30 Aug 2012

MVBS presents Studebaker John on Sunday Sept. 16 as part of East West Riverfest

By MVBS

2012 MVBS Fun Run Wraps Up East West Riverfest by Presenting Studebaker John and the Hawks–Sunday, September 16

As part of the East West Riverfest, the Mississippi Valley presents Studebaker John and the Hawks on Sunday, September 16, at 5:30 at Martinis on the Rock (34th Street and Blackhawk Road, Rock Island).  Studebaker John played on the Bandshell stage at the 2011 Mississippi Valley Blues Festival , and now comes the opportunity to see him and his band, the Hawks, at Martini's on the Rock  September 16.   Admission is $5 for members of the Mississippi Valley Blues Society or $8 for non-members (membership applications will be available at the door), or FREE for all participants in the September 16 Bikes and Blues Fun Run.

September 16 is the last chance to participate in the 2012 Bikes and Blues Fun Run presented by the Mississippi Valley Blues Society. The Fun Run will start at Ducky's Lagoon (Andalusia, IL) and wrap up at Martini's on the Rock (Rock Island, IL) with stops at Buelahs (New Boston, IL), The Pub (Oquawka, IL), and Beer Belly's (Aledo, IL) in between.  Cost is $5 per rider entry and will include admission to see Studebaker John and the Hawks at Martinis.   All entrants will get a chance to win $100 with winning poker hand and door prizes.   Entry to Fun Run starts with check-in between 10:30 am - noon (last bike out at noon) at Ducky's Lagoon in Andalusia, IL.  Last bike must be in at 5:00 p.m. at Martini's on the Rock in Rock Island, IL to be eligible for card drawings and door prizes.  All vehicles welcome!

Studebaker John Grimaldi was born in an Italian-American section of Chicago and started playing harmonica at age 7. Under the spell of music he heard on Maxwell Street, Chicago's famed blues melting pot, Grimaldi began performing as Studebaker John and the Hawks in the '70s.

John began playing guitar after a life-changing experience of seeing Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers perform. "Hound Dog started playing, hitting notes that sent chills up and down my spine. He was versatile and powerful and would play rhythm as well as leads. I left there knowing what I wanted to do. I had to play slide guitar."

Although John has clearly absorbed the many blues influences his native Chicago has to offer, he is no imitator. With his fat, ringing guitar tone and full, snake-like harp runs, he has managed to forge his own distinct sound while remaining true to the spirit of the Chicago blues giants.

"A triple threat on slide guitar, harp and vocals, Studebaker John clearly has what it takes to get a barroom jumping. This is hard-partying, tough, working-man's blues," Blues Revue Magazine.

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28 Aug 2012

MVBS Presents Debbie Davies Fri. Sept. 7 for East West Riverfest

By MVBS

Mississippi Valley Blues Society Features Blues Guitarist

In Conjunction with East West Riverfest

As a participant in the East West Riverfest, a Quad Cities celebration of arts, culture, and heritage, The Mississippi Valley Blues Society will be presenting blues guitarist/singer/songwriter Debbie Davies at The Muddy Waters, 1708 State Street, Bettendorf, IA, on Friday, September 7. The show will start at 9:00 p.m. with doors opening at 7:00 p.m. Admission is $12 for members of the Mississippi Valley Blues Society or $15 for non-members (membership applications will be available at the door). Coupons for $5 off the cost of admission will be available at the East West Riverfest Opening Ceremony held from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. at the RiverCenter, 136 East 3rd Street, Davenport, IA 52801.

debbie davies.jpg

In her amazing career Davies has received 10 nominations for Blues Music Awards, and in 1997 and 2010 won the award for Best Contemporary Female Blues Artist. She has been the featured guitarist in several female based bands including Maggie Mayall and the Cadillacs (led by John Mayall's wife) and Fingers Taylor and the Ladyfinger Revue (who opened for Jimmy Buffett during his 1991 tour). Besides her solo work, Davies is best known for her work with Albert Collins as a member of his band, the Icebreakers. Over the years she has collaborated with several well known artists such as Tommy Shannon & Chris Layton (a.k.a. rhythm section for Double Trouble), Coco Montoya, Jay Geils, and Duke Robillard.

This performance will be Davies'  debut of her new CD, After The Fall, which was released on M.C. Records on July 17. After The Fall is her 11th solo recording and is an all-original affair with Davies writing or co-writing six of the 11 songs. The year 2010 held some traumatic life experiences for Davies, and as she began to heal, she started writing and putting many of her experiences and feelings into songs. The result is 2012's After The Fall.

