Madison Blues Society, Madison, Wisconsin Madison Blues Society, Madison, Wisconsin
Blues Foundation Affliate

The Madison Blues Society is proud to be an affiliate member of the BLUES FOUNDATION, working to preserve Blues History, celebrate Blues excellence and support Blues education.

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See us at Local Sounds
MBS Meetings are held on the 2nd Monday of each month.
Our next meeting is Monday, February 13 starting at 6:00PM!
downstairs at the Argus Bar and Grille. Everyone is welcome!

CHECK OUT THE BLUES NEWS

MBS 2012 EVENTS NEWS
Wild Women and the 10th Annual Blues Picnic

WILD WOMEN 2012

This year's Wild Women promises to be another great celebration of Women of the Blues who will show their attitude and style. It will be held at the Harmony Bar at 2201 Atwood Avenue, Madison on Sunday, March 18th. This year's lineup is expected to be another great group ready for a big party after a long winter! Check back for the announcement of this year's artists coming very soon.

10th ANNUAL BLUES PICNIC

The 10th ANNUAL BLUES PICNIC is expected to be a really fun community event! We'll be gathering at Warner Park at 2930 North Sherman Avenue on Madison's North side. We'll be playing the blues again for an all day event on Saturday, June 23rd. For this anniversary event, we're planning to feature some of the best acts from over the years, remembering those great artists who have been an invaluable part of the Blues Picnic spirit! Lineup to be announced soon!

BLUES BLAST MUSIC AWARDS 2011
Winners are announced

Held this year at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago, the 2011 Blues Blast Music Awards were another great celebration of blues music today. Blues Blast Newsletter has been covering the blues in the Illinois area and far beyond for years now and they tell it like it is. If you don't already get this terrific newsletter, go to Blues Blast and sign up today! Filled with great news, numerous reviews of all the great new blues music that is coming out and support of blues societies and blues musicians, this is arguably the best source of blues news out there.

Check out the Blues Blast Newsletter October 25, 2011 issue covering the awards!

HERE ARE THIS YEAR'S WINNERS! These folks demonstrate the long road from where blues has been to where it is going today!

FAVORITE WEEKLY BLUES SHOWS END
Long running Madison Blues Shows are no more

The FRIDAY NIGHT BLUES PARTY at the Knuckledown Saloon and CHICAGO BLUES TUESDAYS at the Frequency have been cancelled. The promoter and organizer of these shows, musician A.J. Love, will no longer be running these shows. A.J. will be returning to his traditional Country music roots playing the music of artists such as Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, & Hank Williams Sr.

A.J. thanks everyone for their support and hope they continue to keep getting out to hear live music at the great venues that have been supporting the Blues.

MUSEUM BLUES 2011
"Get to Know Your Local Musician"

Back again this year, the Wisconsin Historical Museum, on the Capitol Square at 30 North Carroll Street, is hosting this enjoyable series that really makes a great connection between Madison area musicians and blues fans. "Get to know your local musicians" as they share their personal stories and the history of blues. And bring your dancin' shoes as each event will feature a short set of live music.

Museum Blues 2011
Click to get the full size poster

  • Friday, September 30     "Blues Then and Now"
    Madison blues musicians Bill Roberts (guitar) and Steve Roberts (keyboards) will present an overview the rich history of American blues styles and genres.

  • Friday, October 7     "The Wisconsin Connection"
    Westside Andy and Glenn Davis will present a blues duet performance, followed by discussions of blues history in Chicago and Wisconsin. Different musical techniques will be discussed and demonstrated, such as the slide guitar and finger picking.

Doors open at 6:00PM, performance at 7:00PM. Light refreshments will be provided. Suggested donation $5/person. Sponsored by the Madison Blues Society.

BLUES SHOWS AND JAMS NEWS
Blues Jams in the Madison Area


CHICAGO BLUES TUESDAYS - CANCELLED!

Bristled Boar
Cookin' at Bristled Boar

BLUES AND BREWS - TUESDAYS

Blues n' Brews is the longest running blues jam in Madison with over 420 consecutive weekly shows. The show cooks from 6:00PM to 10:00PM every Tuesday at the Bristled Boar located at 2611 Branch Street in Middleton, on Madison's west side.

The Blues n' Brews show features Dan Schilling and the Shake Daddys, along with their talented guest artists. Every week the show is different and exciting. This is a great way to kick up your heels on a Tuesday night with plenty of great food, drinks and live blues, and still get home early! So come on down and join the fun!

ACOUSTIC JAM - TUESDAYS - LAST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH

A different take on your favorite music at Talula at 802 Atlas Avenue at 7:00PM on Madison's east side, just off Highway 51 (Stoughton Road) at Cottage Grove Road. Just look for the big pink building!

Featuring Shari Davis and Bill Roberts from Shari's Hootchy Kootchy Band, you'll find great acoustic performances along with plenty of good food and drink to enjoy!

Hot Damn Blues Jam<br>Knuckledown Saloon
Hot Damn Blues Jam
Knuckledown Saloon



HOT DAMN BLUES JAM - WEDNESDAYS

This great Blues Jam with Shari Davis and Bill Roberts will liven up the Knuckle Down Saloon at 2513 Seiferth Road, Madison, just a block from the corner of Stoughton Road and Pflaum Road. Things'll get cookin' about 8:00PM so get on down, find your spot, grab a drink and get ready for some fine blues!


ALL NIGHT BLUES PARTY / OPEN JAM - FRIDAYS - CANCELLED!

