When 8 Bold Souls takes the stage, there's not a guitarist or singer to be found. There is, however, a cellist and a tuba player.

This might not be a typical blues ensemble, but that's the point.

The Chicago-based octet has been around since 1985, performing original music composed by group director and saxophonist Edward Wilkerson.

The exclusively instrumental ensemble, which includes trumpet, bass, drums, and trombone in addition to the cello, tuba, and sax, strives to resist categorization and stereotyping.

Welcome to the 22nd Annual IH Mississippi Valley Blues Festival. Many individuals and organizations have committed their time and resources toward this nationally recognized blues festival. A volunteer event of this magnitude simply does not continue to occur without a strong commitment and a passion for the blues and its impact on our lives. As the president of the Mississippi Valley Blues Society (MVBS), I have been proud to serve side-by-side with the board members, committee chairs, and members who give significant amounts of their time and talent to produce this festival, along with the educational and year-round event opportunities produced by the MVBS.

Is your turntable as dusty as your mind?

The psychedelic conspirators at Melted Mailbox Records have the lysergic solution, looking to use your tone arm's needle instead of a syringe to trip your light fantastic. Later this month the wax-friendly label will issue the first limited-edition 12-inch single in its new Melted Mailbox Vinyl Club, a bi-monthly program that for $70 could be the best pen pal an experimental- music aficionado could ever have. 

Following up on a collection of kids' music that won't drive adults bonkers, the manufacturer of exceptional children's bedroom furniture, The Land of Nod, has released a second CD to entertain the little one in all of us. For the XTC fan, the 14-track disc features two lost songs by Andy Partridge, "Don't Let Us Bug Ya" and "Everything'll Be Alright," originally written in 1996 when he thought he had sealed the gig to score the film adaptation of James & the Giant Peach. Other tickles for your ears come from Cake, which turns in a zippy take on the classic ditty "Mahna Mahna" (sound it out; you'll recognize it!) and the Mr. T Experience, getting its learn on with "Unpack Your Adjectives."