The first Bloomington Blues and Boogie Woogie Piano Festival was August 9, 2015, in Bloomington, IN. The festival featured Marcia Ball, Bob Seeley, Carl Sonny Leyland, Bruce "Sunpie" Barnes, Liz Pennock and Dr. Blues, Craig and others, with rhythm section and professional dancers. Josh Davis taught East Coast Swing and Blues Dance before the festival. Click here to see photos and videos from the first Bloomington Boogies. Performances in the Ivy Tech Waldron sold out. After the Ivy Tech Waldron concert, music continued at Bloomington Boogies After Hours at Malibu Grill, where artists performed with no cover charge. On Aug. 10, Marcia Ball, Carl Sonny Leyland, and Bob Seeley played a free concert at Fairview Elementary for 360 students and 30 adults.
Major Event Sponsors included Ivy Tech Community College, Carmin Parker P.C., Bloomington Arts Commission, and Indiana Arts Commission. Festival Underwriters included Visit Bloomington, IU Credit Union, Trojan Horse Restaurant & Tavern, Oliver Winery, Mother Bear's Pizza, Nick's English Hut, Tim & Cheri DeBruicker, Robert Kissel, and Maple Grove Farms, LP. Media Sponsors included WFHB, WFIU, and Bloom Magazine. Additional supporters included Malibu Grill, Tom Gallagher, Function Brewing, Downtown Bloomington Inc., Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, Owen County State Bank, Griffin Realty, Royale Hair Parlor, World Wide Automotive Service, Newhouse Construction, Bill C. Brown Associates, Nature's Way, Curry Auto Center, Andrew Davis Clothiers, Renaissance Rentals, MainSource Bank, Bloomington Council for Community Accessibility, Adrian & Linda Eversoll, The Uptown Cafe, Bob Arnove, Jawn & Karen Bauer Family, Michele Brentano, Val Haughton & Frank Motley, Chris Gaal & Dr. Beth Florini, Rob Stone & Karen Green Stone, Kevin Robling & Jenny Stephens, Marcy & Michael Wenzler, Phil & Linda Stafford, Story Insights, Rod Young, Stephen Percy, Monroe County History Center, Fourwinds Resort & Marina, Ken Grooms & Zain Mackey, Springhill Suites by Marriott Bloomington, Melody Music Shop, LLC, and Mark Wiedenmayer.
The festival was awarded a 2015 Visit Bloomington Tourism Marketing Grant - read about the grant at VisitBloomington.com. The festival was supported in part by the Bloomington Arts Commission's Arts Project Grant Program - read about the grant at bloomington.in.gov/arts. This activity was made possible in part, with support from the Indiana Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. The festival received a Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association Zone Arts Grant. Beginning in 2019 the festival has collaborated with the Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington and it's fiscal sponsorship program.