The Baton Rouge Blues Festival returned this Friday and Saturday, taking over downtown Baton Rouge to bring together music, community and fun for the whole family.
The 44-year-old festival is one of the oldest blues festivals in the U.S., and this year, it featured over 40 bands and local artists across five stages. The Manship Theatre, Galvez Plaza and WATERMARK hotel all hosted musicians while Third Street shut down for attendees to stroll and enjoy the music.
The festival kicked off Friday at 5 p.m. and was hosted in partnership with Live After Five — a weekly, free concert series downtown — to draw in the after-work, weekend-ready crowd. As the sun set, the streets were filled with the strumming of guitars and blaring of brass instruments, setting an easy tone for the rest of the weekend…