"Last Call with WDCB" at the Chicago Blues Festival!

WDCB is partnering with DCASE and Rosa’s Lounge to add three extra sets of music to this year’s Chicago Blues Festival lineup. We’re expanding the festival as our hosts emcee a nightly bonus sets of music to extend each day’s action on the Rosa’s Lounge Blues Stage in Millennium Park, Friday, June 9th – Sunday, June 11th.

“The only thing better than the incredible bounty of music already scheduled for this year’s Blues Fest is to add a few more deserving artists to the lineup,” says WDCB Station Manager Dan Bindert. “We’re excited to be a part of this project and we’ve got three top-notch Chicago blues bands to rock the fest. It’s going to be a great way to cap off the music each night under the tent.”

The “Last Call” sets will be hosted each night by WDCB’s stable of expert blues deejays, including Sammie J. Rogers, Leslie Keros and Scott “Hambone” Hammer. After each live set below, WDCB hosts will deejay a hand-picked selection of blues recordings to conclude the evening.  

Friday, June 9, 6:15pm – 7:30pm: The Smiley Tillmon Band featuring Kate Moss
Saturday, June 10, 6:30pm – 7:45pm: Dave Weld & the Imperial Flames
Sunday, June 11, 6:15pm – 7:30pm: Morry Sochat & The Special 20s

The City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, DCASE, has announced the artist lineup for this year’s festival, which returns to Chicago with four days of music in Millennium Park, June 8 - 11. Still the largest free Blues festival in the world, the Chicago Blues Festival takes place on three stages set up across Millennium Park, welcoming 45 performances and more than 250 artists to celebrate the city’s renowned Blues legacy.

Along with Rayford, Morganfield, and four-time GRAMMY® winners Los Lobos, this year’s lineup includes John Primer, Blind Boys of Alabama with Bobby Rush, Nora Jean Wallace, Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials, Jontavious Willis, Jimmy Burns, Demetria Taylor, Vasti Jackson, Sheryl Youngblood, Eddie Cotton, O.B. Buchana, Super Chikan and more.

The festival will also be highlighted by three specially commissioned projects, including an Albert King Centennial Tribute featuring Donald Kinsey, Larry McCray, Rico McFarland, Carl Weathersby and Tony Llorens; a Delmark Records 70th Anniversary Celebration, and a “Women in Blues” tribute featuring Deitra Farr, Katherine Davis, and Sugar Pie DeSanto.

The festival will elevate its food options this year with a new Blues-inspired smokehouse experience called “Wally’s BBQ Pit” in the North Promenade Tent of the Park. Further enriching the Blues experience is a photography installation, “The Rhythm Within Our Blues,” featuring life-size photographs depicting the history and authentic culture of Blues music told via the lens of professional photographers of color from Chicago’s South Side.

WDCB will serve as a major media sponsor for the festival and WDCB’s own Tom Marker will again serve as the primary emcee for the festival’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion mainstage concerts. The Jay Pritzker Pavilion sets will be livestreamed at: Youtube.com/ChicagoDCASE

More fest info is available at: ChicagoBluesFestival.us

Chicago Blues Festival is sponsored by: Visit Mississippi, Chicago Transit Authority, Rosa’s Lounge, National Museum of Mexican Art, Millennium Garages and WDCB, 90.9FM.

2023 Chicago Blues Festival Schedule
Thursday – Sunday, June 8 – 11, 2023
Millennium Park

THURSDAY, JUNE 8

PianoForte Studios - 1335 S Michigan Ave, Chicago
noon-1pm - WDCB pre-Blues Fest Live Broadcast featuring Barry Goldberg & Rob Stone

Jay Pritzker Pavilion
5:15-5:30pm - National Anthem/Commissioner’s Welcome/Tom Marker
5:30-6:20pm - Wayne Baker Brooks
6:30-7:30pm - Blind Boys of Alabama with Bobby Rush
7:45-9:00pm - Centennial Tribute to Albert King featuring Donald Kinsey, Larry McCray, Rico McFarland, Carl Weathersby and Tony Llorens

