28th annual Blues Fest comes to a close
Award winning blues singer and guitarist Christone "Kingfish" Ingram performing at the 28th annual Chenango Blues Fest. (Photo by Sarah Giglio)
NORWICH — The 28th annual Chenango Blues Fest rocked the fairgrounds this weekend, drawing thousands of music lovers and host to stunning performances.
Chenango Blues Fest organizer Eric Larsen said the weekend event was nothing but positive, and that it seemed like everyone was happy to be back at the festival.
"People were just unfailingly gracious. I heard so many kind words from people. So many people said how happy they were to have us back and how great it was to be outdoors and enjoying music. It was very gratifying to both myself and all of our volunteers, how supportive and nice everybody was," said Larsen.
While Blues Association officials do not have an official head count, Larsen said the amount of attendees was in the thousands.
"We don't have an actual account right now, but it was probably around a couple thousand each day," he said. "Probably a few more Saturday than Friday. But all in all, quite a few both days and very similar kinds of crowds."
He added that he believes the free Friday show drew "the most people we've ever had for a Friday."
This year's festival saw performances from many top-tier artists, but also gave fans a nice surprise: a collaboration between several of the weekend's performers. One of which was between Robert Randolph and Christone "Kingfish" Ingram.
"Robert Randolph, who was a last minute fill-in for Jimmie Vaughan, who put on an unbelievably good show I thought. And when he brought up 'Kingfish' Ingram, I've told a whole bunch of people this: I have had the good fortune to hear tons and tons of music in my life, a lot of great music at the Chenango Blues Fest. Those two, the song they did together was as good as anything I've ever heard, at our festival or any other festival. That stuff is just magic," Larsen said.
Larsen also spoke to the overall atmosphere of the festival, calling it "a giant backyard party."
"All the artists tell me, you can really feel the difference and the fact that this is a volunteer effort by people who just love the music. It's so different than the more corporate events that are starting to predominate," Larsen explained.
Overall, this year's Chenango Blues Fest was a success with spectacular performances, a good crowd, and thousands of music lovers excited for the return of the annual festival.
"I did not hear a single negative word all day long. The opposite. I heard nothing but compliments and support," said Larsen. "I talked to all of our volunteers- no one heard a single negative word all day. So that's nice, you know?"
Chenango Blues Fest organizer Eric Larsen said the weekend event was nothing but positive, and that it seemed like everyone was happy to be back at the festival.
"People were just unfailingly gracious. I heard so many kind words from people. So many people said how happy they were to have us back and how great it was to be outdoors and enjoying music. It was very gratifying to both myself and all of our volunteers, how supportive and nice everybody was," said Larsen.
While Blues Association officials do not have an official head count, Larsen said the amount of attendees was in the thousands.
"We don't have an actual account right now, but it was probably around a couple thousand each day," he said. "Probably a few more Saturday than Friday. But all in all, quite a few both days and very similar kinds of crowds."
He added that he believes the free Friday show drew "the most people we've ever had for a Friday."
This year's festival saw performances from many top-tier artists, but also gave fans a nice surprise: a collaboration between several of the weekend's performers. One of which was between Robert Randolph and Christone "Kingfish" Ingram.
"Robert Randolph, who was a last minute fill-in for Jimmie Vaughan, who put on an unbelievably good show I thought. And when he brought up 'Kingfish' Ingram, I've told a whole bunch of people this: I have had the good fortune to hear tons and tons of music in my life, a lot of great music at the Chenango Blues Fest. Those two, the song they did together was as good as anything I've ever heard, at our festival or any other festival. That stuff is just magic," Larsen said.
Larsen also spoke to the overall atmosphere of the festival, calling it "a giant backyard party."
"All the artists tell me, you can really feel the difference and the fact that this is a volunteer effort by people who just love the music. It's so different than the more corporate events that are starting to predominate," Larsen explained.
Overall, this year's Chenango Blues Fest was a success with spectacular performances, a good crowd, and thousands of music lovers excited for the return of the annual festival.
"I did not hear a single negative word all day long. The opposite. I heard nothing but compliments and support," said Larsen. "I talked to all of our volunteers- no one heard a single negative word all day. So that's nice, you know?"
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