Twenty-two individuals and organizations including the Monroe County Library System will be honored with The Blues Foundation's 2009 Keeping the Blues Alive (KBA) Award during a recognition brunch at the Downtown Doubletree Hotel Saturday, February 7, 2009 in Memphis Tennessee. The Monroe County Library System’s annual Black History Month Celebration will be honored for its educational series highlighting the role of the Blues in American Culture.
According to the award, “The Monroe County Library System’s Black History Month Series educational program stands out as an example for every town to emulate. What began in 1988 in the corner of a library branch as a series designed to celebrate the cultural contributions of African-Americans in music has grown into one of Monroe County’s most anticipated events and Michigan’s longest running Blues festival. The series now consists of a month long series of free concerts and workshops starring national, regional and local Blues artists. Headliners have included legends like Robert Lockwood Jr., Willie Dixon, Lonnie Brooks, and Pinetop Perkins mixed with current Blues names like Henry Butler, Samuel James, Michael Powers, and Saffire, The Uppity Blues Women. The month’s events include free workshops which focus on lessons in both history and music. Its Bluesapalooza, which features multiple performances reaching about 1,500 kids in a day, has been a huge part of the series for the past seven or eight years.”
The full schedule for Monroe County's 22nd Annual Black History Month Blues Series is available here. Another month full of free, fun concerts for all ages kicks off with the first of four "Tuesdays are Bluesdays" programs on February 3, 2009 and "The Big Piano Gig!" starring the legendary Henry Gray and a once-in-a-lifetime gathering of keyboard masters, on Thursday, February 5, 2009. Watch this space for the complete lineup--coming soon.
The Blues in Monroe is made possible by a Community Coalition of supporters who assist with funding, facilities and staff support of the month long series of events.
The Keeping the Blues Alive Awards recognize the significant contributions to Blues music made by the people behind the scenes. Each is selected on the basis of merit by a select panel of Blues professionals. KBA Chairman Art Tipaldi notes with respect to this year’s recipients, “As is often the case, this year the committee recognized some individuals that have long-deserved to be honored as well as identifying others who have made a very impressive mark on Blues music in a relatively short period. Once again, the honorees cover the United States map. In addition, two Italian organizations were selected for their commitment to the Blues genre in their country.”
The KBA ceremony begins at 10:00 a.m. and will be held in conjunction with the 25th International Blues Challenge (IBC) weekend of events that will feature the semifinals and finals of the world’s largest gathering of Blues bands, as well as seminars, presentations, and receptions for Blues societies, fans and professionals.
