Calgary Bluesfest finds new home for this summer

After being thrown a major curveball earlier this year, the Calgary International Blues Festival has found a new venue for this summer.

BluesFest organizers say the event will be taking place at The Confluence since their old venue, the former Millenium Park, has been sold off and paved over.

The festival’s artistic director Cindy McLeod says the change has been stressful to navigate with just months remaining until the event in July. She says there is still a lot of work to do.

“There is no power and water on that site, but the city does events there and so they have a pretty good working knowledge of the space and are willing to help guide me through that process of planning,” she says. “I’ll have to bring in generators and water trucks, and things like that.”

She says the change is not a “lateral” move and notes that attendees will appreciate the beauty and accessibility of the new space.

The new venue is being considered a temporary change for now, but McLeod hopes that could change.

“Our hope would be to stay, it takes a lot to make a move like that….to completely revamp yourself from scratch,” she says. “It’s really not ideal to have to move year after year.”

Bluesfest had been held at Millenium Park for the past 14 years, but last summer the city announced the outdoor space would be known as ‘Cowboys Park’ and will become the new home of the Cowboys Music Festival starting in 2025.

McLeod previously told CityNews the city was not forthcoming on what was happening with the area after the 10-year naming and sponsorship deal with Cowboys was announced last year. She said organizers were surprised to learn the site was being paved over.

Work began on renovations to the newly-renamed Cowboys Park earlier this month.

The 2025 Calgary International Bluesfest is scheduled to run from July 31 to Aug. 3.