This performance is being presented by the Mississippi Valley Blues Society in conjunction with the East West Riverfest and is made possible by the Riverboat Development Authority.

For more information on events presented by the The Mississippi Valley Blues Society visit: www.mvbs.org; or email mvbs@mvbs.org.

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27 Jul 2012

The Mississippi Valley Blues Society presents "Prince of Blues" Chris Beard

By MVBS

The Mississippi Valley Blues Society presents Chris Beard and his band on Sunday August 5 at The Muddy Waters, 1708 State Street, Bettendorf IA. The show begins at 5:00 p.m. Admission is $8 for MVBS members and $10 for non-members (member applications will be available at the door).

When you grow up in a house filled with the blues, when your father grew up on Beale Street, when music was in your DNA, then blues is who you are and what you do.

Born in Rochester, New York, Chris Beard is the son of well-known bluesman Joe Beard. He took the first step of his musical career at the age of five when he picked out the melody for "Green Onions" on the guitar. It was a prophetic beginning, as the funky mix of blues and instrumental panache of the classic Booker T and the MCG's soul instrumental continues to be a hallmark of his style today.

"I grew up as Joe Beard's son in the house of the blues, around Buddy Guy and Matt Murphy," says Chris. "Matt always told me that the guitar has to become an extension of you, and that will always stick with me."

On Sunday, August 5, Beard will be backed by a band of musicians that Beard has recorded and traveled with for many years. (One of the stops on their 2011 tour was the Bandshell stage at the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival.)

The objective of the Blues Society is to educate the general public about the native art form of blues-related music through performance, interpretation and preservation, thus enhancing appreciation and understanding. The Society will make all events sponsored by it accessible to the general public by being non-profit and using volunteers.

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23 May 2012

The 28th Annual Mississippi Valley Blues Festival Slashes Ticket Prices!

By MVBS

"Let's Party!" Friday with Kenny Neal on the Bandshell and Super Chikan in the Tent "High Octane Blues" Saturday, with 10 acts on 2 stages, BlueSKool, and free Workshops "RiverRoad" Sunday, honoring MVBS Lifetime Achievement Award recipients Bobby Rush and Lonnie Brooks

DAVENPORT, Iowa?The 28th annual Mississippi Valley Blues Festival June 29-July 1 is sure to be the best bang for the blues buck! With three-day festival tickets only $37.50 in advance, attendees will enjoy some of the best contemporary and traditional blues in the world?for less than $2 per act.

The Mississippi Valley Blues Society (MVBS) today announced the festival lineup of 24 acts?including blues legends, up-and-comers and award winners?who will be performing on two stages June 29-July 1, at LeClaire Park in Davenport, Iowa. Produced by MVBS, the event is one of the longest-running blues festivals in the nation, and the only major blues festival in the U.S. produced entirely by volunteers.

The festival kicks off with "Let's Party" Friday and a new start time?6:30 p.m.?with gates opening at 5:30. Revving up the fun is youngster phenom Matthew Curry and his band The Fury on the Bandshell stage, while Earnest Guitar Roy takes us down to Mississippi on the Tent stage. Blues Music Award nominee and Roomful of Blues alumnus Sugar Ray Norcia on harmonica leads his band the Bluetones next on the Bandshell, followed by Baton Rouge's award-winning guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Kenny Neal. Over in the Tent, International Blues Challenge semi-finalists Liz Mandeville and Donna Herula show why they represented the Windy City in Memphis, and Super Chikan with his band The Fighting Cocks will be crowing Mississippi style.

"High Octane Blues" Saturday offers an eclectic mix that's sure to stir the blues-loving soul. The Terry Quiett Band from Kansas kicks it off on the Bandshell, followed by Ohio's Ray Fuller & the Bluesrockers, the Memphis soul of "The King of Beale Street" Preston Shannon, and Guitar Shorty?a one-time brother-in-law of Jimi Hendrix, and ending up with headliner Coco Montoya, protégé of legends Albert Collins and John Mayall. First up in the Tent is Bryce Janey from Marion IA, who represented the
state of Iowa at the International Blues Challenge in the solo-duo category in Memphis. Next is Blues Music Award nominee Doug MacLeod, who will also present a free workshop about slide guitar. The Ernest Dawkins Quartet from Chicago adds jazz to the mix, followed by the deep blues of Kansas harmonica-guitar duo Moreland and Arbuckle. Sure to blow the roof off the Tent is headliner piano powerhouse Kelley Hunt and her band.

