Since its opening in June of '89, Buddy Guy's Legends has built a reputation as the premiere blues club in the world. Voted "Best Blues Club" several times and given the “Keepin’ the Blues Alive” award by the Blues Foundation, Legends continues to be a mecca for the blues and is known for its innovative scheduling of local, national, and international blues acts. 

The Mahindra Blues Festival is the largest festival of the Blues in India. Held annually in Mumbai and organized by the USD 16.9 billion Mahindra Group, the festival has presented leading Blues artists such as Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Quinn Sullivan, Shemekia Copeland, Jonny Lang, Doyle Bramahall II and Robert Randolph amongst a host of others.

The Mahindra Blues Weekend at Buddy Guy’s Legends is the first international extension to the Mahindra Blues Festival. Mahindra will sponsor and showcase local Chicago blues musicians and connect them with the growing audience of Blues fans in India. The whole weekend will be streaming live on BuddyGuy TV, free for anyone to watch. Legends will also be showing video clips from the Mahindra Blues Festival, bringing awareness of the festival and Indian blues bands to Chicago. The Mahindra Blues Weekend premieres on 16th and 17^th Oct, 2015 and features performances by Mike Wheeler and Carlos Johnson.

Speaking about this exciting addition to the Group's cultural outreach initiatives, Mr. Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group said "Buddy Guy has played an important role in increasing the audiences for Blues in India by participation in the Mahindra Blues Festival thrice so far. It is an honour for our festival to now be associated with Buddy Guy's Legends Club. We are committed to widening the appeal of this art form and will continue to do by supporting live performances and offering a platform to new talent."

Buddy Guy made a promise to Muddy Waters that he would keep the blues alive when Muddy and the other greats had passed on. That's our mission here at Legends. To do that, we need a strong, vibrant blues community. That means reaching out to new audiences, and also supporting the next generation of blues musicians. "I worry a lot about the legacy of BB King, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and all the guys who created this music. I want people to remember them. They got all kinds of technology now you can use to make a guitar sound different, but the way BB squeezed those strings, the only special effect he ever needed was his left hand. Those guys told me that if they left this world before I did, then everything was going to be on my shoulders. So as long as I'm here, I'm going to do whatever I can to keep the blues alive and I want to thank Mr. Anand Mahindra and the Mahindra Group for helping me keep that promise." said Buddy Guy.

A Chicago native, Mike Wheeler has performed with everyone from Koko Taylor and BB King to Buddy Guy and Shemekia Copeland. He's traveled the world playing with Jimmy Johnson and again with Big James and the Chicago Playboys. His up-beat shows featuring screaming electric guitar, also highlight his talented band with intense bass solos and rocking piano.

Carlos Johnson has been playing blues in Chicago since the 1970s. His jazzy, aggressive style of guitar is instantly recognizable. As a left-handed player who uses a right handed guitar flipped upside down, he can literally play the guitar forwards, backwards, and upside down. He has collaborated with blues greats from Otis Rush to Lefty Dizz to Billy Branch and toured internationally. A highly dynamic player, he can go from playing sweet melodic lines to raucous thumping shuffles in the blink of an eye.

The Mahindra Blues Weeked Chicago is promoted and produced by Oranjuice Entertainment.

Photos: Buddy Guy and Nikki Hill at the All Star Jam at the Mahindra Blues Festival 2015. Photo by Verus Ferreira