Jacksonville’s Springing the Blues Music Festival

Celebrate the origins of blues music at the annual Springing the Blues Music Festival in Jacksonville Beach. This annual free event is held the first full weekend in April at the Oceanfront SeaWalk Pavilion. Downbeat Magazine named Springing the Blues one of the top 50 music festivals in the world. The Southeast Tourism Society calls it one of the top 20 destination events in the nation. Springing the Blues is the largest free outdoor blues festival in Florida.

Blues History. Blues music originated as an artistic approach to storytelling by working class African Americans. In its early stages, blues music was the art form of illiterate, but talented musicians. Therefore, improvisation, both musically and lyrically, distinguished the genre. Blues music has its origins in the Mississippi Delta. In the 1940s, Chicago became the hot bed for blues musicians. Many of today’s popular musicians credit Muddy Waters, Bo Diddly, and other blues greats with inspiring their success.

Best Western Oceanfront’s prime location near the Sea Walk Pavilion is the perfect hotel for a Springing the Blues getaway.