The festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. April 26 in Repentance Park near the Old State Capitol after a 13-year hiatus.

Artists scheduled to perform include Marcia Ball, Tab Benoit, Kenny Neal and Phil Guy.

Holden said bringing the festival back to Baton Rouge was a priority of his administration.

“The festival was really missed and it was kind of ridiculous we haven’t had it in a long time,” said Baton Rouge blues musician Luther Kent, who attended the news conference in front of the Louisiana State Museum and who is one of the featured artists at this year’s event.

Johnny Palazzotto, president of the Baton Rouge Blues Foundation, said the festival was canceled more than 10 years ago partly because there was a segment of the community that didn’t think the festival was family entertainment.

“For some reason, there was a lack of enthusiasm about it back then. But these musicians from Baton Rouge travel the world promoting Baton Rouge and blues music, so it’s time for the festival to come back,” Palazzotto said.

After the festival struggled financially in past years, the Baton Rouge Area Convention and Visitors Bureau took it over in 1990.

The CVB eventually eliminated funding for the festival and 1995 was its last year.

The festival originated in 1980 and was first held on The Bluffs at Southern University but later switched locations for various years mostly in downtown, Palazzotto said.

 The Baton Rouge Blues Festival date is also the second day of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage  Festival.

Palazzotto said he knew about the dates coinciding  but said it wasn’t a concern, because the blues festival is about promoting Baton Rouge.

Before the festival, Baton Rouge Blues Week begins April 19 with a host of different blues music-related events in the city, including concerts, an awards ceremony and a photography exhibit.

Baton Rouge blues guitarist and singer Larry Garner closed out the news conference with a rendition of his 1994 song, “Go to Baton Rouge.”

“Don’t go to New Orleans if you’re searching for the blues,” Garner’s lyrics advised. “You gotta go to Baton Rouge.”