NORWICH – Over the past two decades, the Chenango Blues Festival has grown from a small, hastily assembled one day affair to one of the northeast’s largest and most popular venues for the blues, drawing thousands to the Chenango County Fairgrounds year after year. And at 6 p.m. Friday, the Chenango Blues Association will once again offer-up its Free Friday Night Concert, featuring some of the best in nationally recognized blues talent.

Guitarist, singer and acclaimed songwriter Murali Coryell will kick off tomorrow night’s show, whose vocals and guitar work Rolling Stone magazine compared to Al Green, Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye; Jimi Hendrix, Freddie King and Eric Clapton. That’s high praise coming from one of the world’s most popular – and longest running – music publications, and Chenango Blues Association President Eric Larsen said it’s well deserved.

“They’ve always wanted to come down and play, and it just worked out that they were really anxious to join in the line-up this year; we’re really glad it worked out,” he added.

And while Larsen has never seen Coryell live, his musical background made him a perfect choice to open Friday’s show. Over the years, Coryell has toured with his father, jazz legend Larry Coryell; legendary bluesmen Joe Louis Walker and Duke Robillard; and, as a child, grew up surrounded by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis and Carlos Santana.