The first edition of the festival was marked by less than summerly weather. Three days of rain and unseasonably cold temperatures did not dampen the Ionian public’s appetite for great music. It was the guitarist Francesca De Fazi, a crystal clear talent with interpretations of great intensity, who opened the first evening of the first edition of the Blues in Town festival. On a cold evening, the ‘brightest hope’ of blues made in Italy, a fierce singer and guitarist of excellent training, warmed up the first legendary Blues In Town audience. Today she is one of the most appreciated blues women in Europe and her performances always attract a large number of admirers.

After the Italian guitarist was the queen of rockin’ gospel blues, Sherrie Williams wowed the Blues In Town audience. Her roots in the traditional soil of gospel, jazz and blues combined with contemporary influences such as Tina Turner, Etta James, Koko Taylor, Aretha Franklin and the legendary Billie Holiday characterised her show. A true queen of live performances, Sherrie did not give up in the face of a downpour that flooded the Segni Amphitheatre until 11.30pm. A great professional performer, she took the stage and enchanted the brave people who had braved the bad weather. It was two hours of great music, one of the most intense performances Blues in Town can remember. Endless emotion right up to the gospel that Sherrie sang off-stage, in the middle of the audience.

The first edition of Blues in Town ended with the most important Italian bluesman. Directly from the Big Mama, the historic Roman club where Ciotti used to perform, the unmistakable guitar ended the third evening of great music with a great interpretation of his greatest classics. With Ciotti’s performance on the same evening, the documentary project ‘Il Blues di Ercole’ began.