Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival

lil ed, david grisman, cornmeal, and the avett brothers! looks like a super good time!

this happened in november !?!

that was so last year.

wheres that 5 night bisco review at !?!!?

haha that pic of wavy dave is killin' me... cornmeal owns.

^^^thats what im saying! thats a killer pic of dave!

Thanks for reading the review and looking at my photos!

Grisman is the shit and someone should tell him to play the fests everywhere

This festival WAS a "super good time". I drove up from Arkansas for this due entirely to the fact that The Avetts were there, and David Grisman Quintet was a great bonus. Those two were the best shows of the whole day (I was there for over 7hours), with an honorable mention for Ha Ha Tonka. There are two phrases in this reveiw that jumped out at me that I felt the desire to comment on.

#1: To reflect this change in the building's use, all of the ground-level seats were removed several years ago, increasing the theater's capacity from 2,700 to 4,000.

I'm sure this was a great move for those 3-4 hour shows that I've noticed play at the Congress througout the year, but for a festival, it was a little disappointing. The place had NO chairs at all, and if you're there for a full day, standing becomes quite laborious.

#2: "I'm madly in love with everyone that came, everyone that played, everyone that drank a beer or smoked a joint, everyone that danced, and everyone that sang."

The love is reciprocal, but it's the "smoked a joint" part that got my attention. The undercovers that were swarming around inside this place would virtually tackle you if you weren't super-sly about your usage. That proved to be quite a challenge.

Overall I had a great time. It was my first time to Chicago and I'm glad I made it. Loved the indoor smoking area at the show(not mentioned), and the fact that the music never stopped. I also enjoyed the GREAT BEER. 312 on draft!? what a great idea. I'd never had it before and ended up buying a case to bring home : )

The Giving Tree Band is the best string band you have never heard of. Those dudes are super conscious and really bring it.

did i seriously get negative thumbs down three times for mentioning bisco????

super weak !

this does look like a pretty cool festival but it happened nearly two months ago !!!

I support your disco biscuits comment... I"m a big fan and our next project (the few of us that put on the festival) is a Bisco show here in Chicago with RJD2 and Prefuse 73. And yes, the security got too harsh and we'll be working with a different (more understanding) security team. However, there were only about 7-9 of them working that day, and those of us they weren't on to had a nice bit of freedom

MadonMDR - That's good to hear. It's also nice to know that the voices of the little people can be heard by the festival purveyors on this fine site. a big thank you to you and to Jambase.

312. A 6 piece marching band playing during the sets. A Blues Legend. A Bluegrass Legend. Great local and up and coming acts. Chicago.What else more could you want? Oh, how about free tickets (which is what I got)!

what is chicago bluegrass festival without COrnmeal? weak. This "festival" was a good time, could have been better tho 7 out of 10

I apologize if this sounds annoyed, but we've responded to the cornmeal situation numerous times. WHen I originally planned the show, it wasn't even a festival, but a Grisman, Cornmeal, and Majors Junction show. But Cornmeal regrettably had the Vic show already in the books and this was a conflict (only a week apart). WE are continuing to actively find a way to get them involved this year, somehow some way despite the same date conflict. Ask them yourselves. I agree, they are a must for this show.