The Greater Lafayette Commerce hosts the Uptown Jazz and Blues Festival in downtown Lafayette, Indiana, every August. Approximately 5,000 jazz and blues fans attended the 2009 festival. Blues artists play on three stages: the Back Alley Stage, Promenade Stage and Time-Out Lounge. The 2009 Uptown Jazz and Blues Festival featured artists such as Fremont Jackson's Funky-Blu-Va-Tron, Uncle Buck's Mojo Box, Blind Boy & CN1 Dawg and Souled Out Band. Festival goers can visit the after-party held at Indiana's oldest bar, Knickerbocker Saloon. For all the visitors hungry and thirsty from the hours-long entertainment, local vendors offer a variety of food and drink.
Greater Lafayette Commerce
337 Columbia St.
Lafayette, IN 47902
765-742-4044
jazz-blues.org
The Bean Blossom Blues, Brews & BBQ is held at the Bill Monroe Music Park & Campground in Nashville, Indiana. The first festival was held in June 1999 as a distraction for founder John Hall, whose daughter had passed away a year earlier. Notable blues artists who have performed at Bean Blossom festival include Snooky Pryor, Willy Foster and Mike Stevens. Campsites are available, at which impromptu campfire jams spring up throughout the festival. Hall owns Bushman Music Works, a company that produces harmonicas and offers harmonica seminars at the festival. Festival attendees can also take part in BBQ contests and wash it all down at the festival's beer and wine tastings.
Bean Blossom Blues, Brews & BBQ
2381 Country Club Rd.
Nashville, IN 47448
812-988-8200
beanblossomblues.com/
Blues at the Crossroads is a two-day music festival held every September in Terre Haute, Indiana, since 2001. Approximately 4,000 people attended the first festival, which now draws six-figure crowds. According to Mark Bennett of the Terre Haute Tribune Star, Blues at the Crossroads is "arguably, Terre Haute’s best moment of the year." The 2009 festival featured 13 blues acts, including Governor Davis and the Blues Ambassadors, the Guy Forsyth Band, Duke Tumatoe and the Power Trio, and the Clayton Miller Band.
Blues at the Crossroads
677 Wabash Ave.
Terre Haute, IN 47807
bluesatthecrossroads.com
The Madison Ribberfest is a blues and barbecue festival held over two days in August in Madison, Indiana. The 2009 artist lineup included Delbert McClinton, Hambone, Sonny Moorman, and Davy Knowles and Backdoor Slam. As blues musicians play, festival goers participate in and feast at the festival's barbecue contest. On top of barbecue and blues, the festival offers another B: balloons, as in hot air balloons. Balloon enthusiasts participate in a balloon race and balloon glow. Parents can drop their kids off at the Piglet Pen for fun.
Madison Area Convention and Visitors Bureau
601 W. First St.
Madison, IN 47250
812-265-2956
madisonribberfest.com