"The current state of the music industry consists of a quite diverse sound and different genres. However, I believe the Blues is still going strong and fans have been loyal to the scene for many decades now. Blues is the foundation of popular music and its roots will hopefully keep growing for many years to come. Therefore, I believe it is a matter of generations, how one passes the information to another. That way, there is a great…

"The Beats loved jazz, Kerouac wanted to be a jazz writer, but they also appreciated classical music and other forms of music. Notice the shout-out to Ray Charles at the beginning of Ginsberg’s “Kaddish.” What really helped keep the Beats alive was their influence on rock music: Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, The Doors, Janis Joplin, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, The Clash, Nirvana. Rock lyricists are the true heirs of the Beat…

"You need to play freely from your heart, and I believe you play the most free when you are making music you love. Let your emotions shape the sound, the phrasing, the melodies, and the riffs and grooves. I think if you have enough chops to express what you feel, and you can put your soul into every lick you play, then that's a music life well lived."

Pete Anderson: Making A Great…

"My hope is that the younger generation will push forward this wonderful form of music and keep it going well into the future and keep the Blues alive."

Big Joe Maher: Let The Rockin' Roll

Joe Maher aka "Big Joe" started out his music career in his Maryland high school jazz band "The Starliners.” Musician greats like Clark Terry, Urbie Green,…

"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.…

"Music is Devil’s work so we must make a deal and set the controls…"

Voodoo Drummer: Swingin' The Passion 

Greek musician Voodoo Drummer (aka Chris Koutsogiannis), for more than 30 years he has appeared at festivals, theaters and venues in 24 countries so far, such as Rouge Cabaret Festival (Paris), Villa Celimontana Jazz Fest (Rome),…

"I put my heart and soul into my music and my performances. It’s an extension of me and all the history that made me what I am. Everyone interprets music in their own way, shaped by their experiences. That’s the beauty of life, it is all intertwined. Follow your dreams."

Willie West: Soul Heart & Blues Soul

Willie West is one of the original…

"Music has always affected the way people live their life, example - in the mining camp days, you would go to the saloon after work, and the piano player would be relating all the news from the last mining camp, it used to be the heart of information as they were the only ones traveling from town to town to spread that information. As far as my music goes, I’d like to bring people together and make them feel and think about things they love and things…

"I am not sure it can and remain the “music industry”. AI applications writing songs? Making melody? I am not sure that is music, certainly not without the most important element of all: a human behind it. Music is live performance - it’s not video, it’s not film, it is human beings working together on stage, without a net, without an algorithm, doing a collaborative process that is imperfect and fraught with danger because it is “in the moment” and goes by…

"Happily, there is good and great music in every era. However, today's popular music often seems less heartfelt than the music I grew up listening to. I pray that the current younger generation will nurture the best of human culture, contribute to it and take us closer to a world of peace and harmony."

Eric Bibb: A Ride for Liberty & Music…

"I believe the impact of Blues on culture has lessened in recent years, although it is still prevalent. I think the most important impacts are made by the preservation and teaching of the history behind the genre. Learning about what inspired and influenced the pioneers to start this genre, and the social climate at those times."

Pierce Dipner: Goin’ Back To My Roots…

"Music is a vibration that is felt and transmitted on different frequencies. No matter what the music is called by others, it will be recognized by those able to receive the vibrational waves from the medium."

Joe Charitos & Paul Miles: Cool Blues

French musician Joe Charitos and American born Paul Miles (of Swiss-based duo of Joe…

"I think that the Blues continues to generate a devoted following in Europe and around the world for many reasons; because people recognise themselves in the Blues, we hear our own experiences, and we feel the expression as personal and yet shared. As Blues is at the heart of Rock and Roll too and is core to Jazz and so many music genres, I believe that people respond to Blues as something familiar yet perhaps unexplored."…

"The Blues is its own genre. As in Jazz, Rock and Roll, etc. It goes all the way back to the Delta to the present and has developed into the most beautiful musical art form in the world. It's the pallet that is in every genre of music that is out today."

Scott Ellison: Preaching The Blues

Tulsa, Oklahoma native, guitarist and songwriter, Scott…

"Everybody has the blues at some point in their life. Everybody's blues is different. But blues music can help you deal with life's struggles. It can also be a way to express happiness and joy. Blues music is a celebratory music."

The Cash Box Kings:

A Glorious Celebration Of The Blues…

"African American music in general is made for dancing and sharing feelings, it gives a great feel of empowerment to the listeners as well as the players and this is what we all need! We love the «feel good» messages, we also love how deep and moving it can go too, we love how everybody can rely on this music, how anybody can join in for a jam, how we can all let ourselves go and dance instinctively on this music…"…

"I think that blues music had once a great relevance in alternative music, but today it unfortunately does not attract the attention of great audiences; even among those who listen to alternative music, it often represents a “niche”. My hope for the future is that blues music can recover its leading role in the alternative scene."

The Crowsroads: Blend of Blues Folk…

"The Blues is the seed of music in America. The seed was brought here, planted here, and sprouted here. It grew as jazz, country, rock, rap, R&B. They all came from the same seed and is in every song played, we feel it every time we listen to anything, if we realize it or not."

Weezil Malone: The Rockin'est Little Band

Guitarist and…

"The Blues is an artform that’s continually evolving, and all change is inevitable despite being primarily three chords and a one-four-five scale. I’m all for innovation. But what I regret most is that the great majority of young players today lack the basic understanding that the space between notes is just as important as the notes themselves."

Marty Gunther: I'll Write The Blues For…