John Nemeth at Highway 99, Seattle, WA.
The Washington Blues Society
By Eric Steiner, President, Washington Blues
Society
Next year the Washington Blues Society will celebrate 20 years in promoting,
preserving, and advancing blues music in the upper left-hand corner of
the continental United States. Over the years, membership in the all-volunteer
blues society has ebbed and flowed, but this year, we have approximately
600 dues-paying members from throughout Washington State. We are recognized
by the IRS as a 501-c-3 nonprofit organization and are affiliated with
The Blues Foundation in Memphis.
Our society prints a 32-page monthly magazine, The Bluesletter, holds
monthly membership meetings that showcase local and regional blues talent,
and maintains a Musicians’ Relief Fund for musicians and their families
impacted by illness or death.
The Bluesletter is (finally, at long last!) self-supporting
through advertising revenues, and we are very fortunate to have a diversified
marketplace of advertisers ranging from individual blues artists and blues
events, local retailers of all kinds, to regional and national festivals
and blues record labels. Our “overnight success” has been
nearly two decades in the making: for many years we relied on member dues
and donations to cover the printing bill for our monthly run of 4,000+
printed copies.
Last year, the Board of Directors decided to re-name our monthly meetings
“blues bashes,” because that is what they are. I guess calling
our monthly blues events “meetings” conjured up boring meetings
of the day-job variety, so we changed the name! Calling our second Tuesday
at Highway 99 in Seattle merely a meeting didn’t quite capture the
festive atmosphere that begins at 7 o’clock in the evening with
an hour of acoustic blues, followed by a members-only raffle of CDs, t-shirts
and other blues bling, with a short set of electric blues closing down
promptly at 9 o’clock. We do our best to keep the business of the
blues bash short, as the Board also meets monthly on the first Thursday
at a local Eagles Aerie to respond to member and artist concerns, plan
blues festival season, and develop new ways to improve how we deliver
the basics of a good blues society to our membership. To me, the basics
include the best monthly publication we can produce, monthly blues concerts
that draw new members, and new ways to help members who might need a little
help from our Musicians’ Relief Fund.
As President, I want to grow our Musicians’ Relief Fund to double
the amount of blues society resources going to musicians in need, particularly
for those bluesmen and blueswomen in need of assistance due to unplanned
health and medical challenges. Local clubs have opened their doors on
traditionally dark nights to honor musicians in need, and I am very fortunate
to lead a core team of long-term volunteers on our Board of Directors.
Our 2008 elected Officers of the Board of Directors
consists of:
President - Eric Steiner
Vice President - Rev. Deb Engelhardt
Secretary - Carolyn Kennedy
Treasurer - Chad Creamer
Bluesletter Editor - Mary McPage
Yes, you read that right: our Bluesletter Editor is an elected position,
according to our By-Laws.
In turn, the elected Board members appoint six key volunteer Director
positions:
Music - Mark Naron
Membership - Joy Kelly
Education - Roy Brown
Volunteers - Rhea Rolfe
Merchandise - Malcolm Kennedy
Advertising - Debra Idso
Our annual Best of the Blues Awards (“BB Awards”)
celebrate artists nominated by the membership in over 25 different categories.
This April, we’ll return to Seattle’s elegant Triple Door
nightclub for a four-hour local blues show. Last year, we received notable
press coverage from the Editorial Page of the Seattle Times as well as
a re-cap of the gala from the Times’ jazz critic Paul de Barros.
As I wrote in the On the Road section of the December 2007/January 2008
Big City Rhythm and Blues, our Bluesletter boasts a musicians’ directory
of over 130 artists and more than 80 venues that offer live blues across
the state. We have a very vibrant and caring blues community in Washington
State. Over time, I hope to share stories about our local Blues in the
Schools work, and introduce you to some of our outstanding artists, clubs,
and festivals through Big City Rhythm and Blues magazine.
