Saskatoon Blues Festival

The annual Saskatoon Blues Festival is the highlight of the Blues year! 

The Festiva has now been moved to the beginning of May, which should make travelling to/from the festival easier. Our festival features performance by local, national and international Blues musicians. The festival also includes the Blues in the Schools (BITS), and the Outreach performances for people who would not otherwise be able to attend live music. We also schedule performances in local lounges and bars to introduce the public to our great local Blues musicians. We always need help with the Festival, so please consider becoming a volunteer.

Stay tuned for many more announcements!

2025 Festival

Tickets are now available!

Main Stage

For the first time, we are adding a Sunday show, so there will be 3 main stage shows. We have a great mix of old favourites and performers who have never played Saskatoon.

Passes for all events are available. The price is $105 + PST for a non-transferable pass, $115 +PST for a transferable pass. 

Friday, May 2 at the Bassment

Doors at 7:30, show starts at 8:30

Tickets are $40 + PST

Lester Quitzau and Sandro Dominelli 

For over 30 years Canadian roots music artist Lester Quitzau has been defying stereotypes in the music world and in that time span, this guitar playing, song-writing singer has carved out a life that is multi-faceted in its unique scope.

Yes, he’s that mellow guy who throws down a heavy groove, but he’s also an artist who continues to forge new paths in a musical journey where he’s navigated some heavy terrain with considerable finesse and focus. His unique style and fluidity on slide, acoustic and electric guitars, coupled with his well- crafted songs and warm vocals, are the fruits of this musical journey. Canadian blues broadcasting guru Holger Petersen sums up his appreciation of Quitzau’s talents by reminding us that “Lester’s slide playing is in that rarified category and he has that great combination of skill, tone, and studied knowledge. He’s a class artist, whose music has a direct connection to the heart and soul.”

Sandro Dominelli is one of Canada’s most creative, talented and tasteful drummers. Through his continuing success as a much sought-after composer, bandleader, session player, and producer, he has proven to be an established luminary in the Canadian music scene.


Graham Guest Band 

The Graham Guest Band is a new version of a timeless sound. This version of the band came about out of the transformative time of the great pandemic. As the world came back to life in 2022, Graham decided to gather together the very best band members that he had played with over the years.

Together they decided to reshape their musical identities both individually and collectively. Happy to be together, whole and alive; The Graham Guest Band is Graham Guest on vocal and piano, Chris Grapel on Bass, J.J. Lisk on drums, Rooster Davis on organ and the godfather of Edmonton blues Rodger Stanley on Guitar. Their combined resumes are too long to list so the new resume starts here. Too experienced to be new and too hip to be categorized; this music is straight up and full of passion. 

Blues superstar Sue Foley says of Graham “I’ve always been amazed at what a natural he is. He is not just a Canadian treasure, he's a true blues treasure. "

The Graham Guest Band is the real deal.

Saturday, May 3 at the Bassment

Doors at 6:30, show starts at 7:30

Tickets are $45 + PST

Sean Pinchin

Juno Nominated and Internationally Recognized Singer/ Songwriter/ Slide Guitarist Sean Pinchin has been a steady presence on the Festival circuit for nearly 2 decades.. Since his first performance in 2005 while opening for Sawyer Brown as Guitarist / 2nd Vocalist in a Gretchen Wilson Tribute band, Sean had begun a regular pre - pandemic life on the road performing roughly 200 shows a year all through North America. Recording original music and creating beautifully constructed interpretations of classic Blues and Roots music since 2007, he received a (2014) Maple Blues Nomination for Best New Artist, his 2016 Release “Monkey Brain” received the Juno Nomination for Best Blues Album of the Year (2017) and he was recognized by the Toronto Blues Society as Semi Finalist for the Road to Memphis Challenge (2019). In (2020) Sean recorded guitar for the “Lily Pad Bop” by Splash’N Boots featuring Jill Barber which won the Juno Award for Best Children’s Album. 

