Summertime Blues in Syracuse
A Chat with Blues Bossman, Eric McElveen
The New York State Blues Fest grows each and every year – for quite some time, now. And by now, it has grown to be the 3rd largest free blues festival in the country. It is a testament to Syracuse and Central New York’s deep resonance with – and love for – the blues. The blues is more than being about the “Good and the bad times,” as Buddy Guy states in a documentary with Keith Richards. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not arguing with the master. He’s right. But I think the blues also documents history from a very human place. The human condition itself. It’s a place where the intrinsic pain felt in the blues comes from the politic. It’s not about the politic suffering the human condition, so much.
And in this way it records history from a point of compassion. This leads me to the importance of teaching blues history and why it’s not just an essential American artform. It is an important factor in American culture.
I offer my own personal standing ovation for the New York State Blues Fest for the educational programs it offers to our local youth. These are programs that encourage kids to embrace the music, the history and the joy of playing the blues. The programs offer scholarships and a variety of opportunities for learning and success.
Today, we are with Eric McElveen who is the Executive Director, to talk about the New York State Blues Fest in 2026.
Chuck Schiele: Hello Eric. Thank you for taking time to chat with us at Sounds of Syracuse. You certainly are enjoying some great momentum with the success of the NY State Blues Fest. Congratulations with all your hard work and devotion to the endeavor. It’s looking like a knockout show, again this year. Please, tell us about some of the major players that we can see performing this year at NYS Bluesfest?
Eric McElveen: Thank you, Chuck. It’s been a very worthwhile endeavor.
We are super excited to have Gary Clark Jr. headline this year’s festival. He is an artist who was at a dream level for us a decade ago, and now here we are! His depth of artistry is really something to be recognized and celebrated. While being a fully contemporary musician, he always draws on his obvious understanding and inspiration from blues roots. In addition, we think a lot of people are going to be pleasantly surprised to see Eddie 9V and Grace Bowers make their first appearances at the fest. Our Thursday line-up of Tommy Castro, Rick Estrin, and JW-Jones is going to be really fantastic as well, especially looking for those classic sounds.
CS: You have the distinction of being the third largest free blues festival in the nation. That’s quite a growth. To what do you attribute this success?
EM: The first thing I always say about the NYSBF is that it happened organically. It grew out of a scene of musicians and fans (1992), so the base of it developed naturally and has always had strong local support. When I started as festival director in August of 2014, I was happy to team up with an incredible board of directors and volunteers, eager to develop long-term growth strategies, shine a light on what an incredible thing we have going on, and bring it more attention at a national level. We have stuck to it, and the word has spread throughout the blues community, dramatically increasing the number of long-distance travelers to the event. I also cannot overstate how grateful we are to be in a county and state that understands the value of arts and tourism. We would absolutely not be able to do what we do at this level without that funding and investment.
CS: The New York State Blues Fest facilitates, and encourages used development through music through programs such as Blues Ignition program. Please tell us a little bit about what we can expect to see this year from these programs.
EM: With the mission of our organization being “to preserve and promote blues music and culture,” it has been clear to us that creating and nurturing a series of youth initiatives was an integral part of passing on this great artistic tradition.
Currently, we have three programs, all of which are being supported by the generosity of our incredible sponsorship partners. The JJ Lane Construction Blues In The Schools program goes into area classrooms (starting with fourth graders), bringing in local blues master Colin Aberdeen to introduce basic rhythms, history, songwriting, and more. In addition, we are bringing international touring artist Vanessa Collier and her band (who play the fest on Saturday, June 13) to the Syracuse City STEAM school for a day of workshops and a performance during this year’s festival.
For active musicians, we have a student band, Blues Ignition, open to area 12- to 19-year-olds. Gibson Gives (a charitable foundation established by Gibson Guitars) has, for the second year in a row, donated an incredible guitar that we will raffle off at the festival, with proceeds supporting this great program. Be sure to catch them on the main stage at this year’s event on Saturday, June 13, at 12pm.
Our final youth outreach is the Beginnings Credit Union KJ James Memorial Scholarship. This incredible opportunity for young musicians looking to further develop their careers and education offers $6,000 in cash awards to the top three applicants. The presentation will be at 4:30pm on Saturday, June 13, at the festival.
CS: Please share with us a little bit about the path of Blues Ignition from its inception until now. What are some of the highlights along the way?
EM: When I started with the festival, the tradition of having some students play to kick off the Saturday line-up was already in place and was always great, but what I noticed right away was that they were mostly playing what I would call bluesy jazz standards that are part of the regular NYS public school curriculum. Since 2018, with coaching and mentorship from some of CNY’s top players, the emphasis has been on learning how to play in a live combo, where feel, accompaniment, and improvisation take precedence over notes on a page. Many of the students have been participating for several years, and it is really incredible to see their progression as they mature and gain confidence. Of course, it is always thrilling to see these youngsters progressing and rising to meet new challenges, but an additional highlight seems to be that their peers are coming out to support them and, in turn, are getting turned on to the awesome power of raw live blues music.
CS: What do you see in the future vision for these programs?
EM: I definitely see a lot of growth in the future for our youth programs. Arts and culture are a necessity for both individual and community health, in my opinion, and thankfully, many others agree and are willing to lend their support. We are currently developing an individual mentorship program with subsidized lessons for those in financial need and expanding Blues Ignition to include a junior band for those just starting out. Stay tuned!
CS: Thank you, Eric! It’s been a pleasure chatting with you. Congratulations to you and your team. We’re all looking forward to Blues Fest!
EM: Thank you, Chuck! We’ll see you at Blues Fest.
Visit the website to learn more: https://www.nysbluesfest.com/
