Going too long without good barbecue is bound to leave you blue, which is why hungry blues fans line up every weekend for music and grub at Bayport BBQ, a deep-blues juke joint and Texas-style barbecue located near the St. Croix River. The venue draws the best in regional, national, and international blues acts — no Beale Street cheesiness, no dad-band guitar wankery. These quality acts not only appear on Bayport BBQ's regular calendar but also at owner Chris Johnson's lovingly curated annual Deep Blues Festival, which returned last summer after a one-year hiatus and returns again this year, from June 21 to 23. The three-day festival, now located at the restaurant, features some of the rawest, dirtiest, most garage-rockingest underground blues and blues-hybrid acts around. The festival sells out fast, in no small part due to the fact that the ticket price includes some of the restaurant's acclaimed grub. Having an aficionado likes Johnson in our community leaves us with little reason to sing the blues.