MABS ANNOUNCES 20th ANNIVERSARY BLUES FEST AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES

MARQUETTE, MI – The Marquette Area Blues Society is proud to celebrate two decades of the blues with the 20th Anniversary Marquette Area Blues Fest over Labor Day weekend 2024 in Marquette. The 20th Blues Fest promises to be our best yet, as we bring back some of our all-time favorite acts, along with some new faces to help us celebrate and honor our legacy of bringing world class blues music to the shores of Lake Superior!

The full lineup will be announced in the coming weeks, but we can let you know that the artists coming to the stage feature multiple Grammy and Blues Music Award nominees and winners that will not disappoint! 
   

While we are proud of our many years of success in supporting and presenting blues music in the Upper Peninsula, we also must acknowledge that “the times they are a’changing”.  In that spirit, the MABS Board of Directors has decided that 2024 will be the final Marquette Area Blues Fest.

Many factors went into the decision to make the 20th Blues Fest the final one. Most importantly, we wanted to go out strong and on our own terms, while we still have a little gas in the tank. 

We are a small, but dedicated and passionate group of blues lovers, and to put it bluntly, we’re not getting any younger. Most of us have been involved in planning and executing the fest for the entire twenty years, and over the last few years, it has become increasingly difficult to host and present the festival to our standards.

Other factors that came into play include the rising expenses of all elements of producing the festival and the continuing challenge of attracting and retaining the volunteers needed to execute the festival.

Rest assured, this IS NOT the end of the Marquette Area Blues Society. We are merely shifting our focus and direction as we continue to follow our mission statement of promoting and preserving the uniquely American art form called the blues here in the U.P.

Our plan includes hosting a blues music concert series with touring national blues artists and local blues performers quarterly at different venues around the central U.P.  We will also continue and work to expand our Bluesday Tuesday event series at the Peter White Public Library in Marquette and grow our educational outreach programs. 
   

We are truly grateful for the experiences we’ve had, the music we’ve heard, and most of all, for the wonderful people we’ve met along the 20 years of the Marquette Area Blues Fest. From musicians to blues lovers to volunteers and sponsors, many of you have become our lifelong friends!!  We appreciate all the support we’ve gotten over the years, and hope you will continue to support us as we move into this exciting new chapter in the MABS story. 

Stay tuned for much more great blues music in the U.P.!!