Davenport Blues Festival Canceled

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Financial problems have forced a group to cancel an annual music festival in Davenport that began decades ago.

The Quad-City Times reports The Mississippi Valley Blues Society announced Wednesday it would cancel a blues festival set for Labor Day weekend.

The group’s president, Steve Heston, says in a statement the group will focus on continuing current programs and work to increase funding with the hope of holding a festival next year.

The nonprofit society started the festival more than 30 years ago to draw attention to blues-related music and raise money for education programs. The group says it reaches more than 7,500 students annually through a schools program.

Heston says his organization will regroup with a goal of returning next year with “some world-class musicians playing the blues.”