The Ealing Blues Festival will pay tribute to its late founder, Robert Hokum, by renaming one of its main stages in his honour at this year’s event which takes place next month (26 – 27 July 2025).
Mr Hokum, the blues musician alter ego of Bob Salmons, died in October 2024. He launched the festival in 1987, initially as a small showcase for local acts at Walpole Park’s bandstand. Nearly four decades on, the festival now attracts up to 10,000 visitors annually, making it one of the largest blues gatherings in the UK.
The newly named Robert Hokum Stage recognises his lasting impact on Ealing’s cultural landscape.
Alistair Young, director of the Ealing Club Community Interest Company, which co-curates the event, described the tribute as long overdue.
Mr Young said: “This is a fitting tribute to a man who did so much for music in west London. The Ealing Blues Festival started as a community event, and it’s grown to become one of the best-attended blues gigs in the UK, combining serious music with great entertainment. It combines up-and-coming acts with established talent to support the performers of the future. “
This year’s festival, running 26–27 July, will open with a DJ set by Gaz Mayall – son of blues icon John Mayall, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024 alongside Ealing Blues Club founder Alexis Korner. Korner’s famed basement venue near Ealing Broadway is often credited as the birthplace of British blues-rock, where early members of The Rolling Stones, Cream, The Who and others cut their teeth.
Mr Young added: “Our community-based roots continue to be reflected in low advance admission ticket prices available now from https://www.ticketline.co.uk/ealing-summer-festivals.”
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