Alabama Blues Project
712 25th Avenue
Northport, AL 35476
Phone (205) 752-6263
Fax (205) 752-6663 info@alabamablues.org
The ABP is a proud sponsor of the Alabama State License Tag Legislative Committee's Support the Arts, tags. Please consider supporting the arts in Alabama (or your state) through your local Probate's office by purchasing a tag that shows that you support the Arts! Funding from the Alabama Legislative Tag Committee goes toward the funding of the arts in Alabama!
On Thursday, September 16, 2010, Tuscaloosa will have a rare treat when internationally acclaimed singer/songwriter Ruthie Foster will perform at the Bama Theatre in a benefit concert for the Alabama Blues Project. Doors open at 6 p.m. and showtime is 7 p.m.
Ruthie Foster, who hails from Texas, is a dynamic singer/songwriter/performer with a unique mix of folk, soul, blues, gospel and R&B. She has performed from choir lofts to folk bistros and onto stages in Europe and Australia. There’s Southern blues in her groove, rock in her rhythm, a blend of gospel redemption, country poetry and jazz elegance in her singing.
The concert will open with a set featuring the Alabama Blues Project’s intermediate and advanced bands, the latter of which performed in the prestigious International Blues Challenge Youth Showcase in Memphis this year.
For sponsorship and VIP ticket inquiries,
please call
(205) 752-6263or email cara@alabamablues.org.
Ruthie Foster is a 2010 Grammy nominee for Best Contemporary Blues Album with her latest release The Truth According to Ruthie Foster and a 2010 Blues Music Award WINNER for Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year (with two previous nominations for Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year). She has been featured on the covers of Blues Revue Magazine and Keyboard Player Magazine, and The Truth According To Ruthie Foster made it to #1 on both XM Radio’s B.B. King’s Bluesville and #1 on Roots Blues Chart this Spring.
Foster has a sound that ignores demographic lines and a charisma that can ignite any audience. Even as a young girl, she took in a variety of music: hymns from her mother, Beatles songs from her guitar teacher, 45s from her truck-driving uncle, old-school country from various country variety shows, and pop songs.
She studied music in Waco at McClennan Community College, and after a while she was fronting a blues band in biker bars and other venues from Dallas to San Antonio. Eventually, Foster joined the Navy, where she was signed up by Pride, a Navy ensemble that played the Top 40 and funk hits of the day at recruitment drives, mainly throughout the Southeastern states.
From there, Foster’s went to New York, where she absorbed more influences by performing at folk venues and collaborating with some of the city’s better songwriters. Supported by a contract with Atlantic Records, she expanded her lyrical and musical range. However, her writing began veering away from commercial pop and drawing instead from the roots that had nourished her personally and artistically in her youth. Foster moved back home to Texas, and since has progressed through five albums.
“Ruthie’s drawn comparisons to Ella and Aretha, but musically neither is really close,” observed the Philadelphia City Paper in one such rave. “What she does have in common with Fitzgerald and Franklin is the irresistible blaze. It’s impossible to look away, even close the eyes, for one second.”
The New York Post says of Foster, “Foster has a deep gritty voice with a little Janis and some Aretha that will please discerning soul and rock fans.” The Austin Chronicle stated, “Foster’s deeply soulful vocals dip into gospel and swing toward contemporary folk with R&B panache. When she sings a cappella, the heavens part.”
SPECIAL THANKS TO SPONSORS
5th Annual Evening of Art & Blues October 1, 2010 at the Jemison-Van de Graaf Mansion
LIVE BLUES · LIVE & SILENT AUCTION
2010 Summertime Blues Camp was held at the Covenant Presbyterian Church in Tuscaloosa from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday, July 19th to Friday, July 23rd. Friday’s session was an Open House Blues Café where the young musicians showcased their talent with a music performance and art show. Over 250 family members, friends and the wider community came out to this very special event!
