List of Canadian Blues festivals and venues

Canadian blues festivals and venues range from small, community-based festivals that feature mostly local performers to major corporate-sponsored festivals that draw nationally- and internationally-prominent blues bands and huge crowds. Some of the large festivals include the Ottawa Bluesfest

Ottawa Bluesfest

The Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest is an annual outdoor music festival that takes place each July in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. While ostensibly focused on blues, the festival has increasingly showcased mainstream pop and rock acts in recent years...

, the /Fredericton Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival in New Brunswick and the Edmonton's Labatt Blues Festival

Edmonton's Labatt Blues Festival

The Edmonton's Labatt Blues Festival is an annual blues music festival in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada first held in 1999...

. These festivals, which are usually organized by volunteer-based blues societies, are an important part of the Canadian blues

Canadian blues

Canadian blues refers to the blues and blues-related music performed by blues bands and performers in Canada. In Canada, there are hundreds of local and regionally-based Canadian blues bands and performers. As well, there is a smaller number of bands or performers that have achieved national or...

scene. Windsor/London Blues Festival International produces two shows on the third weekend of July in both Windsor and London Ontario. The premiere event was in downtown Windsor in 1995 and the London festival was added 6 years later. This years festival saw record attendance in both venues.

In addition to blues festivals, Canadian blues bands also appear at a range of other venues, including bars, taverns, lounges, and community centre concert series'. Only a small number of these venues specialize in blues music; in most cases, venues will have a "blues night" or an occasional blues series. Some of the best-known blues venues in Toronto are Healey's (named for former owner, the late Jeff Healey

Jeff Healey

Norman Jeffrey "Jeff" Healey was a blind Canadian jazz and blues-rock vocalist and guitarist who attained musical and personal popularity, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...

) and The Silver Dollar Room. Other well-known Canadian blues venues include Café Campus in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Blues at the Bow Live in Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Blues On Whyte in Edmonton, The Shamrock Hotel in Calgary, and The Yale in Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

Ontario

Atomic Blues Fest - Lindsay
Lindsay, Ontario
Lindsay is a community of 19,361 people on the Scugog River in the Kawartha Lakes region of south-eastern Ontario, Canada. It is approximately west of Peterborough...

, Ontario
Barrie Jazz and Blues Festival - Second weekend in June in Barrie
Barrie, Ontario
Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, located on the western shore of Lake Simcoe, approximately 90 km north of Toronto. Although located in Simcoe County, the city is politically independent...

, Ontario
Kitchener Blues Festival - Kitchener
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...

, Ontario
Burlington Jazz & Blues Festival - July in Burlington
Burlington, Ontario
Burlington , is a city located in Halton Region at the western end of Lake Ontario. Burlington is part of the Greater Toronto Area, and is also included in the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area. Physically, Burlington lies between the north shore of Lake Ontario and the Niagara Escarpment...

, Ontario
Canal Bank Shuffle - October, Thorold
Thorold, Ontario
Thorold is a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. It is also the seat of the Regional Municipality of Niagara....

, Ontario
Coal Flats Blues Festival - September in Port Burwell
Port Burwell, Ontario
Port Burwell is a community on the north shore of Lake Erie, in the municipality of Bayham in Elgin County, Ontario, Canada.It is situated at the mouth of Big Otter Creek.-History:...

, Ontario
Escarpment Blues Festival - Mid July in Milton, Ontario
Milton, Ontario
Milton is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Milton received a tremendous amount of awareness following the release of the results of the 2006 Census, which indicated that Milton is the fastest growing municipality in the Greater Golden...
House Full Of Blues Festival - North Bay, Ontario
Limestone City Blues Festival - late August in Kingston, Ontario
Mudcat Blues Fest - August, Dunnville, Ontario
Orangeville Blues and Jazz Festival - 1st weekend of June in Orangeville
Orangeville, Ontario
Orangeville is a town in south-central Ontario, Canada, and the seat of Dufferin County.-History:Before European settlers, Orangeville was thought to be a native hunting ground...

, Ontario
Orillia Spring Blues Festival
Georgetown - Festival on Main - Father's Day Weekend third weekend in June
Ottawa Bluesfest
Ottawa Bluesfest
The Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest is an annual outdoor music festival that takes place each July in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. While ostensibly focused on blues, the festival has increasingly showcased mainstream pop and rock acts in recent years...

