Waterfront Blues Festival

For just a can of food and a couple of bucks, you could’ve laid witness to the largest Blues Festival west of the Mississippi, bringing over 125 incredible acts to Portland, Oregon’s Willamette Riverfront July 3-6, 2008.

The 2008 Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival, featuring five stages and four full days of ongoing musical genius, was designed to help fight hunger, benefiting the Oregon Food Bank. Festival goers were treated to performances featuring the likes of Isaac Hayes, Phoebe Snow, Elvin Bishop, Canned Heat, Curtis Salgado, The Mannish Boys, Joe Bonamasa, Trombone Shorty, The Legendary Shack Shakers and on and on. The caliber of entertainment on any given stage throughout the week was unprecedented and kept the excited throng of humanity constantly on the move, shuffling from one side of the park to the other.

Shorts and sandals were common garb as temperatures hovered around 85 degrees each day. Folks young and old meandered from stage to stage enjoying a plethora of gourmet foods along the way served from the multitudes of booths lining the entire festival. Vendors sold their wares from booths as well, hats, clothing, jewelry, crafts, etc.

But the highlight of the week was the musical talent on every stage, every hour of every day. After-hours parties nightly featured some of these musicians and there were also five Delta Music Blues Cruises along the river, also featuring several headlining bands and musicians on each cruise.

Friday, July 4th was especially packed with thrill seekers for the big fireworks display to cap off a day of fun, sun and live music. After darkness had consumed the city, two barges on the Willamette were the focal point as professional displays erupted for nearly a half hour to the delight of the massive crowd.

Just in the very first day, over $82,000 and 17,000 pounds of food were collected to assist in stamping out hunger – a testament to the effect we can have when we all pull together for a good cause. Also, proof to the magical results that live music can produce for the goodness of all humanity.