26th Annual Riverfront Blues Festival Sizzles and Shakes in Fort Smith, Arkansas

Fort Smith, Arkansas' annual Riverfront Blues Festival celebrated its 26th year this past weekend, ringing in the summer season with a sweltering helping of electrified blues that only served to further inflame the steamy Friday and Saturday nights in the "Natural State."

Among the blazing bands and artists were Blues N Greens, Eric Mathews Band, Mr. Sipp and Selwyn Birchwood on Friday, June 24 and Colin Lake, Curtis Salgado, Fat Head, Gracie Curran and Toronzo Cannon rounding out the weekend on Saturday, June 25.

Though the thermometer crested 100 degrees in Forth Smith on Saturday, the fiery temperatures did little to dissuade festivalgoers from taking in the docket of all-star blues performances. 

In a report from KSFM 5, festival director Denise Messamore explained the festival's cool, comfortable accommodations for artists and crew to the local news channel:

"We've always had trailers," Messamore said. "We've had the Green House trailer that we've got for the stage crew to make sure that everybody stays cool and taken care of. We've always taken care of our musicians and our stage help because they work hard and we work hard, so we want to make sure everybody is taken care of."

The Southwest Times Record interviewed festival president Dale Fraze, Sr., who extolled the annual event's impressive selection of blues music and its unfussed atmosphere:

"We do this every year." [...] "This is a family-oriented event. We encourage people to bring the kids down because it's a lot of fun. There's a lot of good music, and it's just a great time. This is a place people can come, relax, get away for a bit and enjoy," Fraze added.

Though the festival has come to an end for 2016, be sure to attend the blistering blues bonanza next year in Forth Smith.

Below, watch a quick interview with Richard Livingston, the president of the Fort Smith Riverfront Blues Society, discussing the blues festival's 2013 lineup for the event.

We want to hear from you. Let us know if you've been to any music festivals this summer in the comments section at the bottom of this page.

TagsRiverfront Blues Festival, Denise Messamore