Portland’s Waterfront Blues Festival started in 1987 as the Rose City Blues Festival, a charity event in support of the homeless, with performances by greats like John Lee Hooker, Curtis Salgado, Norman Sylvester Blues Band and Lloyd Jones Struggle. Today, Blues Fest raises millions of dollars & delivers thousands of Lbs. of food to the Oregon Food Bank.

Parade, Fireworks & Dancing

A New Orleans-style parade kicks off the fest, with 100+ bands on 4 stages over 4 days, banging out jams to a sea of fans. Past performers include Gregg Allman, Galactic, Los Lonely Boys, Boz Scaggs, John Hiatt and the Steve Miller Band. On the 4^th of July, dazzling fireworks explode amidst shows, games & prizes below. The Dance Kids booth offers swing, jazz & hip-hop training to kids, but there are also dance classes for grownups, as well as guitar & harmonica lessons for everyone; plus a 5K/10K run-walk marathon through Waterfront Park.

Blues Cruise & After-Hours

Riverside stages aren’t the only place for shows. Blues Cruises offer intimate performances with no-host hors d’oeuvres buffets & full bars while floating fans up & down the river every afternoon. At night, adult only (21+) cruises sail from 10pm - 1am. The Marriott Hotel ballroom joins blues fest for After-Hours concerts with shows by headliners like The Paladins, jamming it up with roots-rockabilly, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy belting out revival-swing beats.

Waterfront Blues Fest is a four-day jazzy-roots-blues party with a conscience!