"Blake was a great visionary English poet. His line rang true for me, as I’ve indulged in plenty of excess in my time, and I feel now that I’ve been relieved of a hopeless state of mind and body, I should have learned something from the fun and games-and suffering!"

Tom Hyslop: A True Blues Knight

Blues Foundation “Keeping The Blues…

"Music can uplift and heal. What a breath of fresh air this grassroots music is, especially in today's modern, fast-paced, upside-down, plastic, digital world. But music (if we can even call it that) can also harm."

Tom Shaka: Mr. Delta Thunder

Tom Shaka, an American Bluesman of Sicilian ancestory, began singing and playing the guitar at the age…

"Gospel is most certainly an identifier for a specific genre of music with specific stylistic differences, but you could say it’s also a state of mind. More than any other kind of music, gospel music contains the answers to life’s problems—if someone chooses to listen."

Bob Marovich: The Enlighten of Gospel

Robert M. Marovich is the founder and…

"Blues is a way of life...Blues artists just want to have fun."

Robert Jr Whitall: Big City Blues Colors

Robert Jr. Whitall is publisher and editor-in-chief of Big City Rhythm & Blues magazine. His interest in art was discouraged by his parents but his creative talents would flourish through four decades of photography and music promotion and…

"Jazz is fun and exciting music, and the literature about it should be the same. Some of the people writing dense, academic books nowadays on jazz have lost touch with the fun in the music—maybe that’s required for them to get credentials and tenure. But it’s said to see boring writing on such enjoyable music."

Ted Gioia: All About The Jazz…

"The blues is a long, hard road and nobody said it would be easy, make you a lot of money, super stardom or anything else. Therefore I've never expected that from this music."

Mark Hummel: A True Blues Survivor

Grammy-nominted Harmonica man, singer, songwriter, bandleader, author, and impresario MARK HUMMEL was born in New Haven, CT but moved to…

"Blues is changing in many ways, yet is wonderfully stubborn as well. It needs to evolve to survive, but respecting the roots is paramount. It will be a balance between new and old from now on, since most of the inventors and pioneers have inevitably passed."

Jimmy Voegeli: The Gumbo of The Jimmys

The Jimmys are a Kick Ass Blues/R&B band from…

"Music is a great connector of humans and famously has always brought people together who mightn’t have otherwise found themselves bridging these divides."

Paula Henderson: The Expression Of Life

“Moist” Paula Henderson a/k/a Secretary is one of the world’s most distinctive and highly sought-after baritone saxophonists. She got her nickname as the…

"I really wish that music got as much emphasis in our schools as math and language do. When I was in elementary school, music class really grabbed my attention and I enjoyed it so much, but then the school decided to discontinue the music program and I was so disappointed."

Rae Gordon: Blues & Soul Experiences

The multi-award-winning Rae…

"Some may argue the 50's and 60's were the hay day, however, I think there's always going to be players, singers and bands that love Soul and Blues. Los Angeles is a melting pot of characters that come from around the world to seek success in music, film, arts and all the creative fields. Soul and Blues is timeless and will always be represented."

Jack Mack & The Heart…

"Well, Blues just like rap has always been the news of the streets and neighborhoods it is the CNN of life in the ghetto or poor!"

Sugaray Rayford: Southern Soul Blues

Texas-born soul blues singer and songwriter, “Sugaray” Rayford has released six albums to date and was awarded “BMA soul blues artist of the year” in 2019. Sugaray Rayford,…

"I'll probably be showing my age but I miss a great songs and great albums the most. I'm particularly drawn to the 70s in terms of everything driven from a black perspective. The great musicians, movies, fashion and sports stars that came out of that period… whether that's the Afro hairstyle, Muhammad Ali, Stevie Wonder or Viv Richards."

Andrew John: Music From The Soul…

"Blues was an expression of community and solidarity. And it was the beginnings of all western popular music. From jazz to Rock and Roll. Motown, Soul, R n' B, Hip-Hop and even Rap can all be traced back to it."

Dawn Tyler Watson: Lady Sings The Blues

With more than two decades of performing arts in her playbook and five albums to her credit,…

"I hope music is a release from those exact things that divide us. All music. I want to get as far away from that division as I can, personally. Many acts I love have had political statements, lyrics, causes, platforms and so on. That doesn’t have anything to do with what I love about their art, whether I agree with them or not."

Brian Mullins: Southern Rock Blues Ways…

"As far as the future of music, no fears at al­­l--I’m excited to hear it. I’ve always loved new music, and frankly, it’s usually what I listen to when given the choice."

Birch Johnson: Crimson Slide

Birch "Crimson Slide" Johnson is a first call studio trombonist, Emmy nominated composer, producer and songwriter based in New York City. His…

"I think art and the blues/rock counterculture brings people together, not only musicians but photographers too."

Pauline Bailey: Down Under Artwork

Australian artist Pauline Bailey, says: “I was born in the Melbourne suburb of Oakleigh and have lived in Gippsland since 1990. I work primarily with acrylics and I often incorporate pastel, charcoal…

“Jazz has always been in the middle of racial political, spiritual, and socio-cultural struggles. Jazz in my opinion is the most inclusive form of music that exist. Jazz also offers a very unique and particular way of freedom of expression, which has been from it beginning a powerful tool for musicians all around the world to express their views about everything such as, social inequality, racial and gender discrimination, cultural differences,…

"That music would unite people with the message that Jimi Hendrix tried to promote Love, Happiness, and Peace!"

John Campbell: Are You Experienced?

ARE YOU EXPERIENCED? Are widely acknowledged as the top Jimi Hendrix Tribute band in Europe. They were formed in 1996 by guitarist John Campbell. John (an ardent longtime Hendrix fan)…

"Blues music is at the heart of our very rich heritage of growing up in the United States. There is a lot of noise and distraction nowadays to confuse and waste the only thing we really have, which is time, and a limited amount of it, at that. Don’t waste it! The impact of Blues is elemental and powerful. It began, and is, Black, African-American music, but it is embraced and preserved by everyone, now."…

"I feel blues these days is really too broad. Most of what people refer to as the blues is nothing more than rock and roll. Contemporary blues for the most part has become too predictable. The important thing about the blues is to make it your own. This is very, very challenging."

Janky: The Power of Texassippi Groove

Texas-based…