Imagine a pair of preeminent contemporary blues rock artists, Tab Benoit and Samantha Fish, shredding together on stage for a raucous version of Benoit’s “I Hear Thunder” on a warm, breezy Sunday evening in a beautiful park next to the calm waters of Tampa Bay. That is how you put the exclamation point on an award-winning blues festival. The 30th Tampa Bay Blues Festival featured a lineup of 15 outstanding artists delivering stellar performances in one of the best festival settings in the country, Vinoy Park in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. The lineup featured a mix of established blues icons like Taj Mahal, Jimmie Vaughan, Los Lobos, Tommy Castro, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd, along with up-and-comers like Nikki Hill, Jackie Venson, Vanessa Collier, Jontavious Willis, and GA-20. Chicago bluesman Toronzo Cannon, and the aforementioned Tab Benoit and Samantha Fish filled out the lineup, along with Darrell Nulisch and Yates McKendree. Another icon, harmonica master Charlie Musselwhite, performed with GA-20.
The Tampa Bay Blues Festival was founded in 1995 by Charles “Chuck” Ross, who is still the festival’s promoter. Festival proceeds support the Parc Center for Disabilities, aiding those with learning disabilities in the community. The festival is a highly acclaimed event, winning the prestigious Blues Foundation’s Keeping the Blues Alive Award for Best U.S. Blues Festival in 2011.
Festivities kicked off at noon on Friday with multi-instrumentalist Yates McKendree playing alongside his father, Kevin, on keys. McKendree plays traditional blues like it has been his whole life, and it has, having been in the Nashville music scene with his dad since the age of three. A cover of Ramsey Lewis’ “The In Crowd” from his first album was a standout. That album, Buchanan Lane, was nominated for a pair of Blues Music Awards. Jackie Venson was up next. She is a bit of a prodigy, having picked up the guitar relatively late at age 21. Now in her mid-thirties, she has amassed a library of nearly a dozen albums mixing studio and live recordings. She has appeared on Slash’s S.E.R.P.E.N.T. tour and Joe Bonamassa’s Keeping the Blues Alive cruise. Standout songs included “Always Free” for the rock and rollers and “Witchcraft,” which thrilled the psychedelic guitar fans in the growing crowd. However, it was the haunting “Til This Pain Goes Away” that will be a welcome addition to my playlist. Her mix of rock, soul, and blues with exquisite guitar playing makes her a must-see artist.
The night closed out with a magnificent trio of blues torchbearers, beginning with Tommy Castro and The Painkillers, coming fresh off their 2025 release Closer To The Bone, which was rated 9/10 for “Amazing” by Blues Rock Review. The band put on a crisp set highlighted by songs across the Castro catalog, including “Blues Prisoner,” “Can’t Keep a Good Man Down,” and “The Devil You Know.” Bassist Randy McDonald took vocals for a song he penned on the most recent album, “Everywhere I Go.” Castro, ever the bandleader, added local flair by calling up The Florida Horns to supplement his four-piece band for the second half of their 90-minute set. Fellow Californians Los Lobos followed Castro on stage. The band from East L.A.’s set included songs “Evangeline” and Ritchie Valens’ “Come On, Let’s Go.” As the sun set on the first day of the festival, the audience got a special treat as Tommy Castro joined them to close out with classics “I Got Loaded” and their signature Valens cover “La Bamba.” Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr., better known as Taj Mahal to the music world, closed out the evening with a set that felt like you were sitting in a time machine instead of a bayside park with thousands of musical friends. Along with his Phantom Blues Band, Mahal performed a set mixing originals and classic blues covers. Standouts included “Strut,” “Queen Bee,” “Dust My Broom,” and “Wild About My Lovin’.” The first day showcased a mix of old and new, with Taj Mahal approaching his 84th birthday and the 23-year-old Yates McKendree as bookends to a wonderful evening of music.
