The Bilbao Blues Festival has turned the city into the international capital of this musical genre over the last four days. This was evident in Arenal, which was packed with people attracted by a dozen artists and bands, including three international stars who performed in Spain for the first time.
The festival’s two stages brought together thousands of enthusiastic people to enjoy concerts featuring blues and related styles such as soul, funk, rock “n” roll and, for the first time, zydeco. The summer music festival, promoted by Bilbao City Council and organised by Crazy Blues, is a clear benchmark for the genre in Europe thanks to the quality of its line-up and its strong drawing power.
Carlos Malles, director of the Bilbao Blues Festival, highlighted the high standard of the live performances and the intense connection between the bands and the audience, with unforgettable moments featuring blues legends, young American talents of the genre and local artists. We witnessed a historic concert by Jimmie Vaughan. In addition, the decision to feature artists who are not regulars on the circuit and who were visiting Spain for the first time, such as the young Delanie Pickering, Blackburn Brothers and Terrance Simien, was a success. Malles also highlighted the emotion he felt ‘when he placed the festival’s txapela (beret) on Jimmie Vaughan and the reunion with guitarist Laura Chavez, who performed alongside Vanessa Collier.’ He also highlighted ‘the work of the great team behind the festival, without whom it would not be possible to enjoy this show.’
For Kontxi Claver, Bilbao City Council’s Councillor for Economic Development, Trade, Employment and Tourism, “Once again, we have managed to raise the quality of the Festival with unique concerts and performances. It is an event that has a loyal following, and we want Bilbao to become a true city of blues, with good, top-quality, attractive music, also in the world of major festivals. I believe that on this occasion we have passed the test with flying colours.”
AN ECLECTIC PROGRAMME THAT CAPTIVATED THE AUDIENCE
On Friday afternoon, Mississippi Queen & The Wet Dogs received the first ovations from the audience on the Arenal stage. The Bilbao quintet gave a concert combining blues, soul-funk and rock, in which the powerful voice of singer Inés Goñi shone through.
Next, veteran African-American stars The Kings of Blues won over the audience from the very first chords with a show that featured not only blues but also a strong funk influence, and in which guitarist Vasti Jackson, who had already visited the festival in its 2023 edition, did not hesitate to leave the stage to come down and play among the crowd. A perfect recipe for dancing and enjoying a band made up of musicians who, throughout their careers, have accompanied legends such as B.B. King, Albert King, Etta James, and James Brown.
It was the perfect prelude to the closing of the first night of the festival, performed by Canadian sextet The Blackburn Brothers, who got the crowd dancing at the Arenal venue with their show featuring New Orleans blues, soul, funk and even reggae. Their sophisticated style, vocal harmonies and great horn section marked the end of the opening day.
On Saturday, the Catalan band Sweet Marta and The Blues Shakers gave the first of the midday performances at the Kiosko de El Arenal. It was a highly acclaimed concert in which the group, led by harmonica player and singer Marta Suñé, combined their own songs from various branches of blues, rock “n” roll and boogie woogie with covers of classics from the genre.
Next, Murcia-born guitarist and singer Al Dual demonstrated why he is one of the leading figures in Spanish rockabilly. Accompanied by a large band, including a horn section, he skilfully warmed up the crowd with a great set of genuine classic rock “n” roll songs, most of which he wrote himself, with a special guest on two of them, harmonica player Mingo Balaguer.
n the afternoon, the El Arenal stage hosted some of the most intense and emotional moments of the competition. First up was a performance by young blueswoman Delanie Pickering from New Hampshire. Accompanied by a trio consisting of keyboard, drums and double bass, the singer and guitarist conveyed the authentic blues sounds of Texas, Chicago and New Orleans with great sobriety and naturalness, which the audience rewarded with loud ovations. Pickering made it clear at the Bilbao Blues Festival why she is one of the most promising young talents in American blues.