Ollee Owens

Far more than a vocal powerhouse, Calgary-based Blues/Soul/Rock artist Ollee Owens blends grit and intensity with exquisite craftmanship. Her expansive range draws on a wealth of experience, both bad and good, acknowledging trials and trauma while never losing sight of what truly matters. An Ollee Owens performance is an unforgettable, emotionally charged musical experience that moves both body and soul, creating a lasting connection through shared experiences and love of good music. With the warmth of Mavis Staples and power of Etta James, Ollee’s voice goes directly to the heart of the listener. Her recently released album, “Nowhere To Hide”, has gained critical acclaim in the U.S. and abroad. Relatively unknown, Ollee Owens is making waves in the Roots and Blues scene and garnering well-earned attention in Canada and Internationally. Since 2016, Ollee has shared stages across the Canadian Prairies with artists like Matt Anderson, Blue Moon Marquee and Dawn Tyler Watson and the Hello Darlins. 2025 started off with a dynamic performance at the BB King’s Club in Memphis and Ollee can’t wait to bring her love and energy to the Saskatoon Blues Festival! 

Tony D

Tony D (Diteodoro), guitarist for Juno award winning band MonkeyJunk, has been laying it down for over forty years. MonkeyJunk has amassed twenty Maple Blues awards and a Blues Music Award, (formerly known as The Handy Awards). 

At the age of thirteen, Tony began his musical journey on the guitar. Learning mostly in the  blues, rock jazz stylings. From Muddy Waters to Jimi Hendrix to Jimmy Page to Albert King to Wes Montgomery and all the points in between .

Saskatoon audiences know Tony D very well - and that he always puts on a killer show!

Sunday May 4 at the Bassment

Doors at 1PM, show starts at 2PM

Tickets are $40 + PST

Ross Neilsen Band

In 2007, Ross Neilsen had an epiphany. He quit his job, left his relationship, moved out of his house and into his car. Neilsen spent the next two years couch surfing and began the never ending tour schedule that he would become known for throughout Canada. The road honed his craft into a well-oiled machine of stories and song. Music has taken Ross throughout Canada, Mexico, The Olympics, The Pan Am Games, The Hill Country region of Mississippi, The Swampy rivers of Louisiana and even to Macon, Georgia where he was privileged to play the holy grail of blues, rock and soul: Duane Allman’s 1957 Les Paul Gold Top.

This year Ross was the Saskatoon Blues Society's nominee to compete as a solo act at the International Blues Festival in Memphis, where he made it to the semi-finals. He and his band will be showing us how he made it to Memphis and impressed the audiences there!

Suzie Vinnick Band

A Saskatoon native transplanted to the Niagara Region of Ontario, Roots and Blues singer and musician Suzie Vinnick is a 3X Juno Nominee, a 2X Canadian Folk Music Award winner, won a 2024 ECMA with her project A’Court, Spiegel and Vinnick and is a 12-time winner of the Maple Blues Award for songwriting, female vocalist, acoustic act and more. Suzie has a voice you’ve heard a thousand times and one you’ll never forget. It soars, it growls, it whispers and it shouts from a deep, deep well of emotion. The pure joy she exudes when she plays her guitars is so worth the show.

In May 2024, Suzie performed at the Teatro Nazionale in Genova, Italy, as a guest of Italian acoustic guitarist and singer Beppe Gambetta and she also performed at the Baltic Blues Festival in Eutin, Germany. In July 2024 Suzie and her band opened for Burton Cummings at the Kemptville Live Music Festival; she also appeared as a special guest of Blackie & the Rodeo Kings at Ottawa Bluesfest in 2023, performing alongside Daniel Lanois.  She has also toured nationally with Downchild, Stuart McLean’s The Vinyl Café, with ASV (Charlie A’Court, Lloyd Spiegel and Vinnick), the John McDermott Band and she performed for Canadian Peacekeepers in Bosnia and the Persian Gulf. She was also the voice of Tim Horton’s for 5 years!


Free Shows

In addition to the main stage, the Saskatoon Blues Society is pleased to be able to put on free performances, thanks to the help of our generous granting agencies and sponsors.


Our granting agencies and sponsors

Our granting agencies and sponsors are the best! Remember to support the people who support the Blues!

Calvados Holdings