Weeks after cancellation, Bradenton Blues Festival seeks revival. Here’s what to know
Fans of the Bradenton Blues Festival had a major disappointment earlier this month when organizers announced that the annual concert on the Bradenton Riverwalk was permanently canceled after a 12-year run.
The show drew top blues acts from around the U.S. and thousands of concertgoers to Southwest Florida. Many of those music fans expressed sadness on social media when local nonprofit Realize Bradenton said they would no longer be producing the event.
But it seems that the festival’s exit from the stage might not be so final. There’s an encore coming, says Paul Benjamin, who was the Blues Festival’s head of promotion since its inception in 2012.
“I’m working on a plan. It’s nothing concrete yet. But I feel confident that there will be a festival around the same time we had the old one. Maybe in the same place it was before,” Benjamin said.
Benjamin is evaluating potential venues to revive the event, and he said he hopes to have more details to share very soon.
“I think we can recreate it and keep the festival going,” he said.
City of Bradenton open to sponsoring new festival
One potential offer for sponsorship came from the City of Bradenton.
Mayor Gene Brown said the city is interested not only in keeping the music festival in town, but expanding it into a bigger event with appeal for a wider audience.
“You see a lot of festivals that have a 10- or 12-year life. Then you say, ‘What’s next?’” Brown said. “We’re looking for what’s next. I’m confident that what they bring back could be a much bigger event.”
The Bradenton Blues Festival had a capacity of around 3,000 people at its spot in Rossi Park on the Riverwalk.
But Brown said a new format for the festival could bring as many as 10,000 people to a wider area of downtown.
“My goal all along has been, how do we connect Riverwalk to downtown?” Brown said. “This event could expand all the way into Village of the Arts and be a truly global experience for downtown Bradenton.”
