Culture
32nd River City Blues Festival brought large audience for every night of annual fundraiser for the Mid-Ohio Valley Blues, Jazz, and Folk Music Society
By: Emily Votaw
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MARIETTA, Ohio (WOUB) – The Mid-Ohio Valley Blues, Jazz, and Folk Music Society (BJFM) brought everything from the guitar-driven sound of singer Joanna Conner to the gospel influenced tunes of the Chambers DesLauriers Band to the 32nd River City Blues Festival, held Friday night through Saturday night at the Hotel Lafayette (101 Front Street).
BJFM President Jay Phillips says the organization’s goal with the festival is to bring blues performers from all corners of the genre who are at the top of their game to Southeastern Ohio: “We want the audience to be entertained and exposed to this wonderful genre of music that’s the root of American popular music.”
Phillips says BJFM sold around 200 weekend passes to this year’s event—an encouraging turnout that translated to an enthusiastic crowd each night.
The BJFM is a nonprofit organization that supports regional music education and programming. The River City Blues Festival is a major annual fundraiser for the group.
Phillips says that besides covering the nonprofit’s baseline operations, funds raised from the event will support future programming, including the group’s Blues in the Schools program. Last fall, the initiative brought music history presentations and demonstrations to more than 2,600 middle school students in Ohio and West Virginia.
BJFM also organizes several Cobbler’s Coffeehouse concerts throughout the year, bringing folk, blues, and jazz musicians to audiences in intimate performances at the Lafayette’s Gun Room Restaurant. Additionally, Phillips says funds from the festival will help plan next year’s River City Blues Festival, scheduled for March 20–21, 2026.
He and the BJFM board feel honored to continue the organization’s long-running tradition in the Mid-Ohio Valley.
“It’s one of the oldest ones in the country, and it’s amazing when we look back at the wide variety of artists we’ve hosted,” he says, noting that bringing performers to a small community in Southeast Ohio is especially meaningful. “It’s truly a labor of love and enjoyment for our whole board to put this on each year, along with all our other activities.”