Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival

Early festivals (before 1974) were held on the "Fuller Flats" an open area on the north side of Fuller Road and just west of Huron High School. (It had been a medical waste dump site before the school was built) In 1972 the area became the Otis Spann Memorial Field when Muddy Waters presented a plaque to Spann's widow that read "The people of Ann Arbor Michigan in recognition of the talent, the genius of the late Otis Spann, sweet giant of the Blues, formally dedicate the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival, 1972 in the grounds upon which it stands to the memory of this great artist." Although the outdoor festival was central, the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival became a daytime event. Outdoor evening shows were moved inside to venues such as the Michigan Theater and the club Bird of Paradise. In 2017, the festival returned to its roots as an outdoor event. Saturday and Sunday outdoor concerts took place in Gallup Park, a park straddling the Huron River in northeast Ann Arbor. The site can accommodate over 10,000 attendees and includes a main stage, a tent to shelter attendees, sponsor booths, a kid's tent, food and vendor booths, arts booths, the Meet the Artist tent, and a backstage hospitality area reserved for artists, sponsors, and their guests. The largest evening concert took place in the restored Michigan Theater. Headline jazz and blues artists appeared. The Bird of Paradise Jazz Club, run by jazz musicians in Ann Arbor, attracted jazz aficionados to two Friday night and two Saturday night concerts. The Bird of Paradise closed in 2004. Honoring its origin as an outdoor festival, the Ann Arbor Blues Festival 2017 was on a grassy field at Washtenaw Farm Council Fairgrounds, a few miles to the southwest of the 1969 festival. ==History==

The first North American blues festival, where blues was the main attraction, particularly modern electric blues, was the Ann Arbor Blues Festival in 1969. Musicians at the festival included Clifton Chenier, Son House, J. B. Hutto, B.B. King, Freddie King, Magic Sam, Sam Lay, Jimmy "Fast Fingers" Dawkins, Otis Rush, Charlie Musselwhite, Roosevelt Sykes, Muddy Waters, T-Bone Walker, Big Mama Thornton, Junior Wells, and Howlin' Wolf. An album containing various musicians performances at that Festival was released in 2019. It debuted at number 10 in the Billboard Blues Albums Chart in the week of August 17, 2019. The Ann Arbor Blues Festival was created and organized by a group of University of Michigan students led by Cary Gordon, a native of suburban Detroit, and John Fishel, who grew up in Cleveland and had transferred to Michigan from Tulane University. The festival was sponsored first by the university with help later from the Canterbury House, an Episcopal group which owned a folk club in Ann Arbor. Music from this performance was issued in 1995 by Schoolkids Records with two songs by Jenkins. Two tracks by One String Sam, who also performed at the festival, were released in 1998. 1974 In 1974, the festival promoters were denied permission to hold the event in Ann Arbor, so the 1974 festival was held at the campus of St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Preparations included carpools for taking fans from Michigan to Canada. But the FBI and other law enforcement officials prevented fans from crossing the border. They prevented John Sinclair, co-producer of the festival, from entering Canada. No reasons were given at the border for turning back cars. Cars were searched. Any drugs that were found were detained and their occupants arrested. At the gates in Windsor anyone found smoking marijuana or carrying it was arrested and taken to jail. The festival lost over $100,000. 1990s–2007 For several years the festival was inactive. Andrews approached city officials about reinstating the festival. He was sent to the Parks Department, where he was turned down. Andrews was helped by Lee Berry, a music promoter in Ann Arbor who bypassed the parks commission and addressed the city council. After eighty meetings, the council voted unanimously to restart the festival. Changes in 1992 included the introduction of venues in addition to all-day and all-night outdoor concerts. Outdoor night concerts were replaced by indoor events, including sit-down concerts at the Michigan Theater and night shows at the Bird of Paradise. The Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival was again under the direction of Andrews and scheduled to begin as a free festival in the fall of 2007. The festival and the city tried to collaborate to continue the event. But the festival was not held in 2007. 2017–19, since 2021 Following its hiatus of over a decade, the Ann Arbor Blues Festival was held on August 19, 2017. Encouraged by local blues performer Chris Canas, Ann Arbor resident and founder of the Ann Arbor Blues Society, James Partridge promoted and managed the event. The single-day festival was at the Washtenaw Farm Council Fairgrounds (). Performers included Blair Miller, Tino G's Dumpster Machine, Alabama Slim, Hank Mowery & the Hawktones (featuring guitarist Kate Moss), the Norman Jackson Band, the Chris Canas Band, Eliza Neals and the Narcotics (featuring Billy Davis), the Nick Moss Band, and Benny Turner & Real Blues. Although Melvyn "Deacon" Jones and Brandon "Taz" Niederaurer were scheduled to be Benny Turner's guests, circumstances prevented either from appearing. Deacon Jones died on July 6, 2017, and Niederaurer's travel arrangements were foiled due to inclement weather. Nick Moss replaced Niederaurer on guitar at the festival. The 2017 Ann Arbor Blues Festival was dedicated to Deacon Jones. The 2019 Ann Arbor 50th Anniversary celebration was on August 16–18 performers include: The Allman Betts Band, Bernard Allison, Thornetta Davis, Alex Johnson, Benny Turner, John Primer, Mindi Abair and the Bone Shakers, Lindsay Beaver, The Sam Lay Band, Eliza Neals and the Narcotics, Kara Grainger, Doug Deming & the Jewel Tones, Laith al-Saadi, Danielle Nicole, Vanessa Collier, Harper & Midwest Kind and Altered Five Blues Band. Another hiatus came in 2020 before it resumed in 2021. Discography Various performances have been released as records and CDs over the years. These include: • Magic Sam, Magic Sam Live (Delmark, 1969 [1981]) • Ann Arbor Blues Festival 1969: Vols 1&2, Third Man Records, Americana Music Productions, Inc. 2019. This release was chosen as a 'Favorite Blues Album' by AllMusic. • Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival 1972: Recorded live at Otis Spann Memorial Field, Atlantic Recording Corporation SD 2-502, 1973 • Art Ensemble of Chicago, Bap-Tizum, Atlantic Records, September 9, 1972, 1973 • Sun Ra, Sun Ra & His Intergalactic Arkestra, Sun Ra, Sun Ra & His Intergalactic Arkestra: at the Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival In Exile 1974: It is Forbidden, Alive Total Energy Records, 2001 • Miles Davis, Complete Ann Arbor 1972, Mega Disc Legendary Collection, 2011 ==See also==