blues fest

the 25th annual chicago blues fest kicks off today & over the weekend about 800,000 middle-aged people will fight it out down in grant park for a nice spot in the shade...but if you can handle the crowds, the heat rain, & the $7 beers, blues fest really is one of the best events the city puts on every summer; admission is free, you pretty much know every act is going to be great, & you get the opportunity to see some truly legendary musicians...a few notable artists performing this year include pinetop perkins, james cotton, johnny winter, eddy clearwater, koko taylor, john hammond, buckwheat zydeco, tony joe white, & b.b. king...if you plan on heading down, make sure to check out the reader's festival guide for tips on a few of the lessor known performers beforehand...in the mean time, here are a couple tracks from koko taylor's essential 1969 chess records debut to put you in the mood.

download: koko taylor - love you like a woman
download: koko taylor - i don't care who knows
download: koko taylor - wang dang doodle