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.
Over the years, local blues fans and MVBS members could always be counted on to have a strong presence at the annual International Blues Challenge on Beale Street in Memphis, arguably the greatest concentration of live blues in the world, and always the guarantee of seeing a great band?usually from the QCA?representing the State of Iowa and making us proud.
On May 12, $20 will get you in the door, a ticket for door prizes and a trip through the buffet line. In addition, 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.
