Photos by Andy Argyrakis

To locals, the Chicago Blues Festival is an annual chance to congregate and celebrate, primarily in Millennium Park, though it’s also just as much an international tourist destination where folks from all walks of life come together to immerse themselves in a style frequently associated with the Windy City.

The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events may have topped itself when it came to 2025’s entirely free programming, including sets by homegrown heroes Mavis Staples and John Primer, plus a B.B. King Centennial Tribute and Chess Records’ 75th anniversary showcase.

Grammy Award-winner Staples closed the festivities, presenting solo classics and those she personally popularized alongside family band The Staple Singers, many of which were the soundtrack to the entire Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and beyond.

In fact, those messages were just as timely today as they’ve ever been, such as “I’m Just Another Soldier,” “Handwriting On The Wall,” “Freedom Highway” and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s personal favorite “Why? (Am I Treated So Bad), while the headliner constantly blurred the lines between blues, soul and gospel.

Remarkably, Staples’ voice was still spectacular at 85-years-old and her inspiring presence was enough to provide a portal to heaven’s gates, especially as she rounded the bases with “Heavy Makes You Happy” and “Far Celestial Shore” in a manner that could only be attributed to this true American icon.

Despite not being from the area, Mississippi’s late “King Of The Blues” B.B. King’s influence on the entire genre across multiple generations is immeasurable, and as a result, his Centennial Tribute featured newer school notables Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, D.K. Harrell and Jonathan Ellison.

They each took turns interpreting King’s unmistakable guitar parts and signature vocal howls to the enduring likes of “Downhearted,” “Let The Good Times Roll” and “The Thrill Is Gone,” amongst several others upholding the late great’s legacy.

The list of artists saluting Chess Records’ 75th anniversary, courtesy of Willie Dixon’s Blues Heaven Foundation, were too numerous to mention, although there was nothing like seeing Charles Berry, Jr. and Charles Berry III barrel through their father/grandfather Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” or Muddy Waters’ son Mud Morganfield replicating “Hoochie Coochie Man.”

There was even an appearance by one of the label’s few surviving original recording artists, now Pastor Mitty Collier, who put a glorious gospel twist on “I Had A Talk With My Man/God.”

Having recently turned 80, guitar god John Primer turned up twice, one of which highlighted harmonica player Steve Bell (son of Carey and brother of Lurrie), but no matter the accompanist, it turns out the former backer for Junior Wells, Magic Slim, Dixon and Waters is truly getting better as time marches on, continuing to be a bedrock booking for another fantastic Chicago Blues Festival.

For additional information on Mavis Staples, B.B. King, Chess Records and John Primer, visit MavisStaples.com, BBKing.com, BluesHeaven.com and JohnPrimerBlues.com. For upcoming Chicago Blues Festival announcements, visit ChicagoBluesFestival.US.

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