The 21st edition of Spain's leading blues festival, BluesCazorla, will take place this coming July 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the southern Spanish town from which the festival takes its name. Justin Coe talks to Christopher Ortiz, co-director of a festival that over the past two decades has brought dozens of top performers to Cazorla, names such as Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor, Mavis Staples, Charlie Musselwhite, John Mayall, Joe Bonamassa, John Primer, and Watermelon Slim. In 2014 BluesCazorla was recognized by the Blues Foundation of Memphis with the prestigious Keeping the Blues Alive award. A successful outgrowth of the Cazorla blues festival has been the music promotor Riff Music, which this summer is responsible for performances in Spain of Sting, Mark Knopfler, and Bob Dylan.
