Blues on the Banks

The blues was born on the banks of the Mississippi, and every summer it returns to the river at the Quad Cities' Mississippi Valley Blues Festival.

Organized by the Mississippi Valley Blues Society , the festival brings big name bluesmen together with up and coming artists, as well as offering workshops for aspiring musicians. For three days, LeClair Park in Davenport, Iowa moves to the soulful sound of electrified blues.

Even when the festival isn't in town, the sound of electrified blues spills over into Rock Island, where the Society brings blues players to the clubs and bars for rousing late-night music sessions.

Related Links

Hear what photographer James Fraher has learned from photographing and interviewing big-name and small-time blues players over the years.

Listen to living legend Honeyboy Edwards as he performs an old Delta Blues favorite.

Check out Chicago's world-famous Blues Festival, which every year brings phenomenal blues players to downtown Chicago.