For the eighth time, Pietermaai will host the Curaçao BlueSeas Festival, taking place on Friday, April 3rd and Saturday, April 4th. This free street festival showcases international blues talent across various stages in the historic neighborhood. The festival opens on Thursday evening, April 2nd, at Kura Hulanda Village with a concert by Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado. The full program can be found on the website.

Danish roots rockers Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado have been a resounding success for over twenty years. Founded in 2003, the band has toured Scandinavia, Europe, Canada, the US, and Asia, captivating audiences with a sound that combines soul, Chicago blues, boogie, and rock ‘n’ roll. The award-winning ensemble has opened for Bonnie Raitt and the Tedeschi Trucks Band, among others. Their ninth studio album, House Of Sticks, was released in early 2025; a new live album will follow in June.

As the grandson of blues icon R.L. Burnside and son of blues drummer Calvin Jackson, Cedric Burnside literally grew up with the genre. He has released eleven albums and won a Grammy for 2021’s I Be Trying. Three other albums received Grammy nominations, including his most recent, 2024’s Hill Country Love. Burnside also received a National Heritage Fellowship, the highest American honor in the folk and traditional arts.

Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Jackie Venson was born in Austin, Texas, and has released five studio albums and six live albums. She has shared the stage with artists ranging from Gary Clark Jr. and Melissa Etheridge to Alanis Morissette and Lainey Wilson. Venson’s last album, The Love Anthology, was released in 2025.

Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Quinn Sullivan grew up in a musical family where old rock, jazz, and blues were central. He received his first guitar when he was only three and quickly demonstrated exceptional talent. Sullivan released his first album at the age of twelve. Now, still only 26, he has already released five. His most recent, Salvation, was released in 2024.

Toby Lee is a British guitar prodigy who taught himself to play at the age of eight. At ten, he recorded a “Get Well Soon” jam for B.B. King. The video went viral, and Lee was invited to play at King’s Blues Club in Memphis. He has won awards, released several albums, and shared the stage with the likes of Buddy Guy, Billy Gibbons, Peter Frampton, Slash, and his hero Joe Bonamassa, who calls him “a future superstar of the blues.”

J & The Causeways is a soul/R&B ensemble led by singer and keyboardist Jordan Anderson. He discovered artists like Otis Redding, Al Green, and Aretha Franklin in his grandmother’s record collection. He then developed his own style, resulting in this band, which is often mentioned alongside groups like St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Alabama Shakes, and The Marcus King Band. Last year, they released their debut album, Motions, which was recently followed by the live album, Live At Tipitina’s.

Singer and guitar virtuoso Joanna Connor played professionally at 17, and her desire to fully immerse herself in the blues led her to move to Chicago in the 1980s. Connor shared the stage with greats like Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, B.B. King, and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. With her own band, she recorded a series of albums and toured extensively before becoming a regular performer at Chicago’s Kingston Mines Club and the House of Blues. In 2023, her 15th and most recent album, Best Of Me, was released.

Singer and guitarist Kirk Fletcher laid the foundation for the blues in the church where his father was a pastor and where he began playing guitar. Through fortunate encounters with blues musicians, he built a strong network and eventually toured as a guitarist with Kim Wilson’s Blues Revue; he later played with well-known blues bands and artists such as Wilson’s band The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Charlie Musselwhite, Doyle Bramhall, The Mannish Boys, and Joe Bonamassa. In addition to all this, Fletcher also released his own albums; his most recent, Keep On Pushing, was released in 2025.

Singer and guitarist Samantha Fish grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. She has a long list of albums and awards to her name and has received invitations to tour with artists including The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Slash, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Fish has also received two Grammy nominations; One for Death Wish Blues, her album with rocker Jesse Dayton that reached number one on the Billboard Blues Chart, and one for her 2025 album Paper Doll.