DAVENPORT, IOWA (March 18, 2020) — In 1985 Ronald Regan was President; "We Are The World" was recorded by the band USA for Africa; Back to the Future was the highest-grossing film of the year; and a small group of Quad Cities-area Blues fans organized and held the first-ever Mississippi Valley Blues Fest in Davenport, Iowa. This festival is now one of the oldest established Blues Festivals in the US.
The Mississippi Valley Blues Society (MVBS) has decided it's time to come "Back to the Future" again, and hold the 35th Blues Fest at the beautifully-historic LeClaire Park band shell on the Davenport river front. The Blues Fest dates this year will be September 18-19, hopefully avoiding the seasonal flooding which has postponed and relocated the Blues Fest one too many times in the recent past.
"As an all-volunteer organization, it's enough of a challenge to plan and run a 2-day music festival for over 3,000 fans, without the added uncertainty of another summer flood. Our recent survey was informative, and most people prefer LeClaire Park, so the only way to stay in the park was to move the date," said MVBS President, Bob Clevenstine.
Regional Blues Touring Artist Lizzie Neal, 2019 Mississippi Valley Blues Fest
With past national Blues Fest headliners ranging from John Lee Hooker to Jonny Lang, and Johnny Copeland to Shemekia Copeland, the Mississippi Valley Blues Society has focused on bringing well-known established Blues artists as well as emerging artists, to both the Blues Fest and other MVBS sponsored music events in the Quad-Cities. For the Blues Society's 35th Anniversary, the MVBS is working hard to present another outstanding showcase of traditonal and contemporary Blues artists.
Founded in 1984, the mission of the Mississippi Valley Blues Society is to educate, celebrate, and preserve the Blues, a unique and original American music art form. The Mississippi Valley Blues Society is one of the oldest all-volunteer, non-profit organizations of its kind, and is based in Davenport, Iowa.
