NORWICH - When the Chenango Blues Fest first kicked-off in the summer of 1993, the event consisted of four bands playing on a Sunday afternoon with maybe 200 people in attendance. Fast-forward 23 years later, and the Chenango Blues Fest is an internationally recognized affair.

The homegrown festival received the Blues Foundation’s top honor earlier this year, and the 24th Chenango Blues Fest is expected to live up to the hype. Thousands of blues fans including the Executive Director of the Blues Foundation himself are expected to flock to the Chenango county fairgrounds for a weekend that promises great music and vibes.

“It was a pretty big honor to win,” said Chenango Blues Association (CBA) President Eric Larsen. “We’re clearly the smallest event to ever receive the honor, so to have them recognize us—we will surely kick things up.”

As the years have gone on, the Chenango Blues Fest has continued to expand incrementally. Notably in 2015, CBA was approached by corporate sponsor NBT Bank with an offer to fund the Summer Concert Series taking place on Thursday nights leading up to the festival. This summer, CBA and NBT have provided the community with free shows every Thursday night throughout July and August.