After last year's inaugural Festival, BluesFest 2011 returns to the UK this summer for a 10 day celebration of incredible music. The 2012 festival will increase in size and scale with BluesFest Manchester introduced to complement its southern counterpart.

The first wave of confirmed headline events include: An evening of music curated by superstar guitarist Ronnie Wood, who will be inviting some of his favourite musicians to join him for an exclusive tribute to the legendary Chicago-based blues label Chess Records; “Van Morrison Sings The Blues”, one of popular music's true innovators performing a unique concert of the music that continues to inspire him; Tom Jones will be revisiting 2010’s acclaimed gospel and blues set Praise & Blame as well as showcasing exclusive material from his forthcoming new album; the inimitable Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes will be bringing their live show to both London and Manchester; distinguished soul and blues legend George Benson returns to the UK for shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall & Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall; Hugh Laurie will be making a highly anticipated homecoming to perform music from his 2011 debut Let Them Talk; and blues mainstay Robert Cray promises a blistering night of blues at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire.

JUNE
26
THE ROBERT CRAY BAND │ O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE │ LONDON
JOHN HIATT │ HMV RITZ │ MANCHESTER

27
JOHN HIATT │ UNDER THE BRIDGE │ LONDON
ERIC BIBB │ O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE │ LONDON

28
SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY & THE ASBURY JUKES │ HMV RITZ │ MANCHESTER
GEORGE BENSON │ ROYAL ALBERT HALL │ LONDON*

29
VAN MORRISON - SINGS THE BLUES │ HMV HAMMERSMITH APOLLO │ LONDON
SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY AND THE ASBURY JUKES │ O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE │ LONDON
JJ GREY & MOFRO │ 100 CLUB │ LONDON

30
RONNIE WOOD & FRIENDS – THE CHESS RECORDS STORY │ HMV HAMMERSMITH APOLLO │ LONDON
BRAND NEW HEAVIES │ O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE │ LONDON
CHARLES BRADLEY & HIS EXTRAORDINAIRES │ UNDER THE BRIDGE │ LONDON
GEORGE BENSON │ BRIDGEWATER HALL │ MANCHESTER*

JULY
1
TOM JONES │ HMV HAMMERSMITH APOLLO │ LONDON
HUGH LAURIE │ THE LOWRY │ MANCHESTER*

2
HUGH LAURIE │ HMV HAMMERSMITH APOLLO │ LONDON*

3
GOV’T MULE │ HMV RITZ │ MANCHESTER

4
GOV’T MULE │ UNDER THE BRIDGE │ LONDON

6
MICK TAYLOR & VERY SPECIAL GUEST │ UNDER THE BRIDGE │ LONDON

Tickets for BluesFest 2012 go on sale at 9am on Friday March 16th and are available to purchase by visiting www.bluesfest.co.uk or by calling Ticketmaster on 0844 844 0444.