More information: www.wablues.org
Blues Societys
Alabama Blues Society
www.alabamabluessociety.com
Apalachee Blues Society
850-668-5863
www.apalacheebluessociety.org
Arkansas River Blues Society
501-985-0436
www.arkansasriverblues.org
Atlanta Blues Society
404 237-9595
www.atlantablues.org
Baltimore Blues Society
410-744-2291
www.mojoworkin.com/
Baton Rouge Blues Society
225-387-0017
www.brblues.org
Bay Area Blues Society
510-836-2227
www.bayareabluessociety.net
Beale Street Blues Society
901-338-7654
bealestreetdb@yahoo.com
Big Joe Turner Musician’s Fund
626-286-2830
Billtown Blues Association Inc.
5470-321-0451
www.billtownblues.org
Black Swamp Blues Society
419-319-8337
www.bsbs.net
Blues Bank Collective
603-431-1249
www.bluesbank.org
Blues Blowtorch Society
217-935-8603
www.bluesblowtorch.com
Blues Jazz & Folk Music Society
740-376-0222
www.bfm.org
Blues Lovers United of San Diego
619-256-1124
www.blusd.org
Blues Society of Lower Cape Fear
910-350-8822
www.capefearblues.com
Blues Society of Northwest Florida
850-221-8304
www.bluessociety.org
Blues Society of the Ozarks
417-874-5700
www.ozarksblues.org
Blues Society of Western New York
716-684-0481
www.wnyblues.com
Blues, Jazz and Folk Music Society
614-373-6640
www.speed1.net/users/bolen
Boise Blues Society
208 344 2583 www.boiseblues.org
Boston Blues Society
617-876-2583
www.bostonblues.com
Bucks County Blues Society
215-788-4794
www.bucksbluessociety.com
Capital Area Blues Society
517.349.0006
www.cabsblues.org
Cascade Blues Association
503.223.1850
www.cascadeblues.org
Central Iowa Blues Society
515-225-6638
www.cibs.org
Charlotte Blues Society
704-331-8871
www.carolinablues.org
Chicagoland Blues Society
630-510-8669
www.ChicagolandBluesSociety.org
Colorado Blues Society
303-356-6585
www.coblues.com
Columbus Blues Alliance
614-470-2222
www.colsbluesalliance.org
Connecticut Blues Society
860.345.2432
www.ctblues.org
Crossroads Blues Society
317-254-8742
www.crossroadsbluessociety.org
DC Blues Society
www.dcblues.org
Detroit Blues Society
www.dbsblues.com
Diamond State Blues Society
303-376-6298
www.diamondblues.com
Downtown Blues Alliance
561-464-2781
www.downtownblues.8m.com
East Coast Blues Society
http://www.eastcoastblues.ca
Fitzgerald Blues Society
912-426-5033
www.fitzgeraldga.com
Fort Smith Riverfront Blues Society
501-783-6353
www.riverfrontbluesfest.org
Fox Valley Blues Society
630-585-3955
www.foxvalleyblues.org
Frederick Blues Society
www.fredrickblues.org
Grand County Blues Society
www.grandblues.org
Great Northern Blues Society
www.gnbs.org
Hawaii Blues Society
808-864-6529
www.hiblues.org
Houston Blues Society
713.942.9427
www.houstonbluessociety.org
Howlin’ Wolf Blues Society
662-494-2921
www.wpnet.org
Inland Empire Blues Society
509-534-1081
www.ieblues.org
International House of Blues Foundation
323-769-4634
www.ihobf.org
Jackson Area Blues Society
517-796-9368
www.jacksonareabluessociety.com
James River Blues Society
804-237-8080
www.jamesriverblues.org
Jersey Shore
Jazz & Blues Foundation
732-775-4100 www.jsjbf.com
Kalamazoo Valley Blues Association
616-381-6514
www.kvba.org/
Kansas City Blues Society
913-649-0383
www.KCBluesSociety.com
Kyana Blues Society
502-893-0173
members.aye.net/~kbsblues
Lake of the Ozarks Blues Society
573-317-1757
www.lotobs.org/
Lehigh Valley Blues Network
610-437-3217
www.lvbn.org
Linn County Blues Society
