WMBS sponsored activities
The West Michigan Blues Society sponsors, on our own, or in conjunction with other groups, a number of activities and events.
One of the most visible is the Cow Pie Blues Festival which was held first in 2002, and again in 2003. This is an annual all-Saturday event one weekend in August. It involves close to a hundred volunteers and many months of planning.
We often co-sponsor with Billy's Lounge (or one of the other Blues venues in the area) local appearances by major artists such as Alberta Adams, James Cotton, Roomful of Blues, Lazy Lester, and others.
Each winter we sponsor a day or evening of local blues for our Annual Blues Holiday Fundraiser. This event features a number of West Michigan's excellent local blues bands plus a light dinner buffet.
We were one of the sponsors of the 1st Annual Idlewild Blues and Jazz Soul Reunion held on July 12-14, 2002, in Baldwin, Michigan. This was a music festival that incorporated the atmosphere and style that existed during the resort's glory days of the 30's and 40's.
In addition to those activities, we also sponsor a Blues in the Schools series when we can afford it and when we can coordinate with a local school district and the artist(s) who lead the series. This is an important educational program that was started in Chicago and adopted by the Blues Foundation to teach grade-school and middle-school students about the important place the blues musical format had in American history.
We have also held occasional Blues in the Alley days - some worked, some didn't. We will probably try one again whenever we figure out were it might work best.
In order to keep the Blues alive, new talent must be cultivated. The Blues Foundation started the International Blues Challenge (IBC) with this theory in mind. Blues organizations affiliated with the Foundation stage regional competitions around the world and send the top unsigned artists from their region to compete in the IBC finals in Memphis. The winner receives a cash prize, studio time, appearances at several major Blues events around the country and the title of "Best Unsigned Blues Band". The judges also present a guitarist with the Albert King Award for the most promising guitarist.
We are very pleased to sponsor The Urban Blues Union to the 2004 IBC.
Obviously, all these activities involve people, time, and money! If you are interested in becoming one of the many WMBS volunteers, please let us know - or better yet, come to one of our meetings at Kegler's Lounge, the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m.
