Eastside Kings Festival

The Eastside Kings Foundation’s mission is to preserve and promotes the cultural heritage of African American Blues, Jazz, and Gospel.
Our initiative focuses on largely unknown African American musicians and aims to give them opportunities to showcase their music in live performances around the world.
In 1999, our founder, Eddie Stout, recorded and released an album he called Eastside Kings on Dialtone Records. This recording was one of many in which Stout captured the talent of Austin’s largely unknown but incredibly talented African American blues musicians such as Clarence Pierce, Willie Sampson, and Donald ‘Duck’ Jennings. The name Eastside Kings stuck and the musicians began to use it for their gigs. Naming the festival Eastside Kings seemed only appropriate as a tribute to those artists and to the East Austin post-war blues circuit where the festival takes place.
Our festival’s current focus is on East Austin, specifically the Rosewood area and its rich tradition and cultural legacy of Blues and R&B dating back to the post- War era. The Eastside Kings Festival strives to share Texas Blues with local community members and fans from around the world.