On "RiverRoad" Sunday, the festival honors Mississippi soul-blues icon Bobby Rush, whose show in the Tent will be part acoustic and part his usual party with dancing girls. Legendary guitarist Lonnie Brooks will also receive a RiverRoad Lifetime Achievement Award, on the Bandshell, before a long set with his sons?stars themselves?Ronnie Baker Brooks and Wayne Baker Brooks. Rounding out the Bandshell performances are Oakland CA pianist Lady Bianca and Kansas City siblings Trampled Under Foot. The Tent performances start with the River Music Experience's Winter Blues Kids led by Hal Reed and Ellis Kell, followed by the country blues of Paul Geremia (who also gives a workshop on 6 and 12-string guitar styles), and the smoldering soul of Mississippi's Johnny Rawls.

The mission of the Mississippi Valley Blues Society is to educate the public about the native art form of blues-related music and to keep the blues alive. On Saturday and Sunday, The Mississippi Valley Blues Festival offers free workshops for adults in the Freight House (on Ripley Street across the tracks from LeClaire Park), a free photo exhibit of blues artists and past festivals also in the Freight House, and BlueSKool for children in LeClaire Park. The workshops and BlueSKool give participants a chance to
learn from the masters.

Sponsors for this year's festival include River Cities' Reader, the Illinois Arts Council, the Riverboat Development Authority, the City of Davenport, KALA radio, Alcoa, Humanities Iowa, Premier Jewelry and Loan, and The Lodge Hotel & Conference Center.

Advance three-day festival tickets are available for only $37.50 or $12.50 per day through Thursday June 28. Advance tickets can be purchased at Hy-Vee stores in the Quad Cities, Clinton, and Muscatine; at Rascals (1414 15th Street, Moline); at The Muddy Waters, 1708 State Street, Bettendorf; and at the MVBS office (by check only) at 102 S. Harrison in Davenport (call first: 563-32-BLUES).

One-day tickets will be sold at the gate for only $15 each day. Children ages 14 and under will be admitted free if accompanied by an adult with a ticket.

It takes over 200 volunteers to produce the Festival. The MVBS is still seeking volunteers for shifts June 29-July 1. Volunteers receive free admission on their day of service as well as a commemorative t-shirt. Volunteers should register online at www.mvbs.org.

For 27 years, the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival has attracted legendary blues acts, making it one of the most highly regarded blues festivals in the nation. According to the Quad Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau, the festival's economic benefit to the area is $2.3 million annually. For more information about the festival, lodging and the complete schedule of artists, visit www.mvbs.org.

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02 May 2012

Mississippi Valley Blues Society Fundraiser Features Silent Auction, Beale Street Theme

By MVBS

Saturday, May 12th at Martinis on the Rock

 

The Mississippi Valley Blues Society presents its annual Fundraiser on Saturday May 12 at Martinis on the Rock (4619 - 34th Street, Rock Island, just south of Blackhawk Road). Admission is $20, which includes food and entry into drawings for door prizes.  The party, which includes a silent auction, begins at 6:00 p.m., with the music starting at 7:00 p.m.  All proceeds will benefit the 2012 Blues Festival, to be held June 29-July 1 at Davenport's LeClaire Park.

Music will be provided by three bands who have won the Iowa Blues Challenge and represented the state of Iowa at the annual International Blues Challenge in Memphis TN.  The Steady Rollin' Blues Band, The Candymakers, and The Mercury Brothers will each take the stage in Martinis' brand new outdoor music pavilion, situated in back with a stunning view of the scenic Rock River.  After the three sets, the MVBS will host a jam session.

The theme for this Fundraiser is Beale Street, the storied avenue in Memphis where the blues was born and raised, and where Iowa Blues Challenge winners have pursued blues fame and fortune at the Blues Foundation's International Blues Challenge.  It's fitting that the MVBS bring Beale Street to the Quad-Cities, considering that since 2000, 10 of the 12 Iowa Blues Challenge winners have been from the Quad-Cities.

On May 12, MVBS will be featuring prize drawings, a 50/50 raffle, and a silent auction of valuable merchandise and gift baskets donated by area businesses and organizations, as well as rare blues memorabilia from the MVBS archives.

Along with our sponsors, donors, volunteers, members and supporters, the non-profit MVBS depends heavily on fundraisers such as this to keep our musical standards as high, and our Festival admission prices as ridiculously low, as they've been in the past.

