 So we heard you loud and clear.
We have rescheduled the Blues Challenge after the cancellation prompted a rousing outcry. We are moving it to a smaller venue (Katie's of Smithtown, 145 W. Main St.) on Oct. 23. Show starts at 1 pm. We will also extend the deadline for bands and solo/duo acts that might decide, "yeah, why not? I really want to compete ." Hope to see you at the show!
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 Unfortunately, we did not have enough bands and solo/duo acts register to mount a challenge to send an act to the 2023 International Blue Challenge in Memphis.
The economics of a challenge are such that we need a minimum number of acts to make it worthwhile for the club owner to open and pay staff and for us to draw a large enough crowd to cover our expenses (such as a sound person) to put on an event. Because of covid delays to last year's International Blues Challenge, we had a limited time to get this event up and running. The board is going to immediately begin planning our 2023 challenge and we hope, with a longer time span, we can present a robust challenge. Thank you again for agreeing to participate. We hope to be back on track next year. -- Looking for blues in all the right places. LIBS board members Ronnie Shapiro, Joan Weinstein and Tony Davenport trekked down to Lancaster, Pa., for a couple of days of blues music at the Roots and Blues Festival.
Jason Ricci, Selwyn Birchwood, Vanessa Collier, Toronzo Cannon, Albert Castiglia, Ana Popovich and a host of others proved last week that the Blues is alive and well as a living art form.  Jonesin' for live blues? We gotcha.
The Long Island Blues Society is featuring one of our member bands at Beau's, 54 Broadway in Greenlawn, once a month, kicking off with LI blues challenge winner Red Eye on July 19 at 8 pm. Each month we will feature a different member band. There's a $10 cover ($8 for members). Aside from bringing live blues to the stage, we are hoping this will be a chance for members to meet fellow blues fans, so wear an LIBS tee or your LIBS pin to ID yourself as a member. There will be board members on hand to share your ideas with and we might even raffle of some nifty donated merch from our sponsors D'Addario and NOLA Blue records and some CDs by our own bands. Who knows. Hope to see you there  MC RCORDS CELEBRATEs WOMEN IN BLUES M.C. Records has curated a special 16 song playlist for Women’s History Month from its releases over the last 25 years.
Click here for more  Hey Kids
Bored by the same old t-shirt design? Let's do something about it! We're looking for a new t-shirt design. You can use the existing logo, or not, it's your world as Bob Ross says. Submit a design to info@libsny.org and the board will choose one for our next order. Winning design earns the artist a one-year membership and one year of admission to all our shows free for nothing. And, of course, we'll also give ya a shirt. Get out those crayons, markers, paints or pencils and commence to designing.  It’s That Time Again
The Long Island Blues Society annual election is coming up and hoo-boy it’s a big one. All board seats are up for grabs as well as the Vice President and Treasurer slots. To serve on the board, a candidate must have been a member of the Blues Society for two years. To serve as an officer on the board, a person has to have served on the board or as a committee chair for at least a year. Nominations for board seats or officer seats are due by February 20. You must be an active member (check your ID card for the expiration date) to nominate or run. The vote will be held in March. We are hoping to have a vote during a genuine live blues show somewhere on Long Island. You can mail nominations to PO box 378, Centereach, NY 11720 or email info@libsny.org Also, if you are a member and want to get more involved with the LIBS but not necessarily joining the board, we are looking for committee chairs. Just drop an email with your area of interest. Hope to see you soon. Watch LI Blues Challenge solo/duo winner Rob Europe get Red Hot ... literally.
Rob and The Red Eye Blues Band, our band winners, will be representing Long Island at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in January. Come to the Warehouse in Amityville on January 9th, starting at 1 pm, for the fund-raiser/send-off show that will help them pay their way to Memphis. Gonna be a good one. Check back here for the full lineup, If you want to kick in to help them get there, go to the Donate to the LIBS page and enter a note (you'll see it) that you want the money put toward the bands.  Long Island's own Hitman Blues Band has returned to Long Island after a successful tour of the U.K. in support of their new release "Not My Circus."
The band reports that all but one show was sold out and packed. And the one that wasn't was blamed more on Covid fears than any other reason. "The tour was wonderful - challenging, exciting, as they always are, and mostly a testament to the people in the band who made everything work under often less-than-ideal conditions," said guitarist/singer Russell "Hitman" Alexander. "There were no roadies, no tour support, no tour buses, but they were completely dedicated to putting on the best possible show every time." Joining Alexander on the tour were Mike Porter on bass and backup vocals; Mike Katzman on keyboards; UK residents Ian Salisbury on Piano and Chris Sharley on drums; Tom Mineo on tenor sax; Eric Altarac on trumpet; Al Alpert on trombone; and Nancy Hampton and Joanne Alexander on backup vocals. The tour kicked off at St. Harmonicas Blues Club, London, followed by a private gig in Tring. The troubadours followed that up with a show at the Riverside Rhythm Club in Gillingham, Kent. This was a university. Another packed house with great reception. Stops also included Farnum Maltings, where the crowd was thinner due to Covid fear, a sellout at Blues at the Tropic, in Ruislip, up north to Birmingham, and Henry’s Blues House, -- where Ozzy Osbourne played his first gig with a blues band. The owner of Henry's, Ozzy's former manager, wants the Hitman Blues Band to return as a featured act for the Birmingham Jazz Festival in 2022. Also on the tour was the The Eel Pie Club and a trip to Scotland for a show at the Cathcart Castle Golf Club among other stops. "I consider myself very fortunate to be able to work with people like this, and I’m hoping to be able to continue to do so here at home," Alexander said. "The audience in the UK was fantastic, and it was particularly gratifying that we played to a large number of new people as well as our previous fans, all of whom were very kind and extremely enthusiastic. For an original band, that is what we strive for!" Just ask Kerry Kearney.
"I don’t understand why people don’t think that there’s a blues scene here in Long Island. "Today at Katie's of Smithtown, you couldn’t fit any more people in the room for the (Long Island) Blues Society's Memphis Send Off Benefit. "There are many radio shows here on Long Island and in the tri-state area that cater just to blues and we have a great Blues Society that does a lot of work for this. "So how is there no scene? The KKB has been together for 25 years now and I’ve seen things go up and down but I’ve always seen a good scene going on. And today was a perfect example. "I have to give it to Katie's of Smithtown for putting on the show and showing that there is an audience for this music. I’m all for tribute bands and I think they’re great, but there is also an audience for what we do in more of an original vein. "In the future, I'd love see more of these shows happening and I hope to see you all there sometime! Keep on Rockin (and Bluesin')! " We agree. The blues society is dedicated to helping preserve the Blues and live music here on Long Island. Click on "Join the LIBS" over there on the left and help us in our mission. |