The Madison Blues Society will be holding our 6th Annual Blues Picnic rain or shine on 6/21/08. We'll be at beautiful Warner Park again this year with 9 1/2 hours of great live Blues playing from noon to 9:30PM. And there won't be a strain on your pocket for this great day in the sun because it's totally free!

This year, we have partnered with the East Madison Community Center (EMCC) to host Joe Nosek's Blues Kids program teaching kids how to play harmonica and write songs and lyrics. Then the Blues Kids will perform at picnic backed up by the Cash Box Kings. EMCC will also be selling food and soft drinks to help fund their many great programs for Madison's youth.

So come on down for a great day of music in the sunshine. And don't forget to bring some non-perishable food items for the Food Drive. Canned goods are what we're really looking for so no one has to worry about keeping dry goods dry. You can really help out hungry people with your donation to Lakeview Lutheran Church's food pantry.

This year, we'll also be having a Pro Jam after the Blues Picnic at Murphy's Tavern at 3737 East Washington Avenue from 10:00PM to 2:00AM. We're requesting a $5 donation to help Help Keep the Picnic Free! Join great musicians from the Blues Picnic as the music plays on into the night!

Murphy's Tavern has been holding a regular Friday Night Blues Jam Blues 'n' Brews for some weeks now and the bands and the crowd really boogie! Dan Schilling and the Shake Daddys do a great job hosting so save some energy for the end of the day and head on over for still more fun!

And don't miss out on the BAMFest TICKET GIVEAWAY! We've got fifteen pairs of weekend tickets (value $80) to give away FOR FREE to the lucky winners. All you have to do to win your Belleville American Music Fest tickets is to show up and get your program and your chance to win from the greeter at the park entrance.

This year, BAMFest will be held on Friday, July 11 and Saturday, July 12 on the island in beautiful Belleville Community Park. On Friday, you'll see Mud Angels, Jimmy Voegeli Band , Wayne Baker Brooks , Eric Sardinas & Big Motor and Sonny Landreth. On Saturday, you'll see Queenie & the Bluecats, Aaron Williams & the Hoodoo, Crashers, Joel Pingitore & Livin' Will, Larry McCray, Robben Ford and Jeremy Spencer a founding member of Fleetwood Mac. Don't miss out!

• 12:00 noon to 12:55 pm - Don Rembert with Clovis Mann
• 1:15 pm to 2:10 pm - Shari Davis & the Hootchy-Kootchy Band
• 2:30 pm to 3:00 pm - Joe Nosek's Blues Kids
• 3:00 pm to 3:55 pm - Cashbox Kings
• 4:15pm to 5:10 pm - Danny Miller Band
• 5:30 pm to 6:25 pm - Mud Angels
• 6:45 pm to 7:40 pm - Paul Filipowicz

AND OUR HEADLINER:

• 8:00 pm to 9:30 pm - Otis & the Alligators

We're also doing a promotional exchange with WORT-FM community radio this year. They're broadcasting interviews with MBS "picnic people" and members of the picnic bands as well as playing their music.

You can catch these interviews and music during these WORT Blues Shows:

• Every Friday from 6:00 to 8:00 PM
        "Blues Cruise" hosted by Dave Watts
• Every Saturday from 8:00 to 10:00 AM
        "The Dusties Storm (R&B)" hosted by Lady P.
• Every Saturday from 8:00 to 10:00 PM
        "Two for the Blues" hosted on alternate Saturdays by Art Schuna & Dave Leucinger

Check out these Band Photos
(click to enlarge)

If you live in the neighborhood, SAVE THE GAS AND THE $$$! Get some exercise and hoof it to the park! All those times you walked to Rhythm and Booms gave you all the practice you need! We'll have everything here so you don't need to bring anything except yourself!

You can also bring your bike to get to the Blues Picnic. The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin is supplying bike racks for a bike corral so you can lock it up securely.

Of course, you can take the bus! Buses go to Warner Park every 30 minutes via route 21 or route 22 from the North Transfer Point. Check out the routes and schedules to make it easy! Any way you choose, find your way down to a really fun day of food, music and fun.

We'll certainly be recycling and we hope that you will, too! We're setting up trash and recycling bins and ask that you help keep our park clean and help out the environment, too. Beer cups and pitchers will all be recyclable as well as water and soft drink bottles. Be sure to get your recyclable items into the right bin. We'll have plenty of clearly marked containers around to make it easy.

Besides hours and hours of live Blues, we'll have Blues merchandise for sale at the MBS booth. We've got MBS T-shirts of all kinds, for this year's picnic as well as previous picnics and more. We've also got the flashing beer mugs that are a real crowd pleaser after dark! You can get Mississippi Delta Blues maps that show where all this great music got started. A limited number of Blues Calendars (reduced!) and Luther Allison CD's are also available. Check out these great items.

And, of course, there's our usual great selection of ethnic foods. This year our food vendors include:

• Jamerica - delicious Jamaican food!
• HMI Southern Style Catering Service - great catfish!
• Beale Street BBQ - gotta have BBQ with Blues!
• Moo Cow Kettle Corn - made right at the picnic!
• Santa Fe Trailer - southwestern delights!
• East Madison Community Center - brats, soft drinks and more!

And carry‑ins are 100% OK so you can also bring your own! Rolling coolers are a great way to bring your own treats along, especially if you're walking or biking. Add your camp chairs and you can get really comfortable for a fun day in the park.

And don't forget to enjoy all the great beers from Capital Brewery.
We'll be serving:

• Island Wheat
• Capital Amber
• Prairie Gold Summer Seasonal
• the new Pale Ale

And if you'd like something else to drink, we'll also have soft drinks and bottled water at the EMCC food stand. We'll also have hot coffee at the MBS tent.

Save the date and be sure to be there! Bring your family and friends! If you like to get all set up, bring all your picnic supplies along! We're looking forward to another fun day in the park with food, drink, fun and really great Blues music!