 

  • Fundraiser Raffle and Silent Auction Items Include
  • Lifetime free admission to ALL shows at The Muddy Waters in Bettendorf
  • Two original 1985 1st annual BluesFest posters, professionally matted and framed, very rare (1 to be raffled, 1 to be auctioned)
  • Two past fest posters, signed by performing artists, framed
  • Fest VIP passes
  • 3-day Fest tickets
  • Signed guitar
  • MVBS merch (t-shirts, fest posters, CDs, etc.)
  • MUCH MORE!


Fundraiser Entertainment Lineup (A Night on Beale Street):

Steady Rollin' Blues Band, The Candymakers, and The Mercury Brothers (All Iowa Blues Challenge winners and IBC Memphis semi-finalists), Jam featuring members of four more Iowa Blues Challenge winning bands and IBC Memphis semi-finalists, plus other local blues talent

18 Jun 2008

2008 BLUES FEST STILL ON !

By MVBS

 

For Immediate Release Contact: Karen McFarland

June 18, 2008 563-508-6596

somanybonnets@hotmail.com

Lori Blackburn

319-268-9151 ext. 40

lblackburn@meandv.com

COME SUN OR HIGH WATER

IH MISSISSIPPI VALLEY BLUES FESTIVAL PLAYS ON



DAVENPORT, Iowa?The IH Mississippi Valley Blues Festival will go on as planned, July 3 - 5, despite flooding in the Quad-City area. The Mississippi Valley Blues Society, producer of the festival, is arranging contingency locations for the festival in case the City of Davenport public works department decides that Le Claire Park's grass areas won't be dry enough in time for the festival.

The city and festival producers will meet next week to assess park conditions. According to the Quad Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau, the festival's economic benefit to the area is $2.5 million.

"The Flood of 2008 has Midwest residents singing the blues, and that's all the more reason to make sure our festival goes on as planned during the Fourth of July holiday weekend," says Karen McFarland, IH Mississippi Valley Blues Festival spokesperson. "By the holiday, people will be needing a break from cleanup efforts, or looking for a festival to attend because of their hometown festival cancellations. We welcome everyone to come to the Quad Cities and enjoy three great days of world-class music, great food and lots of fun with family and friends."

McFarland notes that many Iowa festivals have had to cancel portions of their event or find alternative locations. Burlington cancelled a portion of its Steamboat Days, Cedar Rapids has cancelled some of its opening events for Freedom Festival and Cedar Falls is investigating alternative locations for some of its Sturgis Falls events.

Organizers for the IH Mississippi Valley Blues Festival met yesterday to discuss two contingency locations for the festival including Davenport Municipal Airport (Mount Joy) and the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds. The airport commission will meet Monday to make a decision, and the fair has placed a tentative hold on its calendar for the festival.

"We appreciate the quick response from both the airport commission and the fairground management to assist us in our contingency planning," says McFarland. "The airport welcomed us and provided great hospitality in 1993 when we needed to move the fest due to flooding."

McFarland says the large lawn area at the airport and the existing infrastructure at the fairgrounds make both locations nice alternatives to LeClaire Park, but adds her "heart and blues soul is hoping and holding out for the LeClaire Park venue.

"For blues enthusiasts, what makes our festival extra special is that LeClaire Park is rooted in the blues, with the Mississippi River and Highway 61, the blues highway, bordering the park, and a railroad track running right along the side," says McFarland. "But no matter where this year's fest is located, festival goers can expect the same great caliber of artists the Blues Society has been attracting for the last 23 festivals?and of course, the same great fun!"

Advance three-day passes are available for $40 and must be purchased before June 30. Advance one-day passes are $15 per day for MVBS and IH Mississippi Valley Credit Union members, the credit union is presenting sponsor. Children ages 14 and under will be admitted free if accompanied by an adult with a ticket. Advance tickets may be purchased at all IH Mississippi Valley Credit Union branches, at the River Center/Adler Theatre box office in Davenport, or through Ticketmaster. One-day tickets will be sold at the gate for $18.

For 24 years, the IH Mississippi Blues Festival has attracted local, regional and national legendary blues acts, making it one of the most highly regarded blues festivals in the nation. Headliners for this year's festival include Koko Taylor, Elvin Bishop, Denise LaSalle, Otis Taylor and the Black Banjo Project, Billy Boy Arnold with Jody Williams and The Homes Brothers, plus another 22 acts on two stages. For more information about the festival, artists and lodging, please visit www.mvbs.org or call 563-32-BLUES.

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