NORWICH — The 32nd annual Preferred Mutual Chenango Blues Festival will be returning to the Chenango County Fairgrounds on Friday, August 15 and Saturday, August 16.

The festivities will be kicking off on Thursday, August 14 with the NBT Bank Free Summer Concert Series at 6 p.m. in Norwich's East Park. The concert will feature Blues Music Awards winner Sue Foley and the Brandon Santini Band.

On Friday, Blues Fest will begin at the fairgrounds with a free show featuring the Misty Blues Band at 5:30 p.m., Jimmie Hall at 7:15 p.m., and Blues Music Award winner the Nick Moss Band with special guest Dennis Grueling at 9 p.m., all on the Tent Stage.

On Saturday, Blues Fest will be in full swing, with the event starting a bit earlier than usual. Pedestrian and infield parking gates will open at 9:30 a.m., camping gates open at 10 a.m., and the festival gates will open at 10:30 a.m.

"[We have] a fantastic lineup. We’ve got some a-list artists coming," said Chenango Blues Association President Eric Larsen. "A great collection of artists and people coming from all over the country and the world. Joanne Shaw Taylor is coming from England, we’ve got Chris Thomas King from Louisiana, Los Lobos is coming from California, Sue Foley is coming from Texas. So we really try to be very diverse in the artists we present. I feel like we really have got some great stuff coming everyone’s way this year."