Another noon start for Saturday’s second day of the festival brought another visitor bureau day of weather as Jontavious Willis took the stage to get things started. Willis was born a year after the first Tampa Bay Blues Festival and plays old-school delta blues, which was a perfect way to kick off a sunny afternoon. “Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor” by Mississippi John Hurt and “Fannie Mae” by Buster Brown helped ease fans into another day of breezy blues. That sense of ease came to an electrifying halt as Nikki Hill took the stage with her perpetual-motion performance. Featuring acclaimed guitarist Laura Chavez, Hill’s brand of high-energy blues rock featured some unreleased songs along with “Struttin’” and “Heavy Hearts Hard Fists,” but it was a cover of AC/DC’s “Rocker” that left everyone out of breath, even if you somehow never left your camping chair. Next up was a pairing of classic and contemporary that on the surface may strike some as unusual, as GA-20 took the stage with venerable bluesman Charlie Musselwhite. The result was a concoction of classic Chicago blues with a modern gritty edge. The connection lies with GA-20 guitarist and founding member Matthew Stubbs. Stubbs was Musselwhite’s touring guitarist for over a decade. The set featured samples from both libraries, with “Gone Too Long” and “Crazy Love,” a new single from the forthcoming collaboration album Blues Now. It should be a great one.
To usher in the sunset, Jimmie Vaughan and his band took the stage all dressed in dapper black suits that, along with the horn section, provided a big-band atmosphere to his set, which included “Hold It,” “I Ain’t Never,” and an honorary tribute to his late brother with a great rendition of “Texas Flood.” A quick nod here to the sound engineers, who did a great job managing the variety of artists and tonal quirks each performer brought. In a breezy outdoor venue, the acoustics can be tricky, and the sound was just as good, if not better, the farther you got from the stage. There was no wandering away from the stage for the final act of the day, Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Shepherd’s debut album, Ledbetter Heights, was also celebrating its 30th anniversary, and the tour has been centered around this milestone. The setlist focused primarily on the album, to the disappointment of absolutely no one, with the title track, “Deja Voodoo,” and “Blue on Black,” but it was the cover of Peter Green’s “Oh Well” that left jaws agape. A great closing performance on a great night.
Darrell Nulisch opened the final day with an R&B Chicago blues set featuring his electric guitar and harmonica skills. Songs included “I’m Lost Without You” and “Nobody But You.” Nulisch was a founding member of Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets and performed with James Cotton and Ronnie Earl. Sax-slinging powerhouse Vanessa Collier followed as the Sunday crowd began to build. Collier is a 2026 Blues Music Awards triple nominee and four-time winner. Those arriving in time for Collier’s set were treated to a showcase featuring her impressive vocals and phenomenal blues saxophone, taking an extended solo into the crowd and playing such tunes as “I Can’t Stand the Rain” and “Sweatin’ Like a Pig, Singin’ Like an Angel.” One of the best contemporary Chicago blues flag bearers is the former CTA bus driver turned bluesman, Toronzo Cannon. Cannon is known for his real-life, often humorous lyrics with songs like “Midlife Crisis,” “Insurance,” and the hilarious “Walk It Off.” The highlight of the set had to be when Cannon took nearly eight minutes to jam his way through “I Hate Love,” afterwards confessing he got married eight months ago.
The final pair of artists are Tampa Bay Blues Festival veterans. Samantha Fish was making her third appearance in the last five years, and Tab Benoit is practically an annual fixture. The pair is in the midst of their “When Two Tours Collide” mini tour, which has been widely praised. Samantha ushered in the final sunset with a blistering set as the Grammy-nominated artist continues to elevate her stage presence to legendary levels. Her set leaned heavily into last year’s release Paper Doll, opening with “Can Ya Handle The Heat,” adding “Don’t Say It,” and extended solos on “Sweet Southern Sounds” and “Fortune Teller” from the album. She also mixed in “Miles To Go” and “Black Wind Howling” from her growing catalog, as well as a couple of R.L. Burnside covers, “Po Mattie” and the highlight of the set, “Goin’ Down South.” Tab Benoit took the stage to close out the festival as he has done on an almost annual basis. There were few occupied chairs as everyone was standing for the grand finale featuring favorites like “Why, Why,” “Muddy Bottom Blues,” “Medicine,” Buddy Miller’s “Shelter Me,” and Otis Redding’s “These Arms of Mine.” Then festival fans got their taste of the “Two Tours Collide” experience as Samantha Fish joined Tab, trading guitar licks for “Still Gray” and the aforementioned closer “I Hear Thunder.”
As I walked among the crowd as we left the park, I heard a lot of “Wow,” “I’ve never seen anything like that,” and some “Holy (expletive)!” I personally traveled from Colorado and met folks from San Diego, along with some who drove from as far away as Michigan and Pennsylvania. There is a reason the Tampa Bay Blues Festival has been around for 30 years and has become a destination event. It is the coming together of a storybook setting, a collection of rising and legendary artists, and a gathering of like-minded souls with a passion for the blues.
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