Five blues bands will perform, including: Red, White & Blues Band * Meantooth Grin * The Insomniacs * Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials * Shane Dwight

Doors open to the public at 12 noon with the first band taking the stage at 1:00 pm. Generous seating will be provided (personal seating allowed), with both food and beverages available in the hall (sorry, no carry-ins).

The Blues Café has come full circle this year, as it's back where it started in the mid-1990's – the historical Rothschild Pavilion. The event was initially put together by Tom Schlief, one of the original and longtime organizers of the Big Bull Falls Blues Festival. Uncle "Daddy" Marcus was the emcee of the event, originally designed to raise funds for the Marathon County Historical Society. The event ran for a couple of years and then disappeared. When the Great Northern Blues Society was formed in 1998, reviving the Blues Café was discussed as a way to raise money. It took a couple of years of planning to put on an event of its size, with the first "reincarnated" Café held at Marathon Park's Youth Building (now called East Gate Hall) in 2000. The event took place there until 2008, when it was moved to the Stoney Creek Inn. When the Café takes place this year, it'll have gone full circle – back to the beautifully renovated Rothschild Pavilion.

Tickets are priced at $15.00 in advance and $18.00 at the door and can be purchased online at www.gnbs.org or in Wausau at County Market or Inner Sleeve, Trig's in Rhinelander, Fittante Taxidermy in Antigo, Radio Kaos in Stevens Point, Ida's in Wisconsin Rapids, Arrow Sports Bar in Weston, Country Aire in Stratford or in Minocqua at Black Bear Bar.