Kalamazoo Blues Festival

The Kalamazoo Valley Blues Association (KVBA) will host the 13th annual "Kalamazoo Blues Festival" in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan on July 6-8th, 2006. This event has grown into one of the premier festivals in the Midwest and has offered over two dozen acts on two stages for hours of nonstop music throughout the three-day festival. Last year’s attendance was more than 15,000.



Thursday is acoustic night which is dedicated to the solo musicians, duets, and acoustic trios. Past performers include Watermelon Slim, Chris Thomas King, and Paul Rishell & Annie Raines.



Friday and Saturday night go "electric" in every sense of the word with eight hours of music on Friday and thirteen hours on Saturday - nonstop on alternating stages. Some of our headliners have been Bobby Rush, Kenny Neal, Little Milton, Marcia Ball, Rod Piazza, and Bernard Allison. Most of national acts are listed on the festival link of our website.



Our event is held in the heart of downtown Kalamazoo at the Arcadia Festival Site. The KVBA will lodge the national acts at the nearby Radisson Hotel. Our major sponsors are Imperial Beverages and WFAT radio with their sister stations (some of the festival is simulcast).



Selected artists will be compensated for their performances. Compensation for artists begins at $75 per musician for the "local" and "regional" acts and is negotiated with the agents for the "national" acts. All acts are invited to our hospitality area and are provided with an area to sell merchandise and CDs.



Please note: As of March 30, the festival has filled all slots for nationally touring acts. Please submit only if you are local to the festival or you don't need compensation to cover travel from areas far away from the festival.