If you have children between the ages of 8-17 who would be interested in attending future blues camps, please contact Cara Smith at cara@alabamablues.org or (205) 752-6263. Thank you!
Summertime Blues Camp 2010
Story by Victoria Corley
With the help of a local non-profit organization, children in Tuscaloosa are learning how to unplug their iPods and re-connect with music of the past.
For the past ten summers, the Alabama Blues Project has hosted a weeklong camp that preserves blues music by teaching children through an interactive program that educates and entertains.
This year at the annual Summertime Blues Camp, campers learned to play an instrument of their choice, while creating folk art with renowned artists Chris Clark and Miz Thang, as well as creating portraits with incredible Birmingham artist Bruce Andrews. Also at camp, the students participated in intensive blues history studies and songwriting workshops.
Kim Davis, a blues history teacher, enjoys getting children excited about a history that is not taught in school.
“We’re teaching children where music came from, how it started, and the influences their state had on music. They are proud to be part of the Alabama blues culture, and they want to share their knowledge,” said Davis.
A majority of the campers this year had never played an instrument before coming to the summer camp. By the end of the week, all of the students were in bands and writing original songs.
Nigel Law, a 4th year camper, feels the most thrilling part of camp is performing the original songs, but that the most important part of camp is learning.
“I learned to play the electric guitar, and I learned that guitars weren't’t always electric. I want to learn more about the blues and how to play,” said Law.
Ben Joseph, a music instructor, has recently taken over the responsibility of teaching the Intermediate Band, a new band added because of the overwhelming amount of talented students at blues camp.
Joseph describes the amount of creativity at blues camp as something you would never imagine existed.
“These are just ordinary kids from Tuscaloosa who have discovered the blues and can use it as a creative outlet; the things they learn at camp are important to keeping the blues alive,” said Joseph.
Cara Smith, Alabama Blues Project program director, believes that the Summertime Blues Camp is the most unique camp experience in Tuscaloosa and possibly the state. The camp was designed to offer students what they wanted from a music camp.
“A student came to us and said that it would be cool to have different bands and write original songs at summer camp. So we made some changes, and gave the kids exactly what they wanted,” said Smith. “At the end of the week they are so proud and excited to share their music. Only one week here and they perform and produce their own music, it’s just amazing.”
On the final day of the weeklong camp, the students, along with instructors and guest Carroline Shines, performed at the Blues Café.
The Blues Café was a special performance that allowed students to show off their folk art and blues music to friends, family and the community.
Katie Thomas, a student at Shelton State Community College , was at the Blues Café to watch her cousin perform.
“I don’t think I have ever been so impressed by a group of kids, I thought I was going to hear a choir like sound, but this was amazing. I think it is so cool to see kids learning about an art that is so old; it’s very admirable,” said Thomas.
The program receives wide community support, both practical and financial from many sources, including local businesses, foundations, social organizations and individuals. Of special note for Blues Camp are the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, who both continue to provide outstanding support for this program and more broadly for arts in the community.
Woke up this morning,
there was a spider in my bed
Woke up this morning,
there was a spider in my bed
Jump out of bed and
ran to my parent's room
Help! Help! Help! Help!
Jump out of bed and
ran to my parent for help
Help! Help! Help! Help!
My dad said don't fret,
I'll go and get the broom
Thank you Daddy
for getting the broom
Thank you Momma
for guarding my room
Thank you, Thank you,
There's no spiders in my room
I finish my homework, my
tummy tells me it's time to eat
I smell my mom's fried chicken,
I know it can't be beat
We sit down at the table,
I'm lookin' for a real nice treat
I like fried chicken, pizza,
gumbo and spaghetti
I like to finish dinner with
cookies, ice cream and
ch-ch-ch-chocolate cake
But I look down at the table,
and all I see is cauliflower,
brussel sprouts and broccoli
I learn to love my veggies
if I want dessert
I learn to love my veggies
. . . It couldn't hurt
I learn to love my veggies
if I want
ch-ch-ch-ch chocolate cake!
