FRIDAY JUNE 05, 2026 CHICAGO BLUES FESTIVAL AT MILLENNIUM PARK

Jay Pritzker Pavilion

7:30-9 p.m. 55 Years of Alligator Records featuring Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Toronzo Cannon, Nick Moss,and Tinsley Ellis

In 1971, when Bruce Iglauer founded the Alligator label to record guitarist Hound Dog Taylor, his intention was to document the music of a gifted Chicago bluesman deserving of wider recognition. That he did – Taylor’s Alligator releases are universally praised as classics -- but in the process Iglauer also launched what has evolved into the world’s largest independent blues label. Here the festival pays tribute by showcasing five of Alligator’s top current artists: Lil’ Ed Williams, who learned slide guitar from his uncle, J.B. Hutto, and carries on the legacy of Hutto and other slidemasters like Elmore James; Ronnie Baker Brooks, a progressive-minded guitarist whose father, Lonnie Brooks, was one of the artists who helped put Alligator on the map; guitarist and master lyric storyteller Toronzo Cannon; and high-intensity fretboard prestidigitators Nick Moss and Tinsley Ellis. [DW]