The 15th annual Carolina Downhome Blues Festival will take place on Oct. 6-8 in Camden. The three-day long festival will include performances by more than 21 performers, whose styles range from traditional Lowcountry country rags to Rockabilly and funk-inspired brass and soul ballads.

This is one festival that truly searches the world over to bring some of the most talented Blues musicians out there to South Carolina. In addition to Southern bands, there will be acts from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana and even France and Sweden!

So what exactly does European Blues sound like? It sounds a lot like great homegrown Blues. Robert Lighthouse was born in Sweden, but he came to America at age 18 on a quest to learn firsthand about Mississippi Delta Blues. Dr. Pickup is a Paris-based Blues band. I love thinking about these guys strumming downhome guitar rifts in some club in Montparnasse.

There also are couple of bluesmen on the program whose long, renowned careers really do give them legendary status. Warner Williams will perform with the Warner Williams Trio. Williams, a native of Maryland, has been playing the Blues since the 1940s and was a recent recipient of an NEA Folk Heritage Fellowship. Meanwhile, Eddie C. Campbell is a septuagenarian guitar man from the West Side of Chicago.

Festival Armbands allow admission to all venues, and the cost is $10 for Thursday night’s shows, $15 for Friday or Saturday’s shows or $35 for the whole weekend’s lineup. You can purchase armbands in advance at here.

Click here for more information and the full schedule of performances.