- held every July in Ottawa, Ontario
Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival - August in Oshawa, Ontario
Porquis Blues Festival - Porquis, Ontario
Port Credit Blues and Jazz Festival (also called the "Southside Shuffle"), Port Credit, Ontario
Stratford Blues and Ribfest - June - Stratford, Ontario
Thunder Bay Blues Festival - July in Thunder Bay
Twisted Pines Blues Festival - May in the Midland/Penetanguishene area
Windsor/London Blues Festival International - July in Windsor and London
Women in the Wilds Blues Festival - September in Atikokan Northwestern Ontario
Boon's House Blues & Roots Festival - July - Hamilton, ON

British Columbia

Hornby Island Blues Workshop - May in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
Summertime Blues Festival - August in Nanaimo
Nanaimo, British Columbia
Nanaimo is a city on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It has been dubbed the "Bathtub Racing Capital of the World" and "Harbour City". Nanaimo is also sometimes referred to as the "Hub City" because of its central location on Vancouver Island and due to the layout of the downtown...
Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival - August in British Columbia's interior
Pender Harbour Blues Festival
Burnaby Blues + Roots Festival

East Coast

Fredericton Harvest Jazz and Blues, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

.
BMO Nesbitt Burns Saint John Jazz and Blues Festival, New Brunswick.
Dutch Mason Blues Festival, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

.

Alberta

Edmonton's Labatt Blues Festival
Edmonton's Labatt Blues Festival
The Edmonton's Labatt Blues Festival is an annual blues music festival in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada first held in 1999...

- August in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

, Alberta
Calgary International Blues Festival - each August
Calgary Midwinter Bluesfest - each February
Beaumont Blues Festival - Labour Day Long weekend

Other Regions

FestiBlues International du Montreal
International Blues Festival of Tremblant - July in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
Great Woods Music Festival - August in Beausejour
Beausejour, Manitoba
Beausejour is a town of 2,772 inhabitants in the Canadian province of Manitoba located in the Rural Municipality of Brokenhead. It is located 46 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg just west of the Canadian Shield and Whiteshell Provincial Park...

, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

Other Blues Venues

In addition to blues festivals, Canadian blues bands also appear at a range of other venues, including bars, taverns, lounges, and community centre concert series'. Only a small number of these venues specialize in blues music; in most cases, venues will have a "blues night" or an occasional blues series.

Eastern Canada

Bearly's - Halifax, Nova Scotia;
Fat Tuesday’s Pub - Moncton, NB;
Your Father’s Mustache - Halifax, NS;
The Tantramarsh Blues Society (www.mta.ca/tbs) presents blues at George's Roadhouse in Sackville, New Brunswick.

Ontario

Readers Cafe - Dunnville

Dunnville, Ontario

Dunnville is an unincorporated community of 6,000 people located near the mouth of the Grand River in Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada, near the historic Talbot Trail...

;
The Musicians' Ball (held in January)- Hamilton

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

;
Live at City Hall - Stratford

Stratford, Ontario

Stratford is a city on the Avon River in Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada with a population of 32,000.When the area was first settled by Europeans in 1832, the townsite and the river were named after Stratford-upon-Avon, England. It is the seat of Perth County. Stratford was...

;
Healey's - (Jeff Healey's club) in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

;
The Silver Dollar Room - Toronto's blues club;
Whistler's - Toronto club offering live blues on Tuesdays;
Lil' House of Blues - Whitby

Whitby, Ontario

Whitby is a town in Durham Region. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region...

;
The Rainbow Bistro - Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

;
Tango Coffee Bistro - Stratford;
Tulky's Sports Bar and Grill - St. Catharines

St. Catharines, Ontario

St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in Ontario, Canada, with 97.11 square kilometres of land...

/Welland

Welland, Ontario

Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada.The city has been traditionally known as the place where rails and water meet, referring to the railways from Buffalo to Toronto and Southwestern Ontario, and the waterways of Welland Canal and Welland River,...

;
Tucson's - Ottawa;
Harwood Blues Cafe - Ajax

Ajax, Ontario

Ajax is a town in the Durham Region in the Greater Toronto Area.The town is named for the HMS Ajax a Royal Navy cruiser that served in World War II. Ajax is a part of the Greater Toronto Area and the...

;
Fitzy's Crab Shack - Barrie

Barrie, Ontario

Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, located on the western shore of Lake Simcoe, approximately 90 km north of Toronto. Although located in Simcoe County, the city is politically independent...

