The BMA’s were held on Thursday night 5/9/13 down in Memphis TN, and here are this years winners…from Blues.org

Traditional Blues Album: Double Dynamite – The Mannish Boys
Instrumentalist-Bass: Bob Stroger
DVD: Eagle Rock Entertainment – Muddy Waters & Rolling Stones, Live at Checkerboard Lounge
Instrumentalist-Horn: Eddie Shaw
Soul Blues Female Artist: Irma Thomas
Acoustic Artist: Eric Bibb
Traditional Blues Male Artist: Magic Slim
Acoustic Album: Not Alone – Ann Rabson w/ Bob Margolin
Contemporary Blues Album: Show of Strength – Michael Burks
Gibson Guitar: Derek Trucks
Rock Blues Album: Everybody’s Talkin’ – Tedeschi Trucks Band
Band: Tedeschi Trucks Band
Instrumentalist-Harmonica: Rick Estrin
Instrumentalist-Drums: Cedric Burnside
Soul Blues Male Artist: Curtis Salgado
Pinetop Perkins Piano Player: Victor Wainwright
Contemporary Blues Male Artist: Tab Benoit
Historical: Bear Family Records for Plug It In! Turn It Up! Electric Blues by Various Artists
Soul Blues Album: Soul Shot – Curtis Salgado
Best New Artist Debut: They Call Me Big Llou – Big LLou Johnson
Contemporary Blues Female Artist: Janiva Magness
Koko Taylor Award (Traditional Blues Female): Ruthie Foster
Album: Show of Strength – Michael Burks
Song of the Year: “I Won’t Cry” written by Janiva Magness & Dave Darling – Stronger For It (Janiva Magness)

Congrats also to the many Artists and Bands that were nominated as well-you too are winners as well!

As anybody can attest to, being a student is not easy.  In the University of Iowa’s MFA graduate film production program, producing an ambitious period film on a shoestring budget doesn’t come any easy…But Jesse Kreitzer wants to tell a story of a important part of BLUES HISTORY

He’s written to ask for our help to bring an important story to life…A film about the story of ALAN LOMAX. He was a very important figure in the telling of Blues History.

In 1941, a 27-year-old folklorist named Alan Lomax is sent from the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. to the segregated south to record an oral history of the blues lineage.

Equipped with 500 pounds of field recording equipment powered by his car battery, Lomax ventured on a wondrous odyssey through the Mississippi Delta and returned with the most beautiful and harrowing songs that music has ever known.

He could use some help to get this project done, and that’s where we can help…Here’s a link with this story, and you can check it out there, and help him make this project a reality, here’s the link:

http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=6b43d31ec443f856f505c1e13&id=f44cecdcb6

The Blues Society is holding a Spring Concert And Membership Drive on March 16th with MATTHEW CURRY & THE FURY, at THE STATE ROOM in Quincy. The Doors open at 7:30pm , and the show is from 8pm-Midnite. Admission to this event will be by donations at the door, and throughout the evening, to help offset costs.

Matthew Curry & The Fury will be making their first appearance in Quincy, and we are happy to be able to make this event happen. He put out a red hot CD-”IF I DON’T GOT YOU” about two years ago, and it garnered him and the band a lot of praise in the Blues world-and he was only 16 at the time. He’s currently working on his second release, and is also working on graduating from high school later this spring as well. He’s planning on trying out some of his new material on folks during his appearance here in town. There are a lot of videos on YouTube of Matthew, and here’s one of his Song of the Year nominated tune “Blinded By The Darkness” with full-sized band. (I don’t believe that they’ll be bringing horns and all to town-but-this show will be hot!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tuOTcM68kA

We’d also like to try to sign up some new members, and renew some past members, to help us continue our mission of Keeping Blues music alive in our local area.

We are hoping for a full house and a great night at The State Room with Matthew and The Fury, some come join us on Saturday March 16th!

This show is a result of the recent successful fundraiser-The Blue Note Open, and we are also going to try to make plans to resume Blues in the School music education in the future as well.

