“The blues is where most of this music started. If we let it fade, we’re cutting the roots out from under everything else. Music today has still got the same job, help people feel something, help them say something and help them deal with something.”

David Pippin & Eva…

“Music is a common language for many. You can stand next to someone who does not speak your language at a concert, yet still share the same experience and understand it equally. Sport is the only other format that can also do this. Even film and theatre are reliant upon language. This has been an important teaching to me.”…

“To me, Blues is the foundation of all of the popular music we know and love. Blues is an art form that was born out of struggle, defiance, perseverance and celebration. It is perhaps the most deeply understood form of music. Blues as we know it may have been created in the United States, but the spirit which informs the music is worldwide.”…

“Blues is such a huge part of our history, especially here in America. It transcends trends and reaches to the core of what it means to be human. Unfortunately, I think today’s society often misses the mark when it comes to music.”

Mark Nesmith: Authentic Melon Jelly Blues…

“Music is church to me. It is sometimes my only prayer. when given the opportunity to play and share live music, it’s a chance to dance, to dive off into the Ether and get out of my own way. When I write songs, they are usually about things I am trying to understand.”

Carolyn Wonderland: The Truth of Texas…

“I believe that all cultures in depth are connected and we as humans share the essential part of it. For me all the songs I sing no matter what language it is, I sing it from this essence. I like to mix regional songs of different places together, blending the stories and making us see that we are all connected.”…

“Blues is timeless—it’s the foundation of everything. Every modern genre shares its DNA.”

Paul Mason:

(Down) Under the Rock Blues Emotions 

Paul Mason is a…

“The Blues and Rock has influenced my view of the world because it breaks barriers whether language political or other. African American blues is revered all over the world.”

Jay Willie & Bobby T. Torello:

Still Raisin’ Cane (Tribute to Johnny Winter)…

”I think blues can be a very intimate personal experience for someone, and certainly a music style that offers a broad pallet of musical adventures. It’s an important music genre and worth to be approached and experienced by many more people.”

Gregg Giarelis: (Blues) Time (Rock) Flies…

“Music today sounds very generic. Many artists sound the same—they might be "trendy" now, but they’ll be irrelevant in a few years. For me, the music from the '60s and '70s always carries a sense of urgency and feeling that remains timeless.”

Leif de Leeuw: The Blues Rock…

”Blues music means everything to me. I met my best friends, my wife, did all my world traveling all while singin the blues. I listen to blues music all the time. Recently going back to Little Walter. Still so much to hear and study.”

Andrew Duncanson: Chicago via California…

“I miss when people listened. When music and art were the soul of entertainment. Now, Netflix and cell phones sit on that throne. I miss when a blues song was a song and not just a guitar hero experiment.”

Scott Low: Blues Is Everywhere …

”Well, if there is one difference between Afro-American Roots music and the music from the Caribbean is that it is rare that you will find in the Caribbean the heaviness found in the American Blues.”

Benoît LeBlanc: Mô Kouzin, Mô Kouzinn

Benoît LeBlanc is a critically…

“Blues and Rock n Roll has always been very influential to UK musicians so it flavours many genres of music in the UK. so even if the listening public don't know it they are listening to blues inspired music a lot of the time.”

Ian Jennings: Bass with Soul…

“When I first heard Mongolian folk music I couldn’t believe how many similarities to blues it had, similar rhythms, same scales, same riffs, and that deep growling throat singing, gee if that ain’t howling wolf, I started to think that maybe somehow the migration of mongols to America who then became indigenous Americans might have shared their music with African Americans? That’s my theory!”…

“I miss mistakes! A lot (but not all) of music nowadays is totally devoid of mistakes.  Digital recording definitely affords the opportunity to fix mistakes, and I think this is often taken advantage of in the pop market. Technology has also afforded us access to a lot of music, so I’m not generalizing all music from the present as being one thing or another.”…

“The blues is a music that will never go away. It's of course the foundation for all popular music. It needs to both be respected and preserved while also being pushed forward by new artists and ideas. Music as a whole has seemed to change its role for current generations.”

Josh Smith: Real Blues, Real…

“It’s important that we spread the blues in todays society because it’s hardly a part of society at all. Modern music is taking over which is fine cause obviously people seem to love it, but We need to work as hard as we can to bring back the blues and carry the torch to keep it alive. I will devote everyday of my life to create my own sound and bring the blues back!”…

“The drive comes from the raw, unfiltered reality of life and sometimes questionable decisions that come with it and our repertoire is filled with tales of just that.”

Ginger St. James: Honky-Tonk Queen…

“Music has opened my eyes to how deeply we’re all connected. It’s a universal language, a force that can break barriers and bring people together no matter where they’re from.”

Tierinii Jackson:…