WATERFRONT BLUES FESTIVAL
July 2-5, Portland, Ore.
Top acts: Taj Mahal, Little Feat, John Mayall, Booker T.
Tickets: $10 plus two cans of food, per day
2009 donations: 87,577 pounds of food
waterfrontbluesfest.com
You can’t beat the admission price for the country’s second-largest blues festival. The fundraiser for a local food bank asks for a minimal donation each day in exchange for more than eight hours of music on four stages overlooking the Willamette River. Plus, nightly “blues cruises” take to the water for $20-35 per person, and you can catch late-night jam sessions across the street for $15.
[Summer Festivals / May 2010, M Music & Musicians]