FRIDAY, JUNE 9

Jay Pritzker Pavilion
2:15-2:30pm - National Anthem/Commissioner’s Welcome/Tom Marker
2:30-3:45pm - Delmark Records 70th Anniversary Celebration
4:00-5:00pm - Nora Jean Wallace
5:15-6:15pm - Jontavious Willis
6:30-7:30pm - Jimmy Burns Band
7:45-9:00pm - John Primer and the Real Deal Blues Band

Chicago Cultural Center (Claudia Cassidy Theater)
1:00pm: Film screening of “Born in Chicago” followed by a Q&A

Visit Mississippi Juke Joint Stage (South Promenade)
12-1:00pm - Mzz Reese
1:15-2:15pm - Lightnin’ Malcolm
2:30-3:30pm - Eddie Cotton
3:45-5:00pm - Vasti Jackson

Rosa’s Lounge Stage (North Promenade)
12:30-1:20pm - Stephen Hull
1:35-2:25pm - Big Mike and the R&B Kings featuring Sierra Green
2:40-3:30pm - Melody Angel
3:45-4:45pm - Eddie Taylor - 100th Birthday with the Taylor Family
5:00-6:00pm - Rico McFarland
6:15-7:30pm - Last Call with WDCB featuring Smiley Tillmon Band with Kate Moss

SATURDAY, JUNE 10

Jay Pritzker Pavilion
2:15-2:30pm - National Anthem/Commissioner’s Welcome/Tom Marker
2:30-3:45pm – Women in Blues with Deitra Farr, Katherine Davis and Sugar Pie DeSanto
4:00-5:00pm - Joe Pratt & Source One Band featuring New Orleans Beau
5:15-6:15pm - Sugaray Rayford
6:30-7:30pm - Demetria Taylor with The Mike Wheeler Band
7:45-9:00pm - Mud Morganfield

Visit Mississippi Juke Joint Stage (South Promenade)
12-1:00pm - Chris Gill & The Sole Shakers
1:15-2:15pm - Rising Stars Fife & Drum Band
2:30-3:30pm - John Primer with Steve Bell
3:45-5:00pm - Super Chikan

Rosa’s Lounge Stage (North Promenade)
12:30-1:20pm - Dave Herrero and Friends
1:35-2:25pm - Matthew Skoller and Chicago Wind featuring Precious Taylor
2:40-3:30pm - Milwaukee Slim with the Billy Flynn Band
3:45-4:45pm - Lynne Jordan and the Shivers
5:00-6:15pm - Rosa’s Lounge Jam Session with Mary Lane, Lil Ed, Willie Buck, and Billy Branch
6:30-7:45pm - Last Call with WDCB featuring Dave Weld & The Imperial Flames

SUNDAY, JUNE 11

Jay Pritzker Pavilion
2:15-2:30pm - National Anthem/Commissioner’s Welcome/Tom Marker
2:30-3:45pm - The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra featuring Terrie Odabi
4:00-5:15pm - Stephen Hull
5:30-6:15pm - Sheryl Youngblood
6:30-7:30pm - Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials
7:45-9:00pm - Los Lobos

Visit Mississippi Juke Joint Stage (South Promenade)
12-1:00pm - Duwayne Burnside
1:15-2:15pm - Terry “Harmonica” Bean
2:30-3:30pm - Zac Harmon
3:45-4:45pm - O.B. Buchana

Rosa’s Lounge Stage (North Promenade)
12:30-1:20pm - Wendy and DB with Blues Friends
1:35-2:25pm - The Ivy Ford Band
2:40-3:30pm - The Bear Williams Band
3:45-4:45pm - Gerald McClendon
5:00-6:00pm - Melvin Taylor & The Slack Band
6:15-7:30pm - Last Call with WDCB featuring Morry Sochat & The Special 20s