The Beale Street Music Festival typically takes place between late April and early May. Held at Tom Lee Park in Memphis, Tennessee, the 2009 event featured more than 60 live acts spread across four separate stages. The Beale Street Music Festival showcases a variety of national blues acts, though nearly every musical genre is covered. Past performers included B.B. King, James Taylor, The Steve Miller Band, The Cult, Al Green, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, John Lee Hooker Jr., Huey Lews & the News, Blues Traveler and many more.
The Beale Street Music Festival
Tom Lee Park
357 South Riverside Drive
Memphis, TN 38103
901-525-1515
thebealestreetmusicfestival.com
Set in Riverfront Park on the banks of the Cumberland River in Nashville, Tennessee, the Music City Jazz, Blues and Heritage Festival takes place every year in September. The two-day event was held over Labor Day weekend in 2009 and the festival has featured acts such as Boney James, Paul Jackson Jr., Con Funk Shun, Minister DeWitt and more. Other genres of music have included reggae, funk, gospel, soul and R&B.
Music City Jazz, Blues and Heritage Festival
Riverfront Park
First Avenue and Broadway
Nashville, TN 37203
nbl4u.com/MCJHF.htm
The Nashville Blues Festival is a one-day event that typically takes place in March, but in 2010 was actually part of a tour that included several other large cities throughout the United States, including Dallas, Detroit and Chicago, with lineups based on regional preferences. Produced by Memphis-based Heritage Entertainment Group, the 2010 Nashville Blues Festival took place at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium and featured performances by Sir Charles Jones, Mel Waiters, Omar Cunningham, Wilson Meadows and more.
Nashville Blues Festival
Nashville Municipal Auditorium
417 4th Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37201
615-862-6390
heritageentertainments.com
The Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival is an annual festival that takes place in Manchester, Tennessee. The multiple-day event features on-site camping and music from nearly every musical genre imaginable, including blues. Past performaners at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival have included Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Phish, B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Al Green, Gov't Mule, Widespread Panic, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss featuring T Bone Burnett, Bela Fleck, Elvis Costello and many more.
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival
Manchester, TN 37355
bonnaroo.com