Since upcoming events are being announced, I might as well chime in here and mention this one. The 23rd Chicago Blues Festival will run from June 8th - 11th.
This is a not-to-be-missed event!
I have not seen details yet of who will be playing, but this year's theme will be a commemoration of the centennials of Roosevelt Sykes and Eurreal "Little Brother" Montgomery. I will post any updates as I see them.
Chicago Blues Festival website
This is a world class event that sees people coming from across the globe to attend.
BTW, speaking of the blues, and of blues legends, I got to speak with the legendary David "Honeyboy" Edwards at the Guitar Works in Evanston. He was looking for a hard shell case for a vintage Silvertone guitar that he was playing. He couldn't find a case long enough for this non-standard length guitar, so I recommended that he try to find a G&L case, as they are longer. I was checking out an acoustic bass guitar and actually got to play a few bars with Honeyboy as he went to town on a new Martin D28. What an experience that was! Honeyboy, born in 1915, is one of the last of the original Delta Blues style players, and a contemporary of fellow legends Son House and Robert Johnson. He got his start playing jukes and picnics with Big Joe Williams, and actually played gigs with Robert Johnson, Big Walter Horton, and Yank Rachel. Honeyboy was one of the headliners of the 2004 Chicago Blues Festival.
You never know who you are going to meet in a guitar store!