by Mike Mering, mikemering@gmail.com, Senior cbbfestival.com correspondent

Starbucks. Burger King. (Insert large cell phone company of your choice): Need NOT apply.

You may have noticed this absence of large corporate involvement and major sponsorship at the inaugural Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival (www.cbbfestival.com)

Besides being the only winter music festival, Chicago Bluegrass & Blue is also the only independent music festival of this scale to hit Chicago in recent memory. The festival boasts major acts such as the Avett Brothers, David Grisman and Ha Ha Tonka alongside a roster of surging local and national talent.

“Major producers and major labels are not needed to throw a major event, just independently minded people looking to invest in a righteous cause” explains festival founder Mike Raspatello.

It’s this sort of resolve that has united festival artists and organizers for what is gearing up to be a groundbreaking event

In fact, nearly all of the artists and producers participating in the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues festival are independent entities.  While the Avett Brothers have recently joined forces with the renowned Rick Rubin and his American Recordings label, they have long been faithful to their Ramseur Records roots.

Check out the stats…

The Labels:
“There is an inherent spirit of independence that resonates with all parties involved in the event from sponsors to the artists and their record labels,” says Raspatello.

Alligator Records and Bloodshot Records, both Chicago-based labels, along with David Grisman’s Acoustic Disc Records, have been nurturing indie artists for decades and will spotlight artists of its own at the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues festival. Grisman’s Acoustic Disc Records is best known for its collaborations with Jerry Garcia who, in 1990, decided to record with Grisman’s independent label for his first acoustic-only disc.

The Venue:
Providing the platform for the festival is the legendary Congress Theater, a successfully run concert hall that operates free of overriding corporate ownership or partnership. This is a rarity today as most existing concert halls with large capacities and prime locales have succumb to the lure of corporate takeover.

Jam Production and Live Nation have a stranglehold on all large concert production, even with C3 Presents recently entering the market with Lollapalooza and a limited partnership with the Congress Theater.

Sponsors:
Take one look at the festival’s “Partners” page and you will see an assortment of independent-minded businesses (www.cbbfestival.com/partners)

Producers:
Just a couple of guys, such as independent producers Michael Raspatello, Lucas King, Max Wagner, Jeff Callahan, and Will Lambert, with great support from the Congress Theater

What does all this mean to the concertgoer?
Saturday November 22, you will be a part of history in the making. Creativity will be tapped in many forms. There will be no restraint from those corporations more concerned with squeezing money from your pockets than producing a quality, free-flowing, energized assembly of music and art.