Exploring Chicago Blues

Discover the living legacy of Chicago Blues in this guide to the iconic clubs and musicians who made—and keep making—music history.

During the Great Migration, African Americans left Mississippi for Chicago, and they brought their music traditions with them. The music took root in the city and developed its own distinctive sound. Today, Chicago Blues is heard all over the world, but there’s no better place to experience it than in the city where it was born.

In Exploring Chicago Blues, Chicago music writer Rosalind Cummings-Yeates takes you inside historic blues clubs like the Checkerboard Lounge and Gerri's Palm Tavern, where folks like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Willie Dixon and Ma Rainey transformed Chicago into the blues mecca. She then takes you on an insider’s tour of the contemporary blues scene, introducing the best spots to hear the purest sounds of Sweet Home Chicago.