Schedule

Gary Clark Jr.

Saturday / 8:30pm

Clark achieved global impact following his first Grammy Award® in 2014, winning Best Traditional R&B Performance for the track “Please Come Home” from his Warner Records debut album Blak And Blu, and seemingly never left the road. 2015’s The Story Of Sonny Boy Slim wrought hard-won international acclaim as a critical force to be reckoned with. (Read more)

Eddie 9V

Saturday / 6:45pm

Eddie 9V has an endless stockpile of cool stories – and you’ll find twelve of them on his most recent studio album Saratoga, released in November 2024 on the fabled Ruf Records label. A thrilling mix of Southern soul, blues, rock, and funk, Saratoga proved to be a gamechanger: a road trip-ready record filled with razor-sharp observations, vintage textures, and raw humanity. (Read more)

Vanessa Collier

Saturday / 5:00pm

Singer/songwriter Vanessa Collier’s sixth album Do It My Own Way was released September 13 via Phenix Fire Records. Recorded on analog gear with the musicians largely in one room, Do It My Own Way is sonically inspired by the classic Memphis soul sound of Stax and Hi Records, especially that of the Staples Singers. (Read more)

Colin Aberdeen

Saturday / 4:30, 6:15pm (Side Stage)

Colin Aberdeen is a vocalist and guitar player specializing in blues, soul, ragtime, and a variety of other American roots traditions. An Australian citizen, he has lived the past few decades in Syracuse, NY. (Read more)

MATT TARBELL PHIL PETROFF

Saturday / 3:30pm

Matt Tarbell and Phil Petroff are Central New York blues veterans whose sound is built on decades of live performance and deep roots in the tradition. Harmonica powerhouse Matt Tarbell spent seven years touring nationally—from Maine to Key West, throughout the Midwest and into Texas (Read more)

All Night Boogie Band

Featured Emerging Artist

Saturday / 2:10pm

All Night Boogie Band is a blues, rock & roll, and soul-inspired band hailing from the Green Mountains of Burlington, Vermont. Formed in late 2021, the young yet experienced quintet expresses a unique sound full of originality, vigor, and dedication to the resonance of great American music. (Read more)

Buddy Manley

Saturday / 1:45, 3:00pm (Side Stage)

Mike Buddy Manley singer songwriter and former member of The Measure and Off The Ground. A 2020 Sammy award winner (Read more)

DAMDOG

Saturday / 1:00pm

DAMDOG is a premiere veteran band of the CNY music scene for 50 years. Performing over 200 dates a year it is no wonder why these road warriors have been inducted to the NYS Blues Hall of Fame and Oswego Music Hall of Fame. Brothers Larry and Craig Kyle and Steve Bennett deliver a 500 HP show every night. (Read more)

Blues Ignition

Saturday / 12:00pm

Youth development and music education are important components of the New York State Blues Festival. Blues Ignition is made up of local students brought together by their passion for learning this great American art form.

Grace Bowers

Friday / 9:00pm

Grace Bowers is an 18-year-old, award-winning guitarist, singer/songwriter and bandleader who is undisputedly on a meteoric rise. Her debut album, Wine On Venus, was produced by John Osborne (Brothers Osborne), released independently and garnered widespread acclaim, Forbes praised it as, “an infectious, joyous party” and Rolling Stone calling Bowers “Nashville’s new guitar hero.” (Read more)

Piper & the Hard Times

Friday / 7:15pm

Piper & the Hard Times delivers intense, eclectic and rhythmically dynamic blues-based music flavored with R&B, soul and rock. The band has an instrumental prowess that enables them to improvise with flair, while still creating music that has a melodic appeal that can immediately connect with audiences who want both a high degree of musical competence and songs with strong grooves and catchy hooks. (Read more)

Ray Fuller & The Bluesrockers

Friday / 5:30pm

The Ray Fuller Band was formed in 1974, evolving into Ray Fuller and the Bluesrockers in 1978, releasing a self-titled album on vinyl, and Fuller has not looked back since. Mastering his craft throughout the ’80s and ’90s, Fuller was quick to become the “go to” act throughout Ohio to open for iconic blues musicians such as Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy and more. (Read more)

Radwald Howland-Bolton

Friday / 5:00, 6:45pm (Side Stage)

Radwald Howland-Bolton is a finger style guitarist and singer. Playing a number of resonator guitars, he uses inspiration from the early blues performers to deliver an authentic and unique blend of sound and emotion. (Read more)

Joe Whiting Band

Friday / 4:00pm

Multi-Sammy Award winner, including ‘best live act’ and ‘best songwriter’, Joe Whiting brings his veteran combo to the New York State Blues Festival for the first time. With a style that seamlessly blends Blues,Soul and Americana (Read more)

Tommy Castro & The Painkillers

Thursday / 9:00pm

Multiple award-winning guitarist, vocalist, and bandleader Tommy Castro is a California-based blues and rock powerhouse. For over four decades, he’s captivated audiences with his soul-drenched vocals, searing guitar work, and high-energy live shows. As frontman of the telepathically tight and wildly raucous Tommy Castro & The Painkillers, he’s released 17 albums that span a wide stylistic range—from horn-driven R&B and hot-blooded soul to gritty, stripped-down rock and electric blues. (Read more)

Rick Estrin & The Nightcats

Thursday / 7:00pm

Blues vocalist, harmonica master and songwriting legend Rick Estrin, leader of the musically fearless, wildly entertaining, award-winning band Rick Estrin & The Nightcats, doesn’t like to talk much about his own musical superpowers. But ask him about the Nightcats—multi-instrumentalist/musical mastermind/producer Christoffer “Kid” Andersen, keyboardist/organ wizard/bass player Lorenzo Farrell and endlessly creative drummer Derrick “D’Mar” Martin—and he’ll be happy to sing their praises. (Read more)

JW-Jones

Thursday / 5:00pm

Billboard Top 10 Blues Artist, 2020 IBC Winner, and JUNO Nominee, Canadian singer/guitarist JW-Jones is known for his high-energy shows! After winning “Best Guitarist” at the 2020 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Jones started working on his 12th release ‘Everything Now’, an all-original project with special guest Jimmie Vaughan, and production by Gordie Johnson (Big Sugar). (Read more)

Golden Soul Revue

Thursday / 4:15, 6:30pm (Side Stage)

Originally formed in 2017 as the Brian Golden Blues Experiment, Golden Soul Revue features husband and wife duo Brian and Aletha Golden. Offering listeners an eclectic blend of acoustic and electric Soul, Americana, Roots Rock, Blues and Gospel (Read more)