Tinner Hill Blues Festival Offers Music, Interactive Fun

FALLS CHURCH, VA—Get ready for a weekend of music and fun as the Tinner Hill Blues Festival returns to Falls Church Friday, June 8 through Sunday, June 10.

Boasting the title of the only three-day blues festival in Northern Virginia, the event draws participation from library, restaurants, bars and parks all over town. The main event is a day-long concert in Cherry Hill Park (312 Park Ave). Rain or shine, it’s a weekend full of blues, brews and barbecue.

Here's a lineup of events:

Saturday, June 8

5 p.m.-10 p.m. - Blues Block Party at Mad Fox Brewing Co. (444 W. Broad St.): Join Mad Fox to kick off the festival with live Blues music from Bobby Thompson & Friends, BBQ, games and of course beer. The festival opens at 5 p.m. with live music from 5:30-9 p.m. The outdoor block party ends at 10 p.m. - but the restaurant will still be open for even more fun and beer. This event is sponsored by the Tinner Hill Blues Festival, Rock Star Realty and Mad Fox. Get tickets here.

Saturday, June 9

8 a.m.-noon - Music at the Falls Church Farmers Market

1 p.m.-8:30 p.m. - Blues concert at Cherry Hill Park. The lineup includes renowned musicians Kenny Neal, Albert Castiglia, Vanessa Collier and Jarekus Singleton and local favorites like Bushmaster Blues featuring Gary Brown and DC Mudd. Other activities include blues-related games and readings, mini guitar lessons and an instrument petting zoo for kids of all ages.

Sunday, June 10

1 p.m.-5:30 p.m. - The Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation, in collaboration with the Social Justice Committee of Falls Church & Vicinity, presents A Message in the Music at Cherry Hill Park. The day-long concert, conversation and interactive family activities will focus on the past, present, and future of music with a message, its role and influence in social justice movements around the globe.

Dr. Dwan Reece, curator of music & performing arts at the National Museum of African American History & Culture, will moderate the event. Participants are: Daryl Davis, musician, author & KKK lecturer; Michael O’Brien, author “We Shall Not Be Moved: The Jackson Woolworth’s Sit-In and the Movement It Inspired;” Rabbi Jeffrey Saxe, soloist, Temple Rodef Shalom; Columbia Baptist Church Orchestra and Gospel Choir; Sudden M PAC (R&B band); Common Ground Jazz Band; Edwin B. Henderson, II, Dr. E. B. Henderson Dear Editor writing contest awards and Fizza Fatima, poet and Conrado Castro, LatinX pop artist.

Other activities include a RagBabyExchange workshop to create and exchange intercultural dolls; Social Justice Showcase; Story-Walk; book fair by Bookworm Central with award winning authors, books for children and parents and book signings; vendors and food trucks. Admission is $1 or free with Saturday's festival wristband.

Many restaurants and bars in the city will have live music Friday and Saturday. Catch Jamell Richardson, The Gulf Coast Blues Boy, at the festival After Party, JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd.). Get a discount on admission with festival wristband.

The event is held by the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation and City of Falls Church. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the gate, or $35 for VIP and $40 at the gate. Children 12 and under are free with paid adult. Leashed, well-trained dogs are welcome. Buy your tickets here.

Main images by Bill Jonscher, courtesy Tinner Hill Blues Festival