The 2018 Doheny Blues Festival, entering its 21st year, will occur on May 19 & 20, 2018. After 20 successful years of bringing the world’s finest Blues musicians to Orange County, we are also excited to announce our new venue, Dana Point’s Sea Terrace Park. The award-winning festival will be reimagined at its new seaside home, with more intimate stage areas, elevated food and beverage offerings, and involvement from many local businesses in the Dana Point community.
The line-up of performers is taking shape now, and Early Bird Tickets will go on sale Wednesday, December 20 through DohenyBluesFestival.com.
In November, the Doheny Blues Festival was notified by the State of California Parks Department that it would have to find a new venue, despite a 20-year track record of producing its world-class festival, which draws fans from around the world. In 2017 alone, fans traveled to the Dana Point festival from 43 states and 12 countries.
Doheny Blues organizers met with community leaders from the City of Dana Point, the Dana Point Chamber of Commerce, local non-profit organizations as well as Visit Dana Point, the marketing collective representing the city’s major hotels. All groups agreed that the Doheny Blues Festival is a signature event for the city of Dana Point and a successful collaboration was formed to save the festival by moving it to the coastal location of Sea Terrace Park, adjacent to Salt Creek Beach Park.
“We appreciate the support that the Dana Point community has shown towards the Doheny Blues Festival, and are truly excited about creating an amazing festival experience at Sea Terrace Park,” says Rich Sherman, founder and CEO. “Dana Point is known as the town for music, with an array of musical genres being represented, and we take pride in the fact that the Doheny Blues Festival ushered in this era of local festivals,” Sherman continues.
“The list of Blues legends and Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame inductees that have performed for the fans in Dana Point is incredible, including B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, John Lee Hooker and so many more. Blues music is an American art form that should be cherished and promoted, and we look forward to working with the City of Dana Point’s Arts & Culture Commission to continue these efforts.”
Jim Samuels, Chairman of Visit Dana Point, said “The Doheny Blues Festival is one of our city’s premiere events, and has been for two decades, and we look forward to welcoming visitors to Dana Point on May 19 & 20, 2018. In addition to out-of-towners, many local residents attend the blues festival, which kicks off our summer season of tourism, so we are excited to continue the wonderful tradition of Dana Point’s Doheny Blues Festival.“