JIMMIE VAUGHAN, SPECIAL AWARD AT THE FESTIVAL
The highlight of the day came with the concert by Texan blues legend Jimmie Vaughan, who showed great warmth when he received the txapela (Basque beret) from the festival director, Carlos Malles, accrediting him as the festival’s special guest. Vaughan follows bassist Bob Stroger, harmonica player Rick Estrin, and singer and harmonica player Kim Wilson, Jimmie Vaughan’s long-time bandmate in the legendary band The Fabulous Thunderbirds, on the list of award winners.
Jimmie Vaughan and his band’s performance in a packed Arenal was memorable. A show featuring authentic Texan blues, country blues and high-quality rock “n” roll, with references to his brother Stevie Ray Vaughan, who died in a plane crash in 1990 when he was already a superstar, through songs such as ‘Texas Flood’ and ‘Six Strings Down’. Jimmie Vaughan’s elegance and talent left an indelible mark on the Bilbao audience, who turned out in droves to witness a show that will go down in the history of the festival.
Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience brought the second day of the festival to a close with a zydeco music party, a traditional genre rooted in the black and multiracial French-speaking Creoles of Louisiana. The renowned accordionist and singer Terrance Simien acted as master of ceremonies for a show brimming with multicultural energy, featuring covers of reggae and rock classics such as Bob Marley’s ‘No Woman No Cry’ and Bob Dylan’s ‘I Shall Be Released.’
The final day of the festival began in the morning at the Kiosko del Arenal with a performance by the talented singer and guitarist Delaney Pickering, who repeated her concert from the previous afternoon, this time offering a more danceable repertoire, with a cocktail of boogie woogie, rock “n” roll and Chicago blues that the audience rewarded with long ovations.
They were followed by the elegant Uruguayan sextet Martin Burguez and His Rhythm Combo, with an appealing succession of rhythm and blues classics, original songs, and music from the 1940s and 1950s.
Texas singer and saxophonist Vanessa Collier, a rising star on the blues circuit, opened the afternoon with a spectacular concert full of soul and funk influences. Her powerful voice, intense saxophone solos and the guitar mastery of her sidekick Laura Chávez provided some of the most special moments of the festival.
The Chicago Blues Summer Tour ‘superband’ Chicago Blues Summer Tour, featuring renowned musicians such as Mike Wheeler (guitar and vocals), Larry Williams (bass), Cleo Cole (drums), Jessee Lockridge (keyboards), Russ Green (harmonica) and Fay ‘Peaches’ Staten (vocals), brought the best of the Chicago Blues Festival to Bilbao in a performance brimming with interpretive talent and infectious blues and soul rhythms.
To bring its fourth edition to a close, the Bilbao Blues Festival treated the audience to a full-blown party featuring swing, rock “n” roll, and the most danceable music of the 1950s, courtesy of Ray Collins’ Hot Club, who presented their latest album, ‘The Book of the Golden Age.’
VOLOTEA BLUES CHALLENGE, EDUCATIONAL CONCERTS AND BOOGIE-WOOGIE CLASSES
The Catalan band SirJo Cocchi & Balta Bordoy-The Blues Way was the winner of the
Volotea Blues Challenge and will represent the state at the European Blues Challenge 2026, to be held in Katowice (Poland). The band, led by a Milanese and a Mallorcan who had already participated in last year’s final, won over the jury and the audience both for their interpretation of 1960s electric blues and the golden age of R&B, and for their attitude in keeping with the musical style.
On Friday morning, the auditorium of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao was the setting for a family show by the duo Diablues ta Bluezifer. Actor and communicator Oihan Vega and double bassist Nagore Sanz were the stars of this educational event, which delighted the audience that came to the Bilbao art gallery.
And on Sunday morning, the eagerly awaited boogie-woogie classes got participants dancing again under the guidance of Carlos Etxebarria, a teacher at the Swing Dance School in Portugalete. Hundreds of people gathered at the Arenal to learn the steps and have fun to the rhythm of 1950s music.