As local blues fans are quick to tell anyone who’ll listen (hopefully in a darkened bar with a neon sign and behind a shot of whiskey), Houston has a rich and deep history in the genre. Lightnin’ Hopkins. Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown. Albert Collins. Bobby “Blue” Bland. Johnny Copeland. Texas Johnny Brown. Duke-Peacock Records. The Eldorado Ballroom.
Trudy Lynn onstage at the 2025 Houston Bluesfest Credit: Andrew Glassock
But like its sister genre, jazz, blues is often in danger of being amber encased in the past. Something to be studied for its historical significance rather than viewing the players and music who came before as inspiration and a bridge to today.
That’s exactly what Tracy DeJarnett wants to do with Bluesfest, the annual showcase that she founded and directs. Now in its fourth year, the 2026 edition will take place on October 4 on the rooftop of Post HTX.
“I wanted to identify, support, and promote local talent. Houston is such a great creator town. And there is a rich history in the Third Ward and Fifth Ward of Houston. People were in my ear that if I started something, they’d get behind me,” DeJarnett says of the festival’s inception via Zoom. “I felt compelled to create it.”
For this year’s lineup, DeJarnett really wanted to bring in cross-generational talent. Thus, the bill features longtime local legends Trudy Lynn and Leonard “Lowdown” Brown, scene veterans Jonn Del Toro Richardson and the Cris Crochemore Band, and a young gun who’s getting a lot of attention, Mathias Lattin.
“We’ve got generations supporting one another and sharing the history and the future of the blues,” DeJarnett adds.
Only in his mid-20s, Lattin won the Band and Best Guitarist categories at the 2023 International Blues Challenge. He was also just signed to Red Zone Records, the label headed by another blues wunderkind, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. Lattin is a graduate of the Kinder High School of the Performing and Visual Arts and began playing onstage at the tender age of 12 when Richardson invited him to a weekly blues jam he hosted at the Big Easy club.
Richardson—also on the Zoom call—notes that as a performer there’s not much difference between playing for a large festival crowd versus a smaller club gig, save one thing that comes to mind. “There is a little more energy at a festival show. Like having a house party, then taking it to a very nice dinner,” he says. “Everybody feels like they’re part of it. And the music can grow and move forward.”
Houston Bluesfest founder Tracy DeJarnett Credit: John Conroy
During last year’s Bluesfest, DeJarnett says she was “pleasantly surprised” that a considerable number of attendees had come in from out of state. “I think we’re just growing. And the community that’s building around this is exciting. It’s not just a one-off event,” she offers. “Everything we touch, I want to leave room for magic.”
Asked why Houston is such a fertile ground for blues, Richardson says it starts with the people.
“I think it’s just the location. We’re a shipping city and a railroad city and this is where guys come to work and when they get off, want to play and listen to music. So, it lends itself to that,” he notes. “Down the highway, Louisiana guys would come over. You have different cultures that met here and that transfers into the music. B.B. King and Ray Charles would always come to Houston and get their players to take on the road.”
A lot of that is covered in the 2023 documentary When Houston Had the Blues from director Alan Swyer. And DeJarnett calls Houston a “creator town” buoyed by its cultural diversity that feeds into the music and its creation.
Blues songs can also take on contemporary topics and history. Look no further than “Hurricane Harvey,” a tune that Richardson wrote and recorded with Clint Morgan.
Opening with the sound of pelting water, “Well it’s rainin’ down in Texas/Wind about to blow me away/People runnin’ and cryin’/’Cuz Hurricane Harvey come to Houston today” Morgan sings in his deep voice. The narrator can only watch helplessly as his possessions—including his favorite chair—float away. He then reaches for his shotgun to eliminate cottonmouth snakes swimming in the streets, while mothers lament children they cannot find.
“That’s part of reality. I was staying at my mom’s house in Baytown, and her house actually flooded. So, I’m standing there watching this, and the reel runs in your head, so you sit down and write,” he says.
“I pulled back into my mom’s neighborhood later and there were signs that said, ‘You loot, we’ll shoot.’ Then I remember watching a clip on the news where a mom lost her child in the car when the water took her baby away, so that’s part of the song.”
This year, DeJarnett is excited to have Bluesfest at the Post HTX. The building for the mixed used retail/entertainment venue has a history of its own as the former longtime location of the Barbara Jordan Post Office. And she’s promising some “surprise guests” for the grand finale of the music.
“I just love seeing the mix of people who come to the show” DeJarnett sums up, noting that since the stages will be covered the event will happen “rain or shine.”
And if it’s the former, would Richardson be inspired to write, oh, another Houston weather-related tune?
“Sure!” he laughs. “I’ll call it ‘Mailbox Blues!’”
The Houston Bluesfest takes place 4-8 p.m. on Sunday, October 4, at Post HTX, 401 Franklin. For more information, visit HoustonBluesFest.com. $25 and up.
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