Produced by Chesapeake Bay Events, a nonprofit organization founded in 1998, the Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival is held at Sandy Point State Park in Maryland each year. The festival features a strong lineup year in and year out, with past performers including John Lee Hooker, James Brown, Otis Rush, Robert Cray, Taj Mahal, Koko Taylor, Wilson Pickett, Buddy Guy, Aretha Franklin, Chuck Berry, Bonnie Raitt, Joe Bonamassa, Shemekia Copeland, Trombone Shorty, and the Tedeschi Trucks Band. Run by Don Hooker and his daughter Sarah, the festival donates 100 percent of its proceeds to charity, with neither leader taking any salary from their festival work. The event, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2018, has over the years raised more than a million dollars for deserving regional charities. The 2018 Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival is slated for May 19 and 20, 2018.
