Matt Griffin has attended Blue Sunday previously at times to listen to live blues music. This Sunday, he was also there to play it.
A harmonica player for Green's Blues Band, Griffin fell in love with the blues shortly after getting his driver's license and exploring a music store. There, he found Buddy Guy's album, "Feels Like Rain" and started playing along with the harmonica parts on the album.
People who don't make it to the event are missing out, he said.
"For people who don't come out, you've got three local bands and good food. It's good stuff," he said.
Missouri Blues Association's annual Blue Sunday event was back after a hiatus last year due to a lack of funding.
The event was held under the Memorial Park pavilion for the first time, giving blues lovers respite from the July sun early in the event and rain toward the end. By 3 p.m., well over 100 people were grooving to the sounds of Birdseye Blues, one of three bands on tap.
"It's just good music. Good to dance to," said Fred Sandbothe, a Westphalia resident who was dancing with friend Boni Wagers at the event. The two are members of the Jefferson City Swing Dance Club.
President Chuck Renn said the non-profit organization's sole purpose it to promote blues music. The event, while free to attend, collects donations and makes money from raffles and soda/water sales.
The food, "Mississippi Prime Rib" and potato chips, was free to attendees.
"If you go to Memphis, after you go to the bars and you listen to the blues and it's late in the evening and you're headed back to your hotel, you stop in and get yourself some Mississippi prime rib, which is a (barbecued) bologna sandwich," Renn said.
Proceeds go toward association programs such as Blues in the Schools, which sends certified educators to schools to teach programs on the blues, including the history and culture of the music genre.