A new four-day blues festival will debut in downtown Reading this November, bringing national and regional performers, free jam sessions and ticketed concerts to the DoubleTree by Hilton Reading.
Organizers unveiled details of Busker Incognito’s Blues & Boogie Weekend during a press conference Thursday at Cheers Bistro inside the DoubleTree. The festival is scheduled for Nov. 19 through 22 and is being presented by the Berks County Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and DoubleTree by Hilton Reading.
The event follows the end of the former Reading BluesFest, but organizers are approaching the weekend as a new festival rather than an attempt to recreate what came before.
Dave Kline, founder and executive director of the Berks County Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the musician behind Busker Incognito & the SHOW, said the festival grew out of a series of monthly blues and boogie jam nights launched at Cheers Bistro earlier this year.
“It’s like a progression,” Kline said in an interview following Thursday’s announcement.
Kline said Busker Incognito itself began as a three-person experiment in busking on the streets of Reading. The group eventually expanded into larger performances, sometimes featuring as many as 10 musicians.
That evolved into the monthly Blues & Boogie Jam Nights at the DoubleTree, which began in May.
“I’m all about the city of Reading and trying to do things that improve quality of life here,” Kline said. “So we said, well, let me do a monthly blues jam here. Make this a home for them.”
Kline said the response to those events helped set the stage for a larger festival. After learning the former Reading BluesFest would not continue, he approached longtime festival organizer John Ernesto about the possibility of creating a new blues event.
Rather than duplicate the former festival, Ernesto encouraged Kline to build on what Busker Incognito had already established through its monthly events.
The result is a weekend organizers say will combine traditional concerts with smaller jams and opportunities for musicians and audiences to interact throughout the hotel.
The lineup includes Mud Morganfield, the eldest son of blues musician Muddy Waters; Alexis P. Suter; John Németh; Greg Piccolo & Heavy Juice; Benny Turner; Katie Henry; Slam Allen; BC Blue featuring Bev Conklin; and Busker Incognito & the SHOW.
Morganfield and the Alexis P. Suter Band will share the festival’s Saturday evening program. Morganfield has built his own career in blues while also performing music associated with his father. His 2015 album, “For Pops: A Tribute to Muddy Waters,” won a Blues Music Award for Traditional Blues Album.
Suter is a blues and soul singer and songwriter who has released multiple albums and received recognition through the Blues Music Awards.
Another featured performer, Benny Turner, has a direct connection to another major figure in blues history. Turner is the younger brother of Freddie King, one of the musicians commonly identified among the “Three Kings” of blues guitar, and played bass with his brother during his career.
Kline said the festival is intended not only to present the music but also to introduce its history to younger audiences.
That goal is reflected throughout the festival program, which describes blues and boogie as foundational influences on jazz, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul, funk and other forms of popular music.
Sallie Bengtson, founder of Nola Blue Records and MoMojo Records and a Berks County native, is also part of the festival leadership team. Several performers appearing during the weekend are artists represented by her labels.
Kline said that local connection became an important part of developing the event.
“We really are into this whole thing of Reading and Berks County,” he said. “We think we have wonderful talent here, and people who have vision, and people who have creativity, and some resources to back up these kinds of events and make them happen.”
The festival will begin Thursday, Nov. 19, with a free Busker Incognito Blues & Boogie Jam Night featuring Slam Allen from 7 to 9 p.m. at Cheers Bistro.
Friday will begin with a free open blues jam and welcome party from 5 to 7 p.m. The Katie Henry Band will then open for the John Németh Band at 7:30 p.m. in the DoubleTree’s Callowhill Ballroom. Tickets for the concert are $40. A free post-concert jam will follow at 10 p.m.
Saturday’s activities will begin at 10 a.m. with a meet-the-artists program, blues workshop hosted by Kline and a blues documentary presentation. A free unplugged acoustic lunch jam featuring the Busker Incognito Trio will follow at 11:30 a.m.
BC Blue featuring Bev Conklin will open for Greg Piccolo & Heavy Juice at 1 p.m. in the Callowhill Ballroom, followed by another free jam from 5 to 7 p.m.
The Saturday evening concert will feature the Alexis P. Suter Band opening for Mud Morganfield’s band at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for both Saturday concerts are $40 each. Another free jam is scheduled for 10 p.m.
The weekend will conclude Sunday at 11:30 a.m. with a Gospel Blues Brunch featuring Benny Turner with special guests including Bev Conklin and Alexis P. Suter. Tickets are $50 and include a buffet.
Kline said including free programming alongside the ticketed concerts was an intentional part of the festival.
“If you don’t have the wherewithal to buy a ticket, or you just don’t want to buy a ticket, you don’t have to,” Kline said. “Just come and enjoy the vibe.”
Organizers also hope the event will maintain the communal atmosphere that developed around the monthly jam sessions, rather than functioning solely as a series of concerts.
The DoubleTree has become a significant partner in that effort, with much of the weekend taking place between Cheers Bistro and the Callowhill Ballroom.
For Kline, keeping the festival in Reading is part of a larger effort to continue building cultural programming in the city.
“We want to make sure that we keep having great events down here,” he said during Thursday’s event. “We just can’t fall into line and say, ‘Oh, well, that event doesn’t happen anymore. That’s a shame,’ and then walk away and hope that somebody else is going to do the next event.”
Busker Incognito’s Blues & Boogie Weekend will take place Nov. 19-22 at DoubleTree by Hilton Reading, 701 Penn St. Free hotel parking will be available for festival events.
Tickets and additional festival information are available at **buskerincognitobluesboogie.com**.