These sessions, helmed by drummer Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, bring together some of Chicago’s best next-generation blues musicians for each monthly House band to explore the blues and its many connections to other musical forms.

This season’s three Experimental Blues concerts conclude with Diunna Greenleaf & Marvin Tate. The leader of Blue Mercy, Greenleaf combines intricate patches of jazz, gospel, and heartfelt soul to create a kind of blues that takes one on an emotional roller coaster ride. Hailing from the West Side of Chicago, Tate is a multidisciplinary artist and award-winning educator whose works explore spirituality, culture, race, and class politics through personal narratives and history by weaving storytelling with song, poetry, improvisation, and theater.

These sessions, helmed by drummer Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, bring together some of Chicago’s best next-generation blues musicians for each monthly House band to explore the blues and its many connections to other musical forms.

Our two Mainstage Blues concerts—curated by renowned Chicago Blues harmonicist, vocalist, and bandleader Matthew Skoller—seek to capture the intergenerationality of the Blues, celebrating the luminaries of yesterday while casting a spotlight on the rising leaders of tomorrow.

These sessions, helmed by drummer Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, bring together some of Chicago’s best next-generation blues musicians for each monthly House band to explore the blues and its many connections to other musical forms.

The 2023-24 Logan Center Blues Series includes three exciting themes: Experimental Blues, Second Wednesday Pro/Am Blues Jam, and Mainstage Blues. The Experimental Blues Series pairs artists of juxtaposing styles in intimate concerts to create, highlight, and explore the intersection of Blues with other Black American music and musical genres—such as Negro spirituals, gospel, jazz, R&B, soul, hip hop, and more.

These sessions, helmed by drummer Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, bring together some of Chicago’s best next-generation blues musicians for each monthly House band to explore the blues and its many connections to other musical forms.

An evening of harmonicas, guitars, and time featuring Billy Branch & Sons of Blues with Carlos Johnson, the Stephen Hull Experience with Andrew Alli, and Harrell ‘Young Rell’ Davenport.

These sessions, helmed by drummer Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, bring together some of Chicago’s best next-generation blues musicians for each monthly House band to explore the blues and its many connections to other musical forms.

This season’s three Experimental Blues concerts begin with the pairing of two blues powerhouses: Vienna Caroll and Melody Angel. Together, these celebrated women of the blues will escort audiences through a musical journey of catharsis and revitalization that is sure to soothe your soul and energize your body.