The Mississippi Valley Blues Society presents Hal Reed and Kevin Burt for its Blues in the Schools Artists in Residency Series for the week of February 25 to March 1, 2013. Hal and Kevin will conduct their "Generations of Blues" workshops at area schools and two Open to the Public performances:

• Moline Public Library, Gold Room - Tuesday, Feb. 26, 7 - 8:30 p.m. (3210 41st Street, Moline, IL)

• River Music Experience, Community Stage - Thursday Feb. 28, 7-9 p.m. (2nd and Main Streets in Davenport, IA)

Through storytelling, discussions, and musical demonstration, Hal and Kevin will trace blues music's history and culture from its African roots through today's era, showing how and where the blues originated and threaded its way through all cultures in our society. The goal is that students today continue to appreciate, understand and carry their fathers' and mothers' music into the next generation.

Blues harmonica player, guitarist, singer and educator Hal Reed was born in Mississippi just a few miles from the Delta, where he grew up influenced by his grandfather, a talented southern folk-blues artist who in addition to inspiring young Hal's love for the blues taught Hal the need to pass it on from generation to generation.

Besides being a bandleader in the Quad-Cities, Hal is also the owner of The Muddy Waters in Bettendorf, where he brings in blues artists every week. And for the past five years he has been a teacher at the River Music Experience's Winter Blues program. Hal has brought his "Generations of Blues" program to area schools three times before, to great acclaim.

For over 20 years, Kevin "B.F." Burt has been electritying audiences throughout the nation, dispelling the myth that true blues has no roots in Iowa.  His soul-inspired presentation is unique, which consistently gets him compared to a range of artists like Bill Withers and Aaron Neville, with the ability to build an audience rapport that has been compared to B.B. King.  Kevin is a self-taught musician (vocals, harmonica and guitar) who has also had some stage acting experience.  In the off-Broadway play, Klub Ka, the Blues Legend, Kevin played Papa Gee and arranged all of the blues music.  The Play, which originally ran in Iowa City and then in Washington D.C., also had a two-week run at LaMama's Experimental Theater in New York City and was sold out each night.  Kevin also had roles in several other plays at the University of Iowa - for example, playing Whining Boy in the acclaimed August Wilson play The Piano Lesson.

Chicago singer and educator Maggie Brown will be the MVBS Blues in the Schools artist-in residence in Quad City area schools during the week of November 26-30. She will also appear at four open-to-the-public performances:

• Monday Nov. 26, 6:30 p.m. - Davenport Public Library Eastern Ave. Branch, 6000 Eastern Ave., Davenport
• Wednesday Nov. 28, 10:00 a.m. - CASI, 1035 W. Kimberly Rd., Davenport
• Thursday Nov. 29, 7:00 p.m. - River Music Experience Cafe, 2nd and Main, Davenport
• Friday Nov. 30 6:00 p.m. - Bucktown Center for the Arts, Studio 56 at suite 201-B, 225 E. 2nd Street, Davenport

The MVBS Education Committee was introduced to Maggie Brown originally when Nate Lawrence brought her to Davenport for the Polyrhythms Third Sunday Jazz program at the River Music Experience. We were so impressed with her performance that we asked Maggie to come back to conduct three days of workshops for kids the week of the 2012 BluesFest, and then to bring those kids and her talent to BlueSKool at the festival.

Maggie Brown is a tremendously talented singer and performer using her gift to not only entertain, but educate as well. Maggie is the daughter of the late Oscar Brown, Jr. a world renowned composer, social activist, and legendary giant of the jazz music scene. Mr. Brown passed on his artistic integrity to his daughter, who now uses her own voice to create images that excite and inspire. For 20 years, Maggie has nationally toured her one-woman show, "LEGACY: Our Wealth of Music," which follows the history and evolution of African American music and covers a wide range of musical forms.

Mother of three young boys, Maggie sees the need to work through the arts to make an impact on young lives. Her message fosters care and respect for words, music, history and life. Maggie describes what she does as "edutainment." She calls on all of her talents to demonstrate how black people courageously and virtuously responded to the horrors of slavery, segregation and disenfranchisement by creating inspiring and thriving art forms which have become part of our American cultural heritage.

Maggie is called upon by various arts organizations and schools to serve as artist-in-residence. Maggie enjoys using those classroom opportunities to engage young minds with poetry and songs that help them recognize and hopefully value their place in the world. Tracing the history of African-American creativity, Maggie examines the roots of black musical culture and its greatest flowerings, from African chant to early ragtime, from blues to jazz.

Major funding for Maggie Brown's Blues in the Schools residency comes from the Riverboat Development Authority. Thanks also to our sponsors The Iowa Arts Council, The Moline Foundation, Alcoa, The Lodge, and KALA radio.

Guitarist, educator, and historian Scott Ainslie will be the first artist-in-residence for the MVBS Blues in the Schools program for the 2012-2013 academic year. He will visit schools in the Quad-City area during the week of October 22-26. He will also present three open-to-the-public performances:

• Monday October 22—LeClaire Community Library (3rd and Wisconsin, LeClaire IA), 6:00-7:00 p.m.

• Thursday October 25—River Music Experience Café (2nd and Main, Davenport IA), 7:00-9:00 p.m.

• Friday October 26—The Muddy Waters (1708 State St. Bettendorf IA), 9:00-9:45 p.m.

In 1967, at a Mike Seeger concert at his high school outside of Washington DC, Scott Ainslie heard Virginia bluesman John Jackson (1924-2002) play a couple of songs. Things haven't been the same since.

Scott started playing guitar a month later and has now spent nearly forty years studying and playing traditional music, visiting and documenting senior musicians in America's old-time banjo and fiddle music, blues and gospel traditions.

With five CDs, a teaching DVD on the guitar techniques of Delta blues legend Robert Johnson, and a book on Johnson's music — Robert Johnson/At The Crossroads (Hal Leonard, 1992)—to his credit, as a performer and a teacher Scott Ainslie continues to present programs that are vital and entertaining. On the road, Scott performs and presents workshops in schools, libraries, community arts venues, colleges and festivals. He is also a respected instructor at music programs across the country and maintains an active schedule teaching guitar out of his home in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Dear Blues Friends,

There's been considerable growth in the public's interest in “alternative” genres/styles of music (blues, folk, bluegrass, old-timey, ethnic/world, etc.). I’m not going to try to analyze the phenomena, but I rejoice in it. When the consumer demands variety, the wise shopkeeper responds.

Besides playing and listening to the music, I enjoy reading biographies, autobiographies, various blues related historical material, and watching blues on video. I would like to see a bigger 'catalog,' variety, and selection of blues related books, literature, periodicals, and videos in the bookstores.

I'm frequently asked, “What books can I read to learn more about the music and the people of the Blues?” That’s a tough question, as there are many hundreds of titles. I don't have time to read everything that's available. I enjoy reading, but I’m no book reviewer. The purpose of this blues related book and video list is to give folks a 'taste' of the broad variety of blues related books, literature, and video that are available. The list is not "complete," and it's always growing. Even though the list is quite long, please take your time looking it over. I'm pretty sure you'll see a number of titles and subjects that will pique your interest.