NORWICH – Attendance at the free Chenango Bluesfest shows in West Side Park this summer has pleased organizers, with music lovers from Binghamton, Syracuse and throughout Chenango County attending.

“I just got a call from someone in Endwell who asked if Smokin Joe Kubek was really playing for free in our park,” said Eric Larsen, Bluesfest president. “He said he would be bringing a whole bunch of people tomorrow night.”

The Smokin’ Joe Kubek Band from Texas usually does attract a large audience. The last time they performed in Norwich (back in 2004 at the Music Shop Pub on Broad Street, now the Blarney Stone), Blues Club President Greg Grosvenor remembers that fans traveled from as far away as Albany and Rochester.

“I remember that because it was a little unusual for us. We had a great crowd that Sunday,” Grosvenor remembered.

The duo couldn’t be more disparate in their music styles, with Kubek playing more of a Texas roots rock guitar and Smokin’ Joe a more tasteful jazzy form. “You wouldn’t think of them together, but it really works,” Larsen said.