319.399.5105
www.lcbs.org/
Lizard Creek Blues Society
www.lizardcreekblues.org
Louisiana Blues Preservation Society
www.geocities.com/Bluespreserve
Luther Allison Endowment Fund
www.beanhollow.com/allison
Magic City Blues Society
205-968-9156
www.magiccityblues.org/
Maine Blues Society
207-353-2842
Marquette Area Blues Society
www.marquetteareabluessociety.com
www.mainebluessociety.org
Mid-Mississippi
Muddy Water Blues Society
www.quincyblues.com
Mid-North Michigan Blues Society
www.mnmbs.org
Mississippi Valley Blues Society
319-322-5837
www.mvbs.org/
MoBlues Association
www.moblues.org
Music City Blues Society
615-822-6387
www.musiccityblues.org
Music Maker Relief Foundation
336-325-2505
www.musicmaker.org
Natchel Blues Network
757-456-1675
www.natchelblues.org
New England Blues Society
508-398-3383
www.newenglandblues.com
New York Blues & Jazz Society
www.nybluesandjazz.org
www.nybluessociety.org
Northeast Blues Society
518-347-1751 www.timesunion.com/ communities/nebs
Oklahoma Blues Society
405-791-0110 www.okblues.org
Omaha Blues Society
402-391-3861
www.omahablues.com
Ottawa Blues Society
www.devant.com/ottawabluessociety
Ozark Blues Society
479-927-1320
www.ozarkblues.com
Phoenix Blues Society
602-252-0599
www.phoenixblues.org
Piedmont Blues
Preservation Society
910-275-4944
www.piedmontblues.org
Potomac Blues Society
301-72-3621
potomacbluessociety.com
Reno Blues Society
775-690-6963
www.renoblues.org
River City Blues Society
309-347-4908
www.rivercityblues.com
River City Blues Society-VA
804-644-2510
www.wegotblues.com
Riverfront Blues Society
501-783-6353
riverblu@ipa.net
Route 66 Blues Project
405-348-2050
www.bluesproject.org
Sacramento Blues Society
www.sacblues.com
Saginaw Bay Area Blues Society 989-797-3923
San Antonio Blues Society
210-641-8192
www.sanantonioblues.com
Santa Barbara Blues Society
805-897-0060
www.sbblues.org
Shasta Blues Society,
530-246-2226
www.shastablues.org
Siskiyou Blues Society
530-926-5823
siskiyoubluessociety@worldnet.att.net
Skylands Blues Society
www.geocities.com/bourbonstreet/
delta/6070
Smoky Mountain Blues Society
865-588-5929
www.smokymountainblues.com
Sonny Boy Blues Society
www.sonnyboyblues.org
Sonoma County Blues Society
www.sonomacountybs.org
South Florida Blues Society
954-972-6877
www.soflablues.org/
South Kentucky Blues Society
270-782-0650
www.skybluessociety.org
Southern California Blues Society
562-799-2456
www.socalblues.org
Spa City Blues Society
501-262-2943
www.spacityblues.com
Springing The Blues Society
904-241-1355
www.springingtheblues.com
Suncoast Blues Society
813-855-6310
www.SuncoastBlues.org
Sunflower River Blues Association
601-624-5772
www.sunflowerfest.org
Telluride Blues Society
www.tellurideblues.com
The Blues Foundation
901-527-2583
www.blues.org
Toronto Blues Society
www.torontobluessociety.com
Triangle Blues Society
919-493-8041
www.triangleblues.org
Tucson Blues Society
520-887-2126
www.tucsonblues.org/
Tulsa Blues Club
918-832-1799
www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/8661
Walla Walla Blues Society
www.wwbs.org
Washington Blues Society
425-239-3321
www.wablues.org
West Michigan Blues Society
616-774-0853
www.wmbs.org
Western Kansas Blues Society
316-598-2658
mema@pld.com
Wichita Blues Society
316-945-2583
www.wichitablues.com
Willie Dixon - Vicksburg
Blues Society,
www.digitalmantra.com/vicksburg blues