Buddy Guy Will Headline First Blues On The Fox Fest In Two Years

AURORA, IL — For a weekend in June, downtown Aurora will once again be filled with the riffs and sounds of blues music. Blues on the Fox River Festival will make its grand return after a two-year COVID-19 hiatus, and legendary singer and guitarist Buddy Guy is headlining.

The 24th-annual festival will take place at Thomas J. Weisner RiverEdge Park June 17-18, and a slew of stars are slated to perform. Shemekia Copeland will kick off the festival Friday night, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd will follow the act with a headlining performance.

On Saturday, Billy Branch, Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers, and Melody Angel will pave "the way for a full day of food, fun and fantastic live blues music." Guy's set will start at 9 p.m. Sunday, giving fest-goers the chance to see "one of the absolute titans of blues" perform.

To coincide with Blues on the Fox this summer, the city will be hosting a Party on the Promenade event at Wilder Park, located on the west side of the Fox River, June 18. The event will serve as a grand opening for the park's promenade.

"We can only do this because Aurora has realized its dream of having a beautiful new, $3 million pedestrian bridge spanning the Fox River, linking RiverEdge Park on the east to Wilder Park on the west," Aurora Mayor Richard C. Irvin said in a statement. "By bringing more food, fun and live music to Wilder Park on June 18, Promenade on the Park will make Saturday’s Blues on the Fox feel like it’s almost twice the size and twice the fun."

The free event, which will include more food, fun and music in addition to the festival, will take place from noon to 7 p.m. Food trucks — serving cuisine from barbecue and pizza to burgers and brats — will line Wilder Park's promenade, and live music will play between sets across the river at RiverEdge Park.

"Aurora’s Blues on the Fox weekend is about to get much bigger, boasting a whole new vibe with the addition of Saturday’s all-ages Party on the Promenade, happening simultaneously on both sides of the Fox River," Irvin said.

Blues on the Fox tickets are sold as general admission, and prices will vary per day. Through May 31, Friday tickets will cost $15, and Saturday will cost $25. Prices will increase by $10 per day starting June 1 and on-site. Tickets can be purchased online, by calling 630-896-6666, or by visiting RiverEdge's satellite box office at Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Boulevard.