After two years of virtual concerts, the Foundation relaunched its popular Blues at the Arch as a destination, weekend-long festival Aug. 12-13, in the North Gateway of Gateway Arch National Park.

Paying tribute to St. Louis’ storied blues history, the seventh annual event, produced by the Foundation in partnership with the National Blues Museum and the National Park Service, saw nearly 9,000 people attend.

Seven national and regional musical groups performed, including Annika Chambers, Marcia Ball, Matt “The Rattlesnake” Lesch, Ms. Hy-C & Fresh Start, Jeremiah Johnson, the Kesha Pratt Band and Selwyn Birchwood.

For the first time, Blues at the Arch offered six local food and beverage vendors, a Kids Korner where children could experiment with musical instruments, a performance by Circus Harmony, a Barre3 fitness class, local artists, and a festival poster contest. 

To cap off the weekend, local restaurant 612North in Laclede’s Landing hosted a Blues Brunch on Aug. 14, featuring Charles “Skeet” Rodgers, with a portion of proceeds donated to the Foundation.

A news article from KSDK praised the event, saying, “The music has returned… bringing some much needed energy back to the City.”

Thank you to all our generous sponsors who helped make Blues at the Arch Festival a reality, and thank you, St. Louis, for showing up in a big way to support and enjoy the event. We’ll see you next year!

View our Facebook album to see all the Blues at the Arch Festival 2022 photos.