SATURDAY JUNE 21, 2008
Blues Picnic supported by Dane County Cultural Affairs
The Madison Blues Society held the
6th Annual Blues Picnic
on a fantastic sunny day on 6/21/08 at beautiful Warner Park.
We had 9 1/2 hours of great live Blues
playing from noon to 9:30PM. There was no strain on
the pocket for this great day in the sun because it was
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. The Blues Kids performed at the picnic backed up by the Cash Box Kings. EMCC helped out selling food and soft drinks to help fund their many great programs for Madison's youth.
Lots of folks brought non-perishable food items for the Food Drive. This really helps out hungry people with donations to Lakeview Lutheran Church's food pantry.
click for full size poster
This year, we had a Pro Jam after the Blues Picnic at Murphy's Tavern at 3737 East Washington Avenue from 10:00PM to 2:00AM. For a small $5 donation, we helped to Keep the Picnic Free!
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!
We also had a BAMFest TICKET GIVEAWAY! Fifteen pairs of weekend tickets (value $80) were given away FOR FREE to the lucky winners. All you had 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.
The 2008 BAMFest was be held on Friday, July 11 and Saturday, July 12 on the island in beautiful Belleville Community Park. These great bands gave us a terrific show on Friday! Mud Angels, Jimmy Voegeli Band , Wayne Baker Brooks , Eric Sardinas & Big Motor and Sonny Landreth. On Saturday, we heard 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.
- 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 had a promotional exchange with WORT-FM community radio this year. They broadcast interviews with MBS "picnic people" and members of the picnic bands as well as playing their music.
Don't miss 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)
Folks who live in the neighborhood, SAVED THE GAS AND THE $$$! For a little exercise some chose to hoof it to the park! All those times walking to Rhythm and Booms gave folks all the practice they needed! We had everything needed so no one needed to bring anything except themselves!
Many brought their bikes to get to the Blues Picnic. The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin supplied bike racks for a bike corral so the bikes were locked up securely.
Also, many chose to take the bus! Buses go to Warner Park every 30 minutes via route 21 or route 22 from the North Transfer Point. Checking out the routes and schedules makes it easy! Any way folks picked, they found their way down to a really fun day of food, music and fun.
We're also doing our parts for recycling! Trash and recycling bins were set up around the park and weasked folks that they help keep our park clean and help out the environment, too. Beer cups were also recycled as well as water and soft drink bottles.
Besides hours and hours of live Blues, we had Blues merchandise for sale at the MBS booth. We had MBS T-shirts of all kinds, for the 2008 picnic as well as previous picnics and more. We also brought the flashing beer mugs that are a real crowd pleaser after dark! Another favorite were the 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 were also available. Blues fans were pleased to bring something back home with them after a great day of music.
And, of course, there's our usual great selection of ethnic foods. This year our food vendors included:
- Jamerica - delicious Jamaican food!
- 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 lots of folks brought their own! Rolling coolers were a great way to bring along the treats, especially when walking or biking. Camp chairs completed the picture to be really comfortable at a fun day in the park.
And don't forget to enjoy all the great beers from
Capital Brewery.
Folks really enjoyed
- Island Wheat
- Capital Amber
- Prairie Gold Summer Seasonal
- the new Pale Ale
And if you wanted something else to drink, we also had soft drinks and bottled water at the EMCC food stand and hot coffee at the MBS tent.
Our great sponsors and raffle prize donators really made the difference in helping us to Keep the Picnic Free!
There were lots of chances to win at the PRIZE RAFFLE and lots of valuable prizes! Check out all these prizes we gave away.
- (1) night in an AmericInn Whirlpool Suite
- (3) pairs of weekend passes to Madison Magazine's Food and Wine Show
- (2) $50 gift certificates for the Capital Brewery Gift Haus
- (2) beer tasting tours for 10 people at J.T. Whitney's
- $50 gift certificate for the Shoe Box
- Stack of CD's from 105.5 FM
- Show Tickets from Overture Center for the Arts
- Baseball tickets for party of 6 from the Madison Mallards
- Package of bike accessories from Budget Bicycle worth $65
- BAMFest 2006 poster signed by Bernard Allison
- (2) $25 gift certificates for J.T. Whitney's
- $25 gift certificates for Orange Tree Imports
- Cut-and-style gift certificate for Ultimate Spa and Salon
- Gift Basket from Madison Magazine
- Gift certificates for Jung Garden Center
- Gift certificates for Klinke Cleaners
- Food Gift Certificates from
- Madison Blues Society merchandise packs with T-shirts, flashing beer mugs, maps, posters and more!
There were also two 50‑50 CASH RAFFLES where some lucky people took home a bundle of bills! Half of the cash went to each prize winner and the other half went help Keep the Picnic Free!
*** Thanks to our Event Sponsors ***
*** Thanks to our Raffle Prize Donors ***
