2026 Performers
33rd Annual Chenango Blues Festival
August 20 – 22, 2026 • Norwich, NY
Performers are to be determined, please sign up for our news letter to stay informed!
Bring your chair, soak up the vibe, and join the party—33 years of unforgettable blues!
Thursday, August 20th, 2026
East Park, Norwich, NY
Honey Island Swamp Band
6:00 – 7:15pm
Honey Island Swamp Band Bio
The Honey Island Swamp Band are a thrilling, eclectic band that defies genre conventions, renders song structures elastic, and wholeheartedly stresses that the song reigns supreme.
Since they formed in 2005 in San Francisco after their displacement from New Orleans via Katrina – and subsequently relocated back home – the band has evolved to embody contemporary roots music.
The fivesome – bandleader and multi-instrumentalist Aaron Wilkinson, guitarist and vocalist Lee Yankee, bassist Sam Price, keyboardist Chris Spies, and drummer and vocalist Garland Paul – is about to release their most satisfying, consolidative album to date: Custom Deluxe, out October 27 on Color Red Music.
“We’re definitely melody-driven, vocal-driven, lyric-driven,” Wilkinson explains of the Honey Island Swamp Band’s modus operandi at this juncture, with Custom Deluxe. “We like something that’s new, yet sounds like it could have been a hit that you didn’t know about.”
Desoto Tiger’s Testimony
7:45pm – 9:00pm
Desoto Tigers Testimony is returning to Chenango to follow up on their show stopping performance at last years Blues Festival. A blues and roots super group the band is led by the high-octane trio of Damon Fowler on guitar, Jason Ricci on harp and Jonathan “Boogie” Long on guitar. Each is an award-winning artist, together they conjure an energy that is a joy to behold. If you saw them last year, you’re sure to be back for more and if you missed them… well don’t let it happen twice!
Friday, August 21st, 2026
Friday is a Free admission show
Donations to support the show are welcome!
Chenango County Fairgrounds, 168 East
Main St., Norwich, NY
Dustin Arbuckle & the Damnations
5:30pm - 6:45pm
Dustin Arbuckle and the Damnations are not a band you can easily associate with one specific genre and that’s how they planned it. “When we started playing together we all wanted the band to be a space where we could play anything we wanted to” Arbuckle notes, “and that’s created this cross genre electric Americana vibe.” It’s a mixture of blues and Stax style soul cross pollinated with the sound of The Band and Charley Patton and it’s all good.
Roomful of Blues
7:15pm - 8:30pm
Roomful of Blues has a more than fifty-year history of being one of the tightest and most joyful blues ensembles in the world. An evolving lineup has always stayed true to the jump blues roots of the original members. Today, led by guitarist Chris Vachon and ably assisted by a formidable horn section and the soulful vocals of DD Bastos, the band continues its tradition of packing dance floors.
Larry McCray
9:00pm - 10:15pm
Larry McCray was born in Magnolia, Arkansas one of nine siblings. He picked up the guitar after a brief stint playing saxophone and early on leaned into the music of the three kings: BB, Freddie and Albert. Larry has helped define the blues rock genre through his collaborations with blues greats like Albert Collins, BB King, Johnny Winter, Robert Cray, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Joe Bonamassa (whose label produced his last recording). Larry’s blistering guitar work can stand up there with all the greats.
Saturday, August 22nd, 2026
Blue Avenue
Tent - 11:00am - 11:55am
Blue Avenue features the masterful guitar work of CNY music legend, Mark Doyle and the powerhouse vocals of Joanna Nix. When you add a killer horn section and some seasoned local co-conspirators you have the most talked about new band in upstate New York. They are currently working on their debut album which should be released later this year.
Blackburn Brothers
Infield - 12:00pm - 1:15pm
The Blackburn Brothers are fourth generation Canadians whose roots trace back to America’s underground railroad. They are truly a family band led by Duane on keyboards, Brook on guitar and Cory on drums. Another brother, Robert, also plays guitar and their cousin Nathan plays bass. Joined by a stellar horn section the band moves seamlessly through blues soul, jazz and funk. The Blackburn Brothers have received numerous nominations from blues organizations in both the United States and Canada with their most recent recording receiving Blues Music Award nominations for Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Soul Blues Album of the year.
John Primer
Tent - 1:20pm - 2:20pm
John Primer grew up on sharecropper land in Mississippi, moving to Chicago in 1963. He began playing guitar for tips on Maxwell Street. He quickly became noticed by the blues luminaries playing there at the time and was hired to be guitarist for Junior Wells. The band played Theresa’s Lounge seven nights a week for the next seven years before Willie Dixon hired him to his touring band. In 1979 he fulfilled a lifetime dream when he was brought in to be Muddy Waters band leader. John is a living legend of Chicago blues who has been nominated for three Grammy Awards and is a Blues Hall of Fame inductee. He is indeed the real deal.
Vanessa Collier
Infield - 2:25pm - 3:40pm
Vanessa Collier was born in Texas, raised in Maryland and grew up listening to an electric variety of music. Her early influences led her in the direction of soul, R&B and Blues and her newest recording is a deep dive into retro soul inspired by the classic Memphis sound of Stax and Hi Records. Vanessa is a twelve time Blues Music Award nominee and has won four times including the Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year and Horn Player of the Year. Her live shows are a must see so you’re in for a treat!
https://www.vanessacollier.com
Carolyn Wonderland
Tent - 3:45pm - 5:00pm
Carolyn Wonderland is a returning festival favorite. Her guitar work is steeped in the Texas tradition she grew up in around Houston and Austin, which in the 80’s and 90’s were populated by the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Angela Strehli and Lou Ann Barton. Carolyn is a multi instrumentalist who can play trumpet, accordion, piano and mandolin and she has performed with too many blues luminaries to list here. Her relentless touring and critically acclaimed recordings have earned her fans around the world.
Booker T. Jones
Infield - 5:05pm - 6:20pm
Booker T. Jones is a legend of soul music. He was part of the first house band for Stax Records and he formed the category defining group Booker T. and the MG’s. His first recording was “Green Onions” and it became an international sensation selling more than one million copies and making it on Rolling Stones top five hundred songs of all time. Booker T. has a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and is a member of the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame. There are few musicians who have defined a category of music as Booker T. Jones has defined modern soul music. Hearing him is an opportunity to touch music history.
https://bookert.com
Charlie Musselwhite with GA-20
Tent - 6:25pm - 7:40pm
Charlie Musselwhite and GA-20 are a match made in heaven. Charlie is an icon of the blues having cut his musical teeth in Southside Chicago alongside legends like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. Since then he has released over twenty albums and has collaborated with some of the worlds finest musicians including Ben Harper, Bonnie Raitt, Govt Mule, Micky Hart and George Thorogood. Charlie’s harmonica playing and his depth of expression as a singer only conute to grow deeper. GA20 is a perfect pairing with their throwback trio blues and country sound. Their guitar player, Matt Stubbs, has long performed as part of Charlies touring band and his bandmates bring something fresh and raw that only adds to the timeless appeal of real deal blues.
The Record Company
Infield - 7:45pm - 9:10pm
The Record Company is a Grammy nominated Blues Rock band from Los Angeles. They first recorded live in their living room in 2011 and have since evolved into playing concert halls throughout North America and Europe. TRC has appeared on the Late Show, Conan and CBS This Morning and have been crowd favorites at Bonaroo with Rolling Stone magazine calling their set a “wildly energetic show and one of the best experiences of the festival”. They want to do what they do best – make “raw, honest music that moves people’s souls.”