Morris Holt-the Blues legend known as “Magic Slim’ has passed away just after midnight on Thursday in a Philadelphia PA hospital. Here’s a link to the story on msn.com:  http://news.msn.com/obits/blues-guitarist-magic-slim-dies-in-us

He was a great bluesman, recording countless records and CD’s over his career, and was always a huge draw for any festival. He will be greatly missed-but his music will live on…rest in peace “Slim”–The Blues Heaven All-Stars have been waiting for your arrival…

Also-Several other artists are going through some health issues as well. FINAS TASBY-the lead vocalist of the west coast blues all-star band-THE MANNISH BOYS has recently suffered a severe stroke recently, and is doing his best on the road to recovery. He is in great need of help with his medical expenses, and his label-DELTA GROOVE has put together an effort to try to help out. Here’s the link-please help if you can:   http://www.deltagrooveproductions.com/

Guitarist KID RAMOS is also battling cancer right now also, and could use some help from the Blues Community as well. His story and info on helping him can be found here: http://fulltimeblues.com/2012/09/30/support-kid-ramos-cancer-fight/

And last but not least, longtime sax player for ROOMFUL OF BLUES-GREG PICCOLO has recently undergone heart surgery, and is on the road to recovery. details on this can be found at www.blues.org

We send our heartfelt sympathy to the Holt family, and members of Magic Slim’s band-the Teardrops, and send out best wishes to our other Blues family members who are struggling with health issues.

The costumes were again great this year, some of those pics are up on the FB Page, and congrats to Martini’s @ 515 for winning the “Best Hole” this year (this was a close call to make-there were several outstanding holes this year).

One of the things that the Society is going to do with some of the proceeds from this event is hold a Spring Concert on MARCH 16th at THE STATE ROOM. We’re proud to be bringing MATTHEW CURRY & THE FURY to Quincy for their first appearance in town. Matthew’s an exciting young bluesman who put out a outstanding debut CD in 2011-at only 16! He’s from the Bloomington/Normal IL area, and we’re thrilled to finally be getting him in person in town (Jerry D’s been playing his CD a lot on his Sunday Morning show on 103.9 The Fox since it’s came out). This is a show that you’re not going to want to miss, and the details will be up on the Live Events page in the very near future…

And, if you’re wanting to make plans for next year, our date is almost always “the Saturday after the Super Bowl” (unless it gets a little too close to Valentine’s Day)…So-our date for 2014 will be SATURDAY FEBRUARY 8th 2014, and we hope to see you there!

That’s right-it’s now Saturday February 9th, and today is the day for the Annual Blue Note Open Indoor Golf event! We thought everything was totally ready-BUT-We’ve lost one of our Bars last night. If you caught the 10 O’Clock News-O’SHEA’s at 4th & Cedar had a pretty serious fire occur last night, and we’re glad that everyone got out safely. But, though we haven’t been able to talk with anyone from the establishment, it’s doubtful (from the footage that I saw) that they will be ready for today’s event.

So-we got in contact with UNCLE BOB’S at 12th & Cedar, and they said that they would be ready to go-to fill in for O’SHEA’s today…So, we have that hole covered, making it 11 holes to chose from today-to get your nine qualifying holes in.

Our thoughts are with  the folks down at O’SHEA’s for a speedy recovery from this tragic event, and hope that they can be up and running again soon. And when they are-why not go down and support them in their recovery to full business, it’s a nice old bar, that was totally remodeled, and looking great-and I’m sure will be again soon…Remember, the doors at the Starlight will be open for early entries, AND WE DO STILL HAVE ROOM FOR MORE TEAMS, (without over-crowding the event). So-COME ON IN-THE GOLFING WILL BE FINE!

It’s gonna be another great year, and a fun event, and remember-you no longer need to have “The Best” competitive team to win a cash prize-all you have to do is complete 9 holes, and return to the Starlite with your scorecard by 6:30pm to have a chance for your team to win one of 5 $100 Prizes! See you there!

–We will be sending these out to past Team Captains this weelk. But if you have changed you address, OR you’ve never participated in the event in the past, here’s links to the forms that you’ll need to print, fill out, and send into us (with your entry fee).

