The Mississippi Valley Blues Society will celebrate Black History Month by presenting Blues in the Schools (BITS) artist-in-residency Fruteland Jackson to area schools and open-to-the-public venues from February 4 to February 8.

As an oral historian, Fruteland has taken his extensive knowledge of blues history to schools, colleges and universities all over America. Fruteland created the award-winning “All About The Blues”™ series Blues in the Schools programs, bringing his love of the blues and its important contribution to music in the world to every venue and classroom he is invited. He has received awards and acclaim across the country for his research, innovation, curriculum and presentation of the history about the people and music that make up the blues. Frutelan...
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North Scott Rotary member Mary Ellen Chamberlin invited MVBS' education committee to speak on behalf of our year-round educational programming at its December meeting (Friday, Dec. 14). Education committee members Ann Ring and Hal Reed represented the Blues Society for a 20-minute presentation. Ann's talk primarily focused on BlueSKool, the adult workshops at the Festival and Blues in the Schools. Intertwined with her short speech, Hal Reed and Chris Avey played 2 songs, with Hal on harp and Chris on guitar. The Rotary also included a front-page article about MVBS in its newsletter. Thank you, North Scott Rotary for helping us with publicity.

The Mississippi Valley Blues Society is now #17 on the E-Script board at Schnucks Market in Bettendorf!! This means that those of us who are shopping at Schnucks are really making a difference to MVBS!

When doing blues instructional workshops and in-school programs, I am frequently asked what the link is between the blues and the Mississippi River. Many blues songs make reference to the river, and the music has been deeply influenced by the Mississippi.

President Thomas Jefferson acquired the vast unexplored lands of the Louisiana Purchase that constitute the Mississippi River watershed. The Louisiana Purchase was the most important event of President Thomas Jefferson’s first administration. In this transaction, the United States bought 827,987 square miles (2,144,476 square kilometers) of land from France for about $15 million. This vast area lay between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border. The purchase of this land g...
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The Blues

The blues is a musical style created in response to the hardships endured by generations of African American people. It originated in the rural Mississippi Delta region at the beginning of the 20th century. Descended from earlier work shouts (arhoolies), blues is primarily a vocal narrative style featuring solo voice with instrumental accompaniment. Blues has contributed significantly to the development of jazz, rock music, and country and western music.

Members Present: President Ric Burris, V-P Bob Covemaker, Treasurer Kevin Duncalf, Secretary Karen McFarland, Lonnie Britt, Ellen Clow, Glenn Cotabish, Stan Furlong, Steve Heston, Bob Kieser, Mike Livermore, Tom Morgan, Steve Pedigo, Dick Vallandingham