Blues festivals are music festivals which focus on blues music. Blues is a genre[1] and musical form that originated in African-American communities in the Southern United States around the end of the 19th century. It has elements of traditional African music, American folk music, spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads.[2] Blues has since evolved from unaccompanied vocal music and oral traditions of slaves into a wide variety of styles and subgenres, such as country blues, Delta and Piedmont, Chicago, West Coast blues. World War II marked the transition from acoustic to electric blues and the progressive opening of blues music to a wider audience, especially white listeners. In the 1960s and 1970s, a hybrid form called blues rock evolved.
| Festival name | Country | State | City | Debut | | The W.C. Handy Blues & Barbeque Festival | United States | Kentucky | Henderson | 1990 |
| Schaefer Music Festival | United States | New York | New York City | 1967 |
| Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival | United States | Michigan | Ann Arbor | 1969 |
| Brevard Blues and BBQ Festival | United States | North Carolina | Brevard | 2014 |
| San Francisco Blues Festival | United States | California | San Francisco | 1973 |
| Long Beach Blues Festival | United States | California | Long Beach | 1980 |
| Topanga Canyon Blues Festival | United States | California | Topanga Canyon | 1982 |
| Chicago Blues Festival | United States | Illinois | Chicago | 1984 |
| Baton Rouge Blues Festival | United States | Louisiana | Baton Rouge | 1981 |
| French Quarter Festival | United States | Louisiana | New Orleans | 1984 |
| King Biscuit Blues Festival | United States | Arkansas | Helena | 1986 |
| Red Bank Jazz & Blues Festival | United States | New Jersey | Red Bank | 1987 |
| Waterfront Blues Festival | United States | Oregon | Portland | 1988 |
| Springing the Blues | United States | Florida | Jacksonville Beach | 1990 |
| Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival | Canada | New Brunswick | Fredericton | 1991 |
| Dusk Til Dawn Blues Festival | United States | Oklahoma | Rentiesville | 1991 |
| Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival | Canada | British Columbia | Salmon Arm | 1991 |
| Cincy Blues Fest | United States | Ohio | Cincinnati | 1992 |
| Orange County Blues Festival | United States | California | Dana Point | 1993 |
| Ottawa Bluesfest | Canada | Ontario | Ottawa | 1994 |
| Old Town BluesFest | United States | Michigan | Lansing | 1994 |
| Pittsburgh Blues Festival | United States | Pennsylvania | Pittsburgh | 1994 |
| Telluride Blues & Brews Festival | United States | Colorado | Telluride | 1994 |
| Bluesfest International Windsor | Canada | Ontario | Windsor | 1995 |
| Essence Music Festival | United States | Louisiana | New Orleans | 1995 |
| Blues Masters at the Crossroads | United States | Kansas | Salina | 1998 |
| Briggs Farm Blues Festival | United States | Pennsylvania | Hazleton | 1998 |
| Edmonton's Labatt Blues Festival | Canada | Alberta | Edmonton | 1999 |
| Crossroads Guitar Festival | United States | New York | Madison Square Garden | 1999 |
| Boundary Waters Blues Festival | United States | Minnesota | Ely | 2001 |
| Bradenton Blues Festival | United States | Florida | Bradenton | 2012 |
| Highland Jazz & Blues Festival | United States | Louisiana | Shreveport | 2003 |
| Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival | United States | Missouri | Columbia | 2007 |
| Blast Furnace Blues Festival | United States | Pennsylvania | Bethlehem | 2010 |
| The Peach Music Festival | United States | Pennsylvania | Scranton | 2012 |
| Hayward-Russell City Blues Festival | United States | California | Hayward | N/K |
| Omaha Blues, Jazz, & Gospel Festival | United States | Nebraska | Omaha | N/K |
| Lancaster Roots & Blues Music Festival | United States | Pennsylvania | Lancaster | 2014 |
| Summer Breeze Festival | United States | California | Long beach | 2015 |
| College Park Free Blues Festival | United States | Maryland | College Park | 2008 |
| Silver Spring Blues Festival | United States | Maryland | Silver Spring | 2009 |
| Waterfront Blues Festival | United States | Oregon | Portland | 1987 |
| Flagstaff Blues and Brews Festival | United States | Arizona | Flagstaff | 2013 |
| [https://sistersrhythmandbrews.com Sisters Rhythm & Brews Festival] | United States | Oregon | Sisters | 2018 |
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| Festival name | 1st
yr | Country | Province | City | | Orkney Blues Festival | 2005 | United Kingdom | Scotland | Stromness |
| Holland International Blues Festival //www.hollandinternationalbluesfestival.com | 2016 | Netherlands | Drente | Grolloo |
| National Jazz and Blues Festival | 1961 | United Kingdom | England | Richmond |
| Focsani Blues Festival | 2016 | Romania | Vrancea | Focsani |
| Blues Peer (Belgium Rythmn 'n' Blues) | 1986 | Belgium | Limburg | Peer |
| American Folk Blues Festival | 1962 | Europe | many}} | many}} |
| Bath Festival of Blues 1969 | 1969 | United Kingdom | England | Bath |
| Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music | 1970 | United Kingdom | England | Bath |
| Puistoblues | 1978 | Finland | Uusimaa | Järvenpää |
| Rawa Blues Festival | 1981 | Poland | Silesian Metropolis | Katowice |
| Liri Blues Festival | 1988 | Italy | Lazio | Isola del Liri |
| Notodden Blues Festival | 1988 | Norway | Telemark | Notodden |
| Harvest Time Blues | 1990 | Republic of Ireland | County Monaghan | Monaghan |
| August Blues Festival | 1993 | Estonia | Lääne County | Haapsalu |
| Upton Blues Festival | 2001 | United Kingdom | England | Upton-on-Severn |
| City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival | 2002 | United Kingdom | Northern Ireland | Derry |
| Dark Season Blues | 2003 | Norway | Svalbard | Longyearbyen |
| Callander Jazz and Blues Festival | 2006 | United Kingdom | Scotland | Callander |
| Stafford Blues Festival | 2015 | United Kingdom | England | Stafford |
| Blues Nights | 1993 | Lithuania | Telšiai County | Varniai |
| Blues-Bike Festival Suzdal | 2008 | Russia | Vladimir region | Suzdal |
| Baltic Blues / Bluesfest | 1989 | Germany | Schleswig-Holstein | Eutin |
| Brunner Blues Festival / Bluesfest | 2007 | Austria | Vienna | Brunn am Gebirge [3] |
1. ^Kunzler's dictionary of Jazz provides two separate entries: blues, an originally African-American genre (p.128), and the blues form, a widespread musical form (p.131).
2. ^{{cite web |title=The Evolution of Differing Blues Styles |publisher=How To Play Blues Guitar |accessdate=August 11, 2008 |url=http://how-to-play-blues-guitar.com/the-blues/the-evolution-of-different-blues-styles/ |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5msLYV7tu?url=http://how-to-play-blues-guitar.com/the-blues/the-evolution-of-different-blues-styles/ |archivedate=January 18, 2010 |deadurl=yes |df= }}
3. ^
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