“As far as these genres my take is if it moves you and touches your soul that’s what matters most. As Duke Ellington said “There is only two types of music… good and bad”

Mike Guldin: 

While I Can … I’ll Play The…

“I don't believe all blues is great just because it's got that name. I think some is redundant and not creative and not original, but done well, it's just, you know, it's the real thing, it's real feeling.”

Mike Kappus: The Rosebud of Music

Mike Kappus has…

"What I miss the most is real music record stores...real radio too. The whole industry today is pretty awful...everything is too overexposed and there is no myth or legend about bands anymore. Back in the day, the only way you could see the band was if they had a picture on the record or if you went to a show or saw them in a fan magazine or on a tv show like Ed Sullivan."

Mike Onesko: Blues, Dreams…

“The mash up between blues and jazz is in the DNA of the city. You can feel the ghosts looking down at you…and one of my main gigs is literally only a few blocks from the corner of 12th Street and Vine. The Kansas City sound moves people in a way that makes them want to dance.”…

“I think that it is well understood that fluctuations in the popularity in different music styles and themes has a long time link to the current socio-cultural situation. Music impacts society, and also reflects what society is going through, - good and bad.“

Mike Elliott: Let the Soul & Emotions…

“Canadians are kind of traditional people, and we really appreciate the blues. There's been a scene here for a long time, with so many great blues players coming through, especially in Toronto back in the day.”

Mike McKenna: Everything About the Blues…

"The role of music has never changed. It's our ability to tap into each other… find common ground and enjoy collective humanity that is music’s eternal power."

Mike Griot: Blues People Play The Blues

BLUES People are 2023 and 2024 North Jersey Blues Society (NJBS) International Blues Challenge (IBC) Winners, and 2024 IBC Semifinalists in Memphis,…

"The most important lesson that I have learned in my musical path is that you have to be a good person above all else, you can be a great instrumentalist or musician but what everyone who knows you will remember when you leave is the energy that you transmit, the music that you share and how you treat others."

Kid Carlos: The Blues Is Alright and Well!…

"I feel that music should make you dance, think and also be aware of what’s going on around you and all over the world. Be willing to accept other people perspectives."

Mike Wheeler: Chicago Blues Hall of Famer

Mike Wheeler has a vast knowledge of music and a voice that's reminiscent of the late Sam Cooke. He can sing and play everything so well…

"I guess I am hoping that the music we all so much can survive for awhile yet! Why would it not? The Blues will never die…even if it does get slightly twisted and bent out of shape!"

Mike Vernon: Keeping the BLUES Alive!

Without producer and label boss Mike Vernon, the history of British blues would look very different.…

"I think the blues is due for a comeback with younger people in an over-tech, digital world. People crave real things and experiences, and I think the blues is that. I see it more when I travel than here in the states, where audiences are older. I try to find places that don’t generally hire blues bands, even if it’s for less money. Just to expose younger audiences. And I try to always help if a younger artist needs anything. Should and probably will do…

"I think that the genre (Blues) needs to be embraced, taught and shared in a broader sense, it has to be accepted, supported and respected more by black people here in America first. I think people can be made to understand how this music has been so important in the development of our place culturally in society."

Alabama Mike: The Future of the Blues…

"Music is a universal language that helps keep people together in all types of culture. It can be healing, and it can touch people in many different ways. It is important for me that when people hear my music, they feel it in their heart and it brings out an emotional response in them."

Mike Campese: Reset of Rock Fusion…

"If you are true to yourself and really know yourself as an artist and know what you’re laying down is the real deal, then you rise above all the noise and the crap that’s involved."

Buddy Reed: The Real Blues Deal

Ivan Elmo "Buddy" Reed got his start playing the blues in San Bernardino,…

"Everything affects everything around it, I think that's the nature of physics. A great piece of music will have a specific, if initially intangible, effect on anyone who hears it and it stands a chance to affect that individual's future actions for the greater good. Sometimes, it actually does this."

Mike Keneally: The Thing That Knowledge Can’t Eat…

"The thing I like about the music of the past, and especially the blues, is the honesty of the music. There was not days upon months of mixing, and overdubbing, and digital trickery. Four or five guys, or however many, would all go into a room big enough to facilitate the numbers, and set up and play, and the music was mixed and recorded on the spot “live off the floor”."

South Island Rhythm…

"I miss the fact that a lot of the past music wasn’t following trends as much as today. Things seem very commercialized and repetitive today. Although on early music’s behalf, a lot of those musical ideas had never been done. And it was like a clean slate for a lot of artistry. And there weren’t too many trends to follow anyway back then."

Mike Ian: The Learning Tree…

"Music can bridge all barriers…race, socio-economic, political…it can be as simple as people forgetting their problems and differences for 90 minutes to enacting actual long term change. Let it move you, and a lot of other things will fall into place."

Mighty Mike Schermer: Just Gettin’ Good!

Mighty Mike Schermer was a fixture on the…

"Music should always be a focal point in bringing people and communities together. Music is the one universal language that everyone speaks."

Mike Guldin: Good Ole Butt-Shakin’ Music!

Mike Guldin first picked up the guitar at age 15 and since then has honed his craft playing in roadhouses, clubs and bars, and Festivals and Theaters for over 45…

"Blues music has always been the music of the marginalized and oppressed. It has always been political. Anyone who says otherwise, that it’s ‘just music’ and there’s no politics involved, is mistaken..."

Mike Nagoda: Slide Outside The Box

Mike Nagoda is an LGBT Blues musician from Toronto, Canada. He began learning the piano at age six, and nearly…