Blues has been an important part of the Palladium’s musical lineup since 2008. Early on we partnered with Chuck Ross and the Tampa Bay Blues Festival. It was a good match for both of us.
We started doing ‘after-parties’ and for the past 10 years the Palladium at SPC has been home to the Thursday night Blues Fest Kickoff concert. The 2025 version, coming up on April 10, will be the biggest kickoff party yet.
Instead of one act, Ross is bringing in two of the festival’s biggest bands for the kickoff —Ronnie Baker Brooks and the North Mississippi All-Stars. For tickets and information, please follow this link.
The All-Stars are known for their primitive, hill-country blues style, while Brooks is a polished, Chicago bluesman. Both will appear at the festival on Friday.
I spoke to Chuck Ross by phone the other day and we talked about how the Thursday night party became a part of the festival.
“I thought it was worth growing the kickoff party and seeing how it went over. A majority of our attendees are from out-of-state and they arrive Thursday. They meet at the Palladium and hear some great music. It’s a perfect kickoff for the weekend.”
The festival itself fills three days and nights on the waterfront at Vinoy Park. Headliners include JJ Grey and Mofro, Walter Trout, Tab Benoit, Grammy-winner Ruthie Foster and lots more. It started small in 1995 and quickly found an audience.
“We enjoy a world-wide reputation as one of the pre-eminent blues festivals,” Ross said.
Chuck knows his blues. He’s the singer, harmonica player and longtime leader of the Backtrack Blues Band. He also owned the Ringside Café, in St. Petersburg, a popular blues venue.
“We presented Delbert McClinton, Little Milton, Billy Preston, Lonnie Brooks, Gatemouth Brown, all the big acts. When I sold the Ringside I didn’t have any place to produce acts, so we decided to create the festival.”
The kickoff show starts at 7:30 on Thursday, April 10. For tickets and more information about the kickoff and the Tampa Bay Blues Festival, please follow this link.
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