Achi news desk-
The Kitchener Blues Festival has revealed this year’s lineup, and as in other years, some people are upset that it’s not purely blues music.
Claude Cloutier is the artistic director of the largest free blues festival in the province and is responsible for booking the bands.
“This year we have Pursuit of Happiness, The Box, The Cooper Brothers, The Kings, Hibernation,” Cloutier said.
But he has noticed people voicing their concerns about his orders.
“I always called them the blues police. But these are the people who really care about the blues and want to see it pure at the festival,” he said.
Cloutier says 70% of the line-up is still blues, but adds that the mix of genres is needed to attract more people and keep the festival going.
“Well, it’s a challenging year for us because our costs have gone up 25-30 percent in everything. And our American funds are limited and it’s costing us a lot of money,” he said.
The festival is volunteer-run and free except for the fundraising concert on August 8. Considering it costs them a million dollars over four days to put it on, Cloutier reminds people how quickly an event like this can disappear.
“The Limestone Blues Festival in Kingston has been going for 26 years and they folded their tent last fall. A lot of other festivals are feeling the pressure, and I see others disappearing soon,” Cloutier said.
Virgin Radio KW announcer Ray Kelly says she doesn’t get many requests for blues music because it’s more niche.
“But let’s face it, if you want a blues festival in KW, you’re going to have to expand it. You want to introduce blues to other people by getting an artist they might enjoy and hey, they show up early for something and they stay late for something else,” Kelly said.
Cloutier has focused on fine-tuning the event to appease a variety of tastes for many years.
“We’re going to celebrate our 25th anniversary in 2025,” he said. “We want to be able to do that.”
