One way to get you out of the mid-summer blues is by getting you into the Southern Indiana blues. Bill Monroe’s Southern Indiana Blues Festival is back with another year of music, festivities and golf cart parades.
The festival is set to take place Aug. 22 through Aug. 24 with over 20 bands in the lineup.
Park Office Manager Haley Voils said that the event will take place from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday, and noon to 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. On the schedule for Thursday, the Bloomington Blues Group Host Band is opening from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. with an open jam following until 10 p.m.
Mike Zito is headlining Friday, taking to the stage at 9 p.m. and Danielle Nicole is scheduled to headline at 9 p.m. on Saturday. Voils said that visitors are welcome to bring a small cooler with food and drinks, but glass bottles are prohibited. Visitors must bring their own seats, as well.
“We will have food vendors, merchandise vendors and jam sessions going on throughout the park,” Voils said. “It is Blues focused, but one other reason people come to the event is the atmosphere. The atmosphere is very friendly and open. Everyone is willing to let neighbors and friends join their jam sessions. We have people come from all over to the festival and to enjoy the history of the park.”
Voils said that the lineup includes local, regional and internationally touring artists all in the genre of Blues music. The park expects to see around 4,000 people over the three-day festival period after hosting around 3,500 last year.
Tickets for the event can be found on the Bill Monroe Music Park website (billmonroemusicpark.com/southern-indiana-blues-festival-2024) and range from one-day passes at $50 for Thursday, $55 for Friday and $60 for Saturday or a three-day pass for the whole weekend at $145 per person. Children 12 years and under have free admittance.
The festival tickets do not include campsite or cabin reservation, those must be made separately.
“We’ve got everything from primitive camping to hookup spots for RVs and we do have availability still,” Voils said. “People can reserve their spots online or they can pay for the site at the gate, if we still have openings.”
Camping spots range from $25 to $68 and cabin rentals start at $163 depending on the size and day.
The Bill Monroe Hall of Fame will be open during the duration of the festival with guides doing tours of the museum.
The festival’s golf cart parade is on the books for Aug. 24 at 8:30 p.m..
“They can rent from us or bring their own golf carts, but people decorate them with different themes, line up and do a lap around the park,” Voils said. “Last year we had over 100 golf carts in the parade. They do one big loop around the entire park. People that are not on golf carts can watch from their campsites and cheer them on. The carts will be judged and the top three win prizes.”
