Kingston Mines (blues club)

Kingston Mines is a world famous blues nightclub in Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois. Lenin "Doc" Pellegrino, a physician, opened the club in 1968 in former machine shop as a coffeehouse that featured plays more than blues. The original version of Grease premiered at the Kingston Mines in 1971 before moving to Broadway a year later. Kingston Mines moved to its current location, 2548 N. Halsted, in 1982. The club's music evolved over the years from delta blues to today's Chicago blues.[1] It is still owned by the Pellegrino family and it is "the oldest, continuously operating blues club in Chicago."[2] Blues legends such as Koko Taylor, BB King, Carl Weathersby, and Magic Slim played there. The club was award the "Keeping the Blues Award for Blues Clubs" by the Blues Foundation in 2014.[3]

The Kingston Mines has two alternating "first tier" performances on its two stages into the early morning every night. Carl Weathersby, Linsey Alexander, Eddie Shaw, Mike Wheeler, Peaches Staten, Joanna Conner, and Ronnie Hicks are regular performers.[3][4]

References

  1. ↑ "Kingston Mines". chicagobarprpject.com. Innovaxis, Inc. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Kingston Mines". Chicago.Metromix.ocm. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kerzner, Barry (January 27, 2014). "Kingston Mines Earns 2014 Keeping The Blues Alive Award". chicagoblues.ocm. Chicago Blues. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Kingston Mines Schedule". kingstonmines.com. Kingston Mines. Retrieved April 28, 2015.