(photo courtesy of Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival)

Pack your bags for beautiful Portland, Oregon and join blues fans from around the world at the 2009 Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival, running from July 2nd to July 5th, 2009, on the grassy banks of the Willamette River at Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

The 2009 Festival will feature more than 120 performances on five stages. Among the highlights will be performances by the legendary Johnny Winter, Etta James and the Roots Band, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Ryan Shaw, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Magic Slim and the Teardrops, Sonny Landreth, Robben Ford, and Rick Estrin & the Nightcats, to name just a few.

Since its grass-roots beginnings in 1988, the award-winning festival has grown to be the largest blues festival west of the Mississippi and the second-largest blues festival in the nation, attracting more than 120,000 blues fans.

Daily admission is a donation of $10 per person and two cans of food for the benefit of the Oregon Food Bank. All of the Festival’s proceeds benefit Oregon Food Bank’s work to eliminate hunger and its root causes in Oregon and southwest Washington.

This year the festival offers incredible value with its Blues Buddy Pass. For just $65 ($55 if purchased by June 8th), Blues Buddy Pass holders receive:

• Admission to 2 Wildhorse Super Jams at the Marriott Hotel Ballroom on July 3rd and 4th, featuring the bluesy soul of Karl Denson's Tiny Universe and the sacred steel of The Lee Boys on Friday night.

• A Battle of the 'Bones with Bonerama and Big Sam's Funky Nation on Saturday after the fireworks.

PLUS:

• Four-day admission to the festival

• Early access to place your blanket before gates open

• Guaranteed re-admission, even when gates are closed

• An official festival collector's button.

To get info for visitors and the most wanted foods visit the Festival's web site: Portland Blues Festival