The history and culture of the blues is St. Louis is so rich that, even if we could fill an entire magazine issue with content about the scene, we couldn’t cover it all. So use this guide as a jumping-off point, not a limitation in your exploration of this rich and varied city of music. For a primer on local musicians, the St. Louis Blues Society has five different compilation CDs available on its website, and STLBlues.net maintains a full calendar of local shows.
History
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Blues music was born in the South, from influences including African-American spirituals, ballads, and folk music. When the Great Migration saw millions of Black people move north in the first half of the 20th century, they brought the blues with them, and cities including St. Louis, Chicago, Memphis, and Detroit became staples in the blues scene.
In 1914, the composer and trumpeter W.C. Handy penned a song called “The Saint Louis Blues,” which became one of the first crossover blues hits, eventually covered by the likes Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Eartha Kitt, and Benny Goodman (and inspiring the name of a certain hockey team.)
The blues has always been mobile and adaptive, traveling with its musicians across the country and developing distinct regional identities. St. Louis was “the place to be in the ‘20s and ‘30s,” says Andy Lewis, the programs and education manager for the National Blues Museum, while Chicago rose as a blues stronghold in the 1950s. But if you think blues music is a matter for the history books, the modern artists, events, and venues of St. Louis are here to remind you otherwise.
Big Events
Each spring and fall, St. Louis boasts seemingly endless festivals at which to celebrate the city’s music past and present.
On March 29, the 16th annual Gateway Blues Festival will bring artists including Tucka, Pokey Bear, and West Love to the historic Stifel Theatre. The National Blues Museum will partner with the National Park Service to put on Blues at the Arch August 9–11, a free weekend festival that showcases St. Louis’ musical heritage on the grounds of the North Gateway of Gateway Arch National Park. The festival kicks off Friday with musical acts and remarks from the National Blues Museum’s Robert Nelson and the National Park Service. On Saturday, enjoy a full lineup of top blues musicians: Jeremiah Johnson, The Soulard Blues Band, Marquise Knox, Nikki Hill, and more—capped off with fireworks at 8 p.m. And on Sunday from 10 a.m.–2 p.m., enjoy a blues brunch at 612North.
Music at the Intersection, launched in 2021, spreads across multiple stages and venues in the Grand Center Arts District each fall. This September 14 and 15, the event will highlight national soul, R&B, and blues talent while also providing a stage for local artists.
Since 2001, the Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival has highlighted local musical acts at a free, family-friendly festival in the heart of Webster Groves. The festival takes place in September, with the exact 2024 date yet to be announced.
Notable Venues
Broadway Oyster Bar boasts nightly music, with many free shows throughout the week and a broad menu of New Orleans-style seafood dishes and, of course, several varieties of oysters.
For free nightly music, Soulard is the place to be. Stop by Hammerstones to sip a local brew and see a different act every night of the week—sometimes two. The building dates back to 1884, and the sharing of ghost stories is encouraged. The nearby 1860 Saloon offers pizza, sandwiches, a game room, and plenty of local blues mainstays and up-and-comers.
A skip southwest into Benton Park brings music tourists to the iconic Venice Cafe, an eclectically curated emporium of a venue that defies description—you need to see it to believe it. Bring your camera for the decor and cash for the bar.
Local and touring acts can be found at Blue Strawberry in the Central West End, which leans more into jazz, cabaret, and Broadway musical offerings. Evangeline’s is another jazzy venue in the neighborhood. Don’t miss their weekend brunch, where live music accompanies a Cajun and Creole menu and bottomless mimosas, perfect for recovering after a weekend full of shows.
The National Blues Museum
The well-arranged, interactive displays at the National Blues Museum are sure to entertain adults and kids alike. Touch screen displays allow museum goers to practice recording and mixing their own blues tunes and even learn the tricks to playing instruments such as the washboard and the spoons. The museum’s geographic scope lives up to its name, highlighting the blues’ spread across the country and its influence on varying genres, with exhibits on the British Invasion and outlaw country.
The museum opened in 2016 in a former department store, and modern musicians play shows in the Legends Room, where civil rights activists staged St. Louis’s first lunch counter sit-in in 1944.
Supporting musicians is key to the organization’s mission. “They’re a part of the cultural essence of this city,” former operations and programming lead Atem Richardson told us in 2023.
The National Blues Museum is open every day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the average visit lasts about 45 minutes. Tickets are $10-$15, and children under 5 can attend the museum for free.
Weekly Shows to Know
Jeremy Segel-Moss, a longtime local musician and the vice-chairperson of the St. Louis Blues Society, recommends catching the Soulard Blues Band on Monday nights at the Broadway Oyster Bar, a show which bills itself as the longest-running blues jam session in the country. Guests are often stopping by to jam. “It’s the epitome of St. Louis blues music,” Segel-Moss says. “You have no idea who you’re gonna see there and who’s gonna play.”
Another can’t-miss weekly act, he said, is found at the Venice Cafe, where Sharon Bear, a singer, guitarist, and bassist, frequently holds down Tuesday nights accompanied by bassist Gus Thornton, who’s toured with Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