TEAM ENTRY FORM LINK:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IjAIdzcIR3vxy-AQ46On-lmfS8eVED2jgDh-OdrNHfo/edit

TEAM CAPTAIN’S LETTER (Explaining the event)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11rL_UjlMM2sy405o2XJttN8iL1japPPJ6mKr-MbGJvM/edit

And the BASIC RULES FORM (To be signed and sent in WITH Team Registration and Entry Fee):

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cwmxyKnpQLIMSB5IzqECsl3-Jwwel_86YQ3gVTQoDxU/edit

Remember-that we are planning on having MORE than 9 different establishments hosting holes for the event-so this will lessen some of the longer waits at some of the holes. (You have the option of other holes to choose from to “get your 9 holes in” at…).

Keep an eye here on quincyblues.com Homepage for updates, and we’ll let you know some of the bars participating this year also…

The date for the 2013 BLUE NOTE OPEN INDOOR GOLF EVENT has been set!

We will be holding the event on SATURDAY FEBRUARY 9TH 2013, with the host establishment being the CASINO STARLITE NIGHTCLUB, AT 20TH & CEDAR IN QUINCY.

As you know, this is our indoor golf tournament (an annual fundraiser for the Blues Society). We are continuing with the CHANGES to the event that we made last year, and want to remind you of…
Since you have participated in the past, we thank you, and you understand how the basic premise of how the event works. BUT-this year, we’re continuing with the BIG CHANGES that we’ve implemented…
FIRST-We’ve upped the PRIZE MONEY! We are awarding $500.00 in cash prizes this year!  Five Teams will win $100 each! AND-We’re planning on having MORE THAN 9 HOLES for you this year! (To help teams complete 9 holes this year). AND-Low Scores don’t matter-(except for team bragging rights, ultimately participation does). WHAT does this mean? Please read on, I’ll explain it all to you…
To qualify to win prize money this year-here’s what your team needs to do….

Each team MUST COMPLETE 9 HOLES (ANY 9 HOLES), AND TURN IN THEIR TEAM SCORECARD AT THE CASINO STARLITE BY 6:30 pm.

At approximately 6:45pm-Blue Note Open Staff will draw out 5 Teams Scorecards, and EACH TEAM’S SCORECARD that is drawn WILL WIN $100 for each winning team!

ANY QUALIFYING TEAM CAN NOW BE A WINNER! AND-we’ve added more holes to make it easier for every team to complete nine holes!

If you are interested in being involved in this year’s event, you know what you need to do…First-you need to round up your team members, and explain to them that you (now more than ever) actually has a chance to win money this year! Then, get your team’s entry fee turned in asap-we do need to know how many teams to plan for. We’d like to have your entry fee by Friday February 4th  2013. If you can’t get it in until the day of the event, you are taking a chance, because with the new rules, we’re planning on having a full event, and we might have to cut off entries if we feel we are overloading the event. (Though-we will accept additional teams-as space permits).

We do appreciate your continued participation in this event, as this is our organizations biggest fundraiser of the year.  If you have any questions, and you need to contact me, I will try to answer any question that you may have. Also, we’ll try to let know what establishments will be having food available for purchase, so your team can get a bite throughout the day.
Also included with your signup sheet, is a Basic Rules sheet, please familiarize yourself, and your teammates with these, as to assist you on the big day!  And mail your team completed entry form, and payment to: MMMWBS, PO Box 887, Quincy IL 62306

Here’s the Team Registration form link:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IjAIdzcIR3vxy-AQ46On-lmfS8eVED2jgDh-OdrNHfo/edit
We look forward to seeing everyone on the 9th of February at The Starlite!

This message is for all of our local Blues lovers, and to the Bands that have played at our local Blues spot-The Club Tavern…I’ve learned today that John Harscher has passed away. He was the owner of The Club Tavern here in Quincy. He’s been in bad health for well over a year now, and his suffering is no more…He took a chance years ago, and started bringing Blues Artists to his little “Juke Joint”, and committed to it, and made it work. There’s been so many great bands that’s played there over the years, and a lot of great memories of John down there-enjoying what he did there.    The gang down there has worked hard to keep things going since John became unable to run things day to day, and hopefully they can continue to keep John’s legacy alive…see you in Blues Heaven John!  (And please keep supporting Live Blues at The Club Tavern).