WBEZ Chicago Blues Festival

Blue text on a white background with a blue cartoon-style character playing a saxophone about the text

The Chicago Blues Festival, founded in 1984, quickly became one of the city’s most prominent public music events, celebrating Chicago’s deep ties to the blues and honoring artists shaped by the city’s South and West Side club scenes. WBEZ 91.5 FM, Chicago’s public radio station, played an active role in covering the festival and the broader Chicago blues community, broadcasting blues programming, highlighting local musicians, and airing festival-related content. By the mid-1980s, WBEZ maintained a visible presence at major cultural events such as the Blues Festival, using promotional items, including pinback buttons, to increase public visibility among listeners and festival crowds.

The design and production style of this button align with common promotional materials distributed by radio stations during the late 1980s and early 1990s. During this period, WBEZ regularly covered events produced by the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs, promoting the Blues Festival through news features and blues-focused programming. Based on available historical and stylistic factors, this button was most likely produced between 1985 and 1995, coinciding with WBEZ’s coverage of the festival and the event’s rise as a marquee Chicago summer tradition.