Hartford caught a good case of the Blues at the 24th Annual Black-Eyed & Bluesfest

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) – Guitars were gently weeping across Bushnell Park Saturday afternoon during the 24th Annual Black-Eyed & Bluesfest.

The festival kicked off Friday night with performances from Italian Bluesman Roberto Morbiolli and Boston based crooner Toni Lynn Washington. Musicians from Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island are also scheduled to play throughout the weekend including Bruce Katz, The Knickerbocker All-Stars, XY Eli, and BlueDevil Bluez.

The festival was created by James Verano from the restaurant Black-Eyed Sally’s. It has been able to continue in Hartford for the last quarter-century thanks to a partnership with the Connecticut Blues Society and sponsorship from the Greater Hartford Arts Council.

“The Blues is the history of almost all American music. This is our roots. If we want to keep it going, we’ve got to get the youth more involved and it’s festivals like these that get everybody out,” said Scott Sebastian, President of The Connecticut Blues Society.

Along with all of the great music, there was ice cream and barbecue available for attendees.

The festival closed out Saturday night with performances from Jeff Pitchell & Texas Flood.

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