NEW QUEEN OF THE BLUES CROWNED
Chicago Blues Fest makes Blues history
Shemekia Copeland New Queen of the Blues
Shemekia Copeland
New Queen of the Blues

Once Koko Taylor's daughter Cookie Taylor Threatt decided that she wanted to present her mother's tiara to Shemekia Copeland at this year's Chicago Blues Fest, the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois decided to take it one step further. On Sunday, June 12, on the last day of the fest, Shemekia Copeland was formally crowned "QUEEN OF THE BLUES".

Other great Blues Women have been called Queen of the Blues, including Memphis Minnie, Dinah Washington and Bessie Smith. Shemekia, who had been very close to Koko and who honors Taylor every night in each performance, will continue this great tradition. You can read all about the event and the background in the Blues Revue article.

MADISON AREA MUSIC AWARDS 2011
Putting instruments in kids hands!
The MAMAs
The MAMAs


The 8th Annual Madison Area Music Awards were held Saturday, June 4th at the Capital Theater in the Overture Center. Nearly one hundred musicians of all ages graced the stage including a special performance by the Pro Arte Quartet as they celebrate their 100th year. Madison's version of the Grammys are again another great success.

Here are the winners of the Blues categories:

Lots of other great talent was rewarded for their efforts at this great event. Check out the VIDEOS of the great performances that night!

BLUES FESTIVAL GUIDE 2011
This great Blues resource is now digital!
Blues Festival Guide
Blues Festival Guide

That's right! Now you can get check out every page of the current Blues Festival Guide by just clicking on this LINK. It includes many improved features for 2011 when viewed with the latest version of Adobe Flash Player 10 (get.adobe.com/flashplayer).

  • All 92 pages of the print magazine will open in a new window in a magazine format
  • Browse through the magazine, page by page, with click of your mouse
  • A tool bar at the top of the window offers options such as
    • Full page magazine view or vertical scroll in web format
    • Print, email, or post individual pages - or the whole magazine
    • A search option is also available to find specific pages by key words such as artist or festival name
    • Navigate directly to specific pages from preview panes at the bottom of the screen

Check it out today!

32nd ANNUAL BLUES MUSIC AWARDS
This great Blues Foundation event results are in!
Blues Music Awards
Blues Music Awards

This great Blues Event is held every year in Memphis, the home of the Blues Foundation. This year, the 32nd Annual Blues Music Awards was held on May 5 at the Cook Convention Center. Thanks goes to the Presenting Sponsor, the Gibson Foundation for their much appreciated contribution. Sustaining Sponsor I55 Productions joined numerous others in making this event happen.

More than 65 nominees competed for this year's honors. The event was broadcast live on Sirius XM's B.B. King's Bluesville and will appear on public television later in the year. Check your local listings for your chance to catch the greatest in Blues Music.

2011 BLUES MUSIC AWARD WINNERS

CHICAGO BLUES FEST 2011 LINEUP IS HERE!!
Biggest FREE Blues Fest Announces Lineup!

The trip down to Chicago is totally worth it for one, two or three days! The Chicago Blues Fest is an amazing experience that is not to be missed. Check out our easy two-page program PROGRAM. You can click on links or just print it out to make your plans.

You can also check out other 2011 Blues Fests in reasonable driving distance in our WI AREA BLUES FESTIVAL GUIDE 2010. This is updated often through the season so check it often.

GUITAR CENTER COMPETITION
"King of the Blues" 2011

Guitar Center has an annual, nation-wide blues guitar competition called "King of the Blues" that's open to all interested guitarists (except GC employees & their families). The competition starts at the store level at all 218 Guitar Center stores across the country, with preliminary rounds on Thursday evenings May 5th, May 12th, & May 19th. The store-level final round is on Thursday evening June 2nd. Winners from the store-level competition move on to multi-state district, and then regional competitions, culminating in the national finals at the Hollywood, CA House of Blues later in the Summer.

Here is a web link for all the details: http://gc.guitarcenter.com/kingoftheblues.

Contestants need to sign up in person at Guitar Center - Madison, at 676 South Whitney Way in Madison, right next door to Office Depot, and across the street from Westgate Mall. A maximum of 10 contestants plus 2 alternates can sign up for each of the three preliminary rounds, allowing for 30 total contestants and 6 total alternates. Guitarists can sign up until May 4th or until the 36 contestant & alternate slots are filled, whichever comes first. If you have questions, please refer to the web link shown above, or contact Shannon Callaway, Guitar Dept. Mngr. at the Madison Guitar Center store, at (608) 271-7454. Also, feel free to contact Bruce Wasserstrom, Accessories Dept. Mngr., whom some/many of you know from blues shows & jam sessions.

MBS BOARD FOR 2011
Working to Keep the Blues Alive in the Madison Area

Please welcome our 2011 board members. They have generously offered to help keep our programs running and put in the time to make it happen!

You can contact any of them for information and help with blues matters by checking out their contact information on our Contact Us page.

PAST NEWS ON NEWS PAGES
News from the past MBS home pages is still on-line

If you've seen a blues story here in the past but it disappeared when you went back to check something out, now you can get the PAST NEWS!

PAST NEWS stories from the past tell a lot about MBS in past years and blues news from around the country. Some older events are still going or might get revived. Other items just have a bit of history you might want to check out. Now you can!

Once you take a look, there is quite A LOT of it! This info will live on a PAST NEWS page of it's own soon!