Big City Blues ⭐ A Fool’s Paradise ⭐
Welcome to the 9th edition!
organized by Upside Down
6 – 8 March 2026
✯ A weekend of blues workshops (multiple partnered and solo tracks)
✯ Three steaming hot parties with live music
✯ 15 international and local inspirers
✯ Culture and History Talks
✯ Surprising performances & more
✯ A pre-festival activities open for all
About the festival
Big City Blues is a festival that celebrates blues music and dance by trying to pay tribute to the African American origins of the art form.
Musically, we work within the scope of Black blues and Black American Music (BAM). We focus on musical expression, rhythm, (partner) communication, blues aesthetics and movement. You’ll be guided through different types of blues dancing that can be both raw and sensual forms of expression.
Big City Blues believes that if we want to grow as dancers and community members, we can also grow in understanding the context, culture and black African American roots of blues music and dance.
Therefore we invite a professional team of artists that are capable of guiding you in this process. These people are of African American descent or are guests in the culture with a humble attitude, working towards cultural competence. Sometimes they are less experienced within blues dance spaces, but showcase an elaborate understanding of other Black American dances.
The Big City Blues program offers partnered and solo tracks with 6 hours of workshops and 2 talks. You can add 1, 2 or 3 workshop(s) on top. At night, we party hard with fine musicians and DJ’s. Come a couple of days earlier and stay longer for our pre and after festival program with extra parties, classes and talks.