;
Blues on the East Side, Cambridge

Cambridge, Ontario

Cambridge is a city located in Southern Ontario at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is an amalgamation of the City of Galt, the towns of Preston and Hespeler, and the hamlet of Blair.Galt covers the largest portion of...

;
Boomers 96, Hamilton;
Peter's Place - Innisfil

Innisfil, Ontario

Innisfil is a town in Ontario, Canada, located on the western shore of Lake Simcoe in Simcoe County, immediately south of Barrie and 80 kilometres north of Toronto...

;
Brandee’s Restaurant, Kingston

Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...

;
Bourbon St. Lounge, Kitchener

Kitchener, Ontario

The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...

;
100 Georges, North Bay

North Bay, Ontario

North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing.-History:...

;
Attic Lounge, Oshawa

Oshawa, Ontario

Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...

;
The Dukes Hotel - Port Colborne

Port Colborne, Ontario

Port Colborne is a city on Lake Erie, at the southern end of the Welland Canal, in the Niagara Region of southern Ontario, Canada...

;
Harp (The)- Port Credit

Port Credit, Ontario

Port Credit is found at the mouth of the Credit River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, within the southcentral area of the city of Mississauga...

;
Capitol Theatre, Port Hope

Port Hope, Ontario

Port Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, about east of Toronto and about west of Kingston. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County...

;
Alleycatz, Toronto;
Appleby's, Toronto;
Big Daddy’s, Toronto;
Blues on Bellair, Toronto;
Cadillac Lounge, Toronto;
C'est What - Toronto;
Chicago’s (contact is Mark Stafford) Toronto;
Horseshoe Tavern - Toronto;
Happy Hog Roadhouse - Tottenham

Tottenham, Ontario

Tottenham is a community in the town of New Tecumseth, in south-central Ontario, Canada. It takes its name from its first postmaster, Alexander Totten. The Tottenham Conservation Area is a recreational facility in the village, which is also famous for its Bluegrass Festival...

;
Aardvark Blues Cafe, Windsor

Windsor, Ontario

Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...

;
Boon's House Rockin' Blues Lounge - Hamilton

Hamilton, Ontario

;

Quebec

http://www.lachuteenblues.com
Church Street Cafe, Cookshire

Cookshire-Eaton, Quebec

Cookshire-Eaton is a ville in the Estrie region in Quebec. It was formed in 2002 by the amalgamation of the villages of Cookshire and Sawyerville, and the township of Eaton. It is the seat of Le Haut-Saint-François Regional County Municipality....

;
Cafe Campus, Montreal;
Yellow Door, Montreal;
Bistro À JoJo, Montreal;
Club d’Autiel, Quebec City

Quebec City

Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...

Western and Northern Canada

Blues at the Bow Live - Alberta;
Blues On Whyte, Edmonton, AB;
The Yardbird Suite, Edmonton, AB;
The Shamrock Hotel, Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

, AB;
The Red Onion, Calgary, AB;
The Drake Hotel, Canmore

Canmore, Alberta

Canmore is a town in Alberta, Canada, located approximately west of the City of Calgary near the southeast boundary of Banff National Park. It is located in the Bow Valley within Alberta's Rockies. The town shares a border with Kananaskis Country to the west and south and the Municipal District of...

, AB;
Blue Grotto, Kamloops, BC;
Buds On Broadway, Saskatoon

Saskatoon

Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....

, SK;
Sasktel Saskatchewan Jazz Fest

Sasktel Saskatchewan Jazz Fest

SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival is an annual outdoor music, food and fun event in the province of Saskatchewan hosted by Saskatchewan Jazz Festival, Inc. . Normally staged during June, it is host to a range of Canadian and International jazz musicians who travel from across the world to take part...

, SK

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

;
The Yale - Vancouver, BC;
The Fairview - Blues On Broadway - Vancouver, BC;
Northern Arts and Cultural Centre - Yellowknife, NT;
Greatwoods Music Festival, Beausejour

Beausejour, Manitoba

Beausejour is a town of 2,772 inhabitants in the Canadian province of Manitoba located in the Rural Municipality of Brokenhead. It is located 46 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg just west of the Canadian Shield and Whiteshell Provincial Park...

, MB;
The Shamrock Hotel, Calgary, AB
The DReam Cafe Penticton, BC
Calgary Midwinter Bluesfest, AB;
Calgary International Blues Festival, AB;

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