Ivy Ford at Crawford Brew Works -- April 21.
Thursday, April 21, 8 p.m.
Crawford Brew Works, 3659 Devils Glen Road, Bettendorf IA
With the Crossroads Blues Society deeming her "one of the up and coming stars in the blues world" whose album Harvesting My Roots "needs to be in your collection ... because you will get years and years of listening pleasure from it," Chicago-based artist Ivy Ford performs an April 21 concert at Bettendorf's Crawford Brew Works, her set the latest event in the fundraising Brews ’n’ Blues Concert Series hosted by Crawford and the Mississippi Valley Blues Society.
After making her professional splash by opening for Buddy Guy in 2015, Ford has spent the subsequent seven years performing coast to coast, ranking in the top 40 of the International Blues Challenge and releasing three original albums – Club 27, Harvesting My Roots, and Time to Shine – that she wrote and produced herself. A two-time Blues Blast Award nominee who also released a 2020 EP of holiday tunes titled Silverbells, Ford performed at the 2019 Chicago Blues Festival, received the Sean Costello Award for Best Blues Album of the Year, and was a featured guest and the house bassist for "Chicago Women of the Blues" from 2015 to 2018. On April 21, Ford's Bettendorf concert also lands on an evening in Crawford's Guest Bartending Series, where the night's featured bartenders will be Avey Grouws Band members Chris Avey and Jeni Grouws.
Ford's headlining concert is the latest event in Crawford's and the Mississippi Valley Blues Society's Brews ’n’ Blues Concert Series, which finds the venue donating a portion of its sales that night to the MVBS' education-outreach program Blues in the Schools.. Bob Clevenstine, fundraising Chairman for the MVBS, stated, "We are excited to explore a new approach to fundraising that creates a positive relationship with the local business community and ultimately supports our local music educators and students." And Tom Taylor, Crawford Brew Works' general manager, said, "“We plan for our 'Crawford Culture of Care' initiative to be a core part of our culture at the brewery, and to have a business model that goes above and beyond in our efforts to support local organizations that put intentional care toward our community and the people who are a part of it."
Ivy Ford plays her Brews 'n' Blues Concert Series event at 8 p.m. on April 21, and more information on the night's events is available by visiting CrawfordBrewWorks.com and MVBS.org.
