One June 27th in Washington D.C., Music Forward helped support a celebration of Blues music with the addition of 25 years of House of Blues Radio shows along with nearly 2,000 raw, unedited House of Blues Radio Hour interviews into the Library of Congress.
Many of you know Music Forward as the national non-profit dedicated to breaking barriers for entering the music and live entertainment industry, turning passions into professions for youth across the country. Yet, some may not know that 31 years ago, Music Forward was birthed as the International House of Blues Foundation and through our relationship with the House of Blues for over 30 years, we have been highlighting the great impact of African Americans on our art, culture, and music.
We continue to have a legacy program that has been telling the story of the blues to tens of thousands of young people nationwide, called the Blues SchoolHouse. Running in Boston for nearly 30 years thanks to HOB Boston, Music Drives Us, and Crossroads Presents. And now with a great partner, Highmark Health, we are bringing Blues SchoolHouse to The Met in Philly for the next 10 years. See it takes a community and partnerships to carry on this incredible, impactful art form.
And that is why, on a lovely (and muggy) Washington DC evening, in the spectacular Library of Congress, we hosted an evening in celebration of the Blues as our American musical legacy and with the inclusion of these great interviews into our national archive, we continued to expand our community and ensure generations to come will know that Blues music is the seed for American music as we know it.
Our Executive Director, Nurit Smith, hosted the evening, helping share this message, welcoming key partners on this initiative, as well as our remarkable performers. She wove-in Blues history throughout the night, reinforcing how everything in popular modern American music can be traced back to the roots of the Blues. And how Blues music shines a light on dark corners of American life and gives a voice to all its people.
The evening began with Matthew Barton, Curator, Recorded Sound, Library of Congress greeting our 500 distinguished guests with a number of members of Congress in attendance. Roswell Encina, Chief Communications Officer at the Library of Congress, followed, sharing the Library’s excitement and purpose in adding the collection and commitment to preserving and empowering all American voices. When he quoted Etta James, “When I’m singing blues, I’m singing life,” there was a palpable sense of appreciation in the audience.
We were honored to have Jim Belushi, a part of the Blues Brothers family, bringing his effusive energy and unreserved love for the Blues. He shared thoughts from him and Dan Aykroyd on the great meaning of this inclusion.
Aykroyd added, “Everyone involved in the House of Blues/Bluesmobile Radio Hour is grateful and excited that the United States Library of Congress is taking our 20 years’ worth of shows with their performances and interviews into the Library’s permanent collection. This archive is one of the most comprehensive ever and provides researchers with an invaluable resource. Also, it validates the original ‘Mission’ of the Blues Brothers to celebrate and venerate African American Blues artists and their music by actively contributing to the vital initiative of cultural preservation”.
Following Jim was Ben Manilla, the producer and mastermind behind this decades-long passion project of preserving the Blues. Ben shared the road it took and the stories along the way to get to the Library. Music Forward was key in helping digitize the interviews as we helped facilitate raising over $20,000, generously supported by over two dozen devoted organizations and individuals including The Grateful Dead’s The Rex Foundation and Founder & Managing Partner at HMI Capital Mick Hellman. He thanked all these key supporters and played a short video with some of the amazing voices in the archive and the stories now available to all.
To kick-start our evening’s performances, there was Gaye Adegbalola and her fabulous pianist Roddy Barnes. A Blues Music Award winner and a founding member of Saffire -The UppityBlues Women, Gaye shared a few Classic Blues standards from the 1920s, bringing Ma Rainey (the Mother of the Blues) and Bessie Smith (the Empress of the Blues) to life, albeit her way in tux and tails! She shared anecdotes about these women between the songs and shared how they helped her find her voice. She closed her set with an original and the way she was working the stage, the songs, and her guitar, belied this octogenarian’s age. She got all of us moving and feeling!
Our next performer, Music Forward alum Adem Dalipi, burned the stage up as we entered the 1950s Urban Blues where his electric guitar and rocking band shook the room. We met Adem when he was 15 in our artist development series in Chicago, now as a recent college graduate, balancing career and craft from college, it was fantastic to see him shine on stage reminding us that the Blues is always in great hands with Adem Dalipi and his band, bassist Andrew Vucsko-Cameron, and drummer Logan Lake.
And for our finale, Brother Zee Blues joined the band for Sweet Home, Chicago and then all the performers jumped on stage for a spirited rendition of Flip, Flop & Fly with audience at their feet dancing, singing, clapping, and ending the evening with a standing ovation, letting all of us know the Blues are alive and thriving.
Throughout the evening, we were reminded that through the Blues we see how people use music to tell their stories, preserve their memories, provide comfort, and create a sense of community. And how African and African American music and cultural traditions have influenced and continue to influence the music that we enjoy today.
We thank the Library of Congress, all our performers, and special guests for making this evening so special and for safeguarding our American musical legacy.
We hope that the story of the Blues, the collection now in the Library of Congress, will inspire each of you to build a deeper love for this legacy art form, develop and express your voice, and use your voice to continue to change the world for the better!
Peace. Love. Music.