The Baton Rouge Blues Festival will get underway in the capital city over the weekend of April 23-24, featuring more than 35 performances and nine interviews. The festival’s mission is to encourage promotion, preservation and advancement of the swamp blues music native to Louisiana.

Originating in 1981, the Baton Rouge Blues Festival is one of the oldest blues festivals in the US, first held on the campus of Southern University. The festival, produced by the Baton Rouge Blues Foundation, honors the legend of home-grown blues artists like Slim Harpo, Rudy Richard, Silas Hogan, Whisperin’ Smith, Guitar Kelly, Schoolboy Cleve, Chewin’ Gum Johnson and Raful Neal.

Headline acts for 2022 will include Robert Finley from Winnsboro, Louisiana. Finley captured the attention of blues fans around the world with his recent release of Sharecropper’s Son, produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. Although Finley has long been a potent artist, for most of the past 20 years, after his blindness led him to semi-retirement, he has primarily performed at small venues within an hour’s drive of Winnsboro.

Kenny Neal, born in New Orleans and raised in Baton Rouge, will also appear at the festival. He began playing music at a young age. Learning the basics from his father, singer and blues harmonica master Raful Neal, Kenny is known as a modern swamp blues artist and multi-instrumentalist. Kenny was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2011. His most recent album, Bloodline, was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2016.

SCHEDULE

Visit Baton Rouge Swamp Blues Stage (located in Galvez Plaza)
Opening Ceremony (12-12:30 p.m.)
Jonathan Long (1- 2:15 p.m.)
Blue Monday Allstars (2:45-4 p.m.)
DELGRES (4:30-5:45 p.m.)
Selwyn Birchwood (6:15-7:30 p.m.)
Eddie Cotton (8-9:15 p.m.)

LA 1 Stage (located at North Boulevard and Lafayette Street)
Marcy Christian & Rue Boogaloo Band (12:30-1:45 p.m.)
Josh Garrett Band (3:00-4:00 p.m.)
Julian Primeaux (4:00-5:15 p.m.)
Little Freddie King (5:45-7:00 p.m.)

AARP Front Porch Stage (located at North Boulevard and St. Louis Street)
Roddie Romero & Michael Juan Nunez (1:00-2:15 p.m.)
Oscar Davis (2:45-4:00 p.m.)
Lil Jimmy Reed (4:30-5:45 p.m.)
Mike Zito (7:15-8:30 p.m.)

Blues Backstory Stage (inside the Old State Capitol Senate Chambers)
Delgres (1:30-2:00 p.m.)
Lil Freddie King (2:30-3:00 p.m.)
Selwyn Birchwood (3:30-4:00 p.m.)
Eddie Cotton (4:30-5:00 p.m.)

Busking on North Boulevard at St. Ferdinand Street
Alex Cook & Lance Porter (12:30-1:15 p.m.)
Nathan Bauerle (2:30-3:15 p.m.)
Susan Aysen & Brent Melancon (3:30-4:15 p.m.)
Chris Zonada (4:30-5:15 p.m.)
Pam Grisham (5:30-6:15 p.m.)

SUNDAY, APRIL 24

Visit Baton Rouge Swamp Blues Stage (located in Galvez Plaza)
Alabama Slim (12:0–1:45 p.m.)
Aretta Woodruff (2:15–3:30 p.m.)
Robert Finley (4:00–5:15 p.m.)
Nikki Hill (5:45–7:00 p.m.)

LA 1 Stage (located at North Blvd. and Lafayette Street)
Chris Leblanc Band (12:00–1:15 p.m.)
Smokehouse & Mamie Porter (1:45-3:00 p.m.)
Erica Falls (3:30–4:15 p.m.)
Carolyn Wonderland (4:45-6:00 p.m.)

AARP Front Porch Stage (located at North Boulevard and St. Louis Street)
Lilli Lewis Band & John Gray Second Line (1:00–2:15 p.m.)
Lil Ray Neal (2:30-3:45 p.m.)
Sam Hogan & The Rhythm Ramblers (4:15–5:45 p.m.)

Blues Backstory Stage (inside the Old State Capitol Senate Chambers)
Robert Finley (1:30-2:00 p.m.)
Nikki Hill (2:30–3:00 p.m.)
Carolyn Wonderland (3:15-3:45 p.m.)
Alabama Slim (4:00-4:30 p.m.)
Aretta Woodruff (5:00-5:30 p.m.)

Busking on North Boulevard at St. Ferdinand Street
Nathan Bauerle (12:30-1:15 p.m.)
Robbie Barringer (1:30-2:15 p.m.)
Louis Roussel (2:30-3:15 p.m.)
Andrew Hill (3:30-4:15 p.m.)
Susan Aysen & Brent Melancon (4:30-5:15 p.m.)
Peter Simon (5:30-6:15 p.m.)

While the festival remains free to the general public, a $200 VIP Experience Pass is available for purchase. Each pass includes complimentary food and beverages, private bar and bathrooms, an exclusive area to mingle, dance, or sit and watch the festivities.

Other happenings supporting the Blues Festival include:

The Torch, a documentary that chronicles Buddy guy’s dedication to his role as a torchbearer and mentor for blues musicians will be screened at the Manship Theater on Wednesday, April 20,at 7:30 pm.

The Blues Lagniappe Lecture series will present a  Women in the Blues panel discussion and a performance by Theatre Baton Rouge of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom on Thursday, April 21, along with a viewing of a new exhibition about Professor Longhair and music by Smokehouse & Mamie Porter at Capitol Park Museum from 4-8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public with limited space; reservations may be made here.

For more information about the Baton Rouge Blues Festival, visit here.