."
Blues on the Fox opens with an all-female set on Friday, featuring Shemekia Copeland opening at 7 p.m. for Mavis Staples at 9 p.m.
Jarvis says many have called Copeland "the queen of the blues here from Chicagoland," and she's been a singing force since age 16, when she began opening for her father, bluesman Johnny Clyde Copeland.
Staples, a Chicago native who once turned down a marriage proposal from Bob Dylan and has had her vocals sampled by Ice Cube and Ludacris, has played in Aurora before - but not for long.
Jarvis and David Glynn, a Blues on the Fox organizer and founding member of the Fox Valley Music Foundation, said her previous performance lasted only a few songs before a storm took over and canceled the show.
"We want a full set from Mavis," Glynn said.
Saturday's lineup includes Nicholas David, Guy King, Elvin Bishop and headliner Jonny Lang playing at 3, 5, 7 and 9 p.m., respectively.
Gates open at 6 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday, allowing guests to set up folding chairs on the grassy lawn and unpack picnics from small, soft-sided coolers. Two sealed bottles of unflavored water per person also are allowed in the park, where concessions, including a full food menu and beer, wine and soda, will be sold.
Saturday opener David was a late add to the lineup after Devon Allman canceled his performance because of the death of his father, Gregg Allman of Allman Brothers Band. David is best known for his appearances as a soulful, bluesy singer/songwriter on NBC's "The Voice" in 2012.
Organizers say they're excited to have him on board to perform at 3 p.m., ahead of King in the 5 p.m. slot, a musician who has cultivated a love of blues since he was a boy in Israel, walking for hours to the closest record store to snag a taste of fresh tracks.
Listening to Saturday's 7 p.m. performer, Bishop, is a "religious experience," Jarvis said.
"He's the most unlikely cat you will see - looks like he shouldn't be doing blues," Jarvis said about the musician named to both the Blues Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "He performs in overalls and a plaid shirt, and one overall strap is undone."
The evening finishes with Lang as a finale, bringing a Grammy-nominated artist Glynn said Blues on the Fox organizers have been trying to book for years.
"The great thing is just keeping the blues alive, keeping that music going," Glynn said. "That's the basis for a lot of jazz and rock 'n' roll."
<p>If you go</p>
What: Blues on the Fox music festival
When: Gates open at 6 p.m., concerts begin at 7 p.m. Friday, June 16. Gates open at 2 p.m., concerts begin at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 17
Where: RiverEdge Park, 360 N. Broadway, Aurora
Who: Hosted by Paramount Theatre and Fox Valley Music Foundation
Cost: $20 per day
Info: <a href="https://riveredgeaurora.com/events/botf-2017/">riveredgeaurora.com</a> or (630) 896-6666