Hudson River Park Reveals Blues BBQ Lineup At Midtown Pier

MIDTOWN, NY — It used to host scofflaw's towed cars. These days, after a $20 million makeover, it host blues and barbecue.

At least it will on August 19th, when the 23rd Annual Blues BBQ Festival comes to Pier 17, near West 34th Street and the Hudson River.

Presented by the Hudson River Park Trust and hosted by WFUV's Delphine Blue, the free, day-long celebration of the blues will feature an exiting lineup of musicians and delicious barbecue.

Musicians include Danielle Ponder, a singer-songwriter from Rochester, New York, who was a public defender before pursuing her musical career, Two-time Grammy-nominated artist and American blues legend John Primer & The Real Deal Blues Band, Southern Louisiana accordion maven Nathan & The Zydeco Cha Chas, gospel, jazz and soul vocalist Diunna Greenleaf and Selwyn Birchwood, a Florida-based guitarist who will entertain with his modern, vibrant spin on the blues genre.

This year features a second, more intimate stage for the first time, curated by the Jazz Foundation of America, a longtime local partner of host Hudson River Park, featuring piano virtuoso Danny Mixon, Ed Cherry & Marvin Sewell, plus jazz legends Beareather Reddy, Cedric “Catfish” Turner & Keith “The Captain” Gamble and Jonathan Kalb.

Barbecue will be provided from local BBQ hero like Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, Blue Smoke, Pure Grit, Kimchi Smoke Barbecue, Dickson's Butcher, Jase’s BBQ, Big Papa Smoke and Mighty Quinn's.

Drinks will be provided by Lagunitas and the Vermont Cider Company.

“For over two decades, fans of blues music and barbecue food from New York City and beyond have been planning their August calendars around Hudson River Park’s annual Blues BBQ Festival,” said Noreen Doyle, president & CEO of the Hudson River Park Trust. “We are proud to continue sharing the rich diversity of this American music genre with our community.”

The festival began in 199, just before Y2K gripped the nation, and currently holds the title as the longest-running free blues festival in the region.

From 1977 to 2021, Pier 76 served as the NYPD's sole impound lot in Manhattan.

In 2021, they left the pier as part of a state-led movement to convert Hudson River waterfront to parks and open space.

With a $20 million investment from New York State, Pier 76 was reborn just 81 days latter, adding nearly 250,000-square-feet of public space.

For more info on the Blues BBQ Festival, click here.