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Board of Directors Meetings are the 2nd

Tuesday of each month, 7:00 PM

at the SMUD Building,

6301 S Street, Sacramento, CA.

All SBS mem-bers in good standing are

invited to attend.

Volume 30; Issue 6 Dec 2009-Jan 2010

Tommy Castro will help us celebrate

our 30th Anniversary By Vj

Are you ready? It is time again for our FREE All Ages Member Party and Tommy Castro will help us cele-brate our 30th year as an official Blues Society. The opening band will be Two-Tone Steiny, that slick dresser with the harmonica in his hand. And there is more! How about a drawing for prizes. You could discover a new favorite or add to your col-lection of old fa-vorites. What if you are not a member? You can join at the door! For just $25.00, you get a year’s member-ship to SBS and free entrance to the party. But you want to bring the family? A Family membership is $40.00, and the kids can come along. What a bargain, and you will be assisting in Keeping the Blues Alive when you introduce your family to the Blues. Our headliner, Tommy Castro , took home the 2008 Entertainer of the Year at the Blues Music Awards, but he has been making music for many years. He first caught my ear at the Monterey Bay Blues Festival

in the ‘90’s. His sax player, Keith Crossan was with Tommy then and is still with him now. The two of

them make an a m a z i n g amount of mu-sic! So you really won’t want to miss this show. Each year, the band that is run-ner-up in the competition to go to Memphis and compete in the International Blues Competi-tion (IBC) is the opening band for our Member Party. This

year we have Two Tone Steiny and the Cadillacs joining us. You won’t be disappointed in their version of West Coast Jump Blues. Members have received their ballots for the SBS Board members by now. If you haven’t voted, please do. And if you have, but haven’t mailed it back yet, just bring it to the party, and drop it off in the ballot box. Folks at the front table will be glad to help you. Mark you calendars for December 13 now, and see you at the Member Party! Flyer is on Page 8

I n s i d e t h i s i s s u e :

Moffett’s Musings 2

Blues Band Blowout

Harp Showcase 3

Out & About w/ Lizzie

Did You Know? 4

BITS News

Saying Goodbye 5

Blues Blast Awards

30 Year Tradition 6

Profile: Kenny Nichols 7

Member Party! 8

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Moffett’s Musings...

ber, we have our Annual Member Party and Board elections. This year we have the Tommy Castro Band as the headliner. This is an opportunity to see one of the Greatest Blues Bands of our time for FREE if you are a Sacramento Blues Society Mem-ber. And for a bonus, Two Tone Steiny and the Cadillacs are opening for Tommy. Tell you friends to join us in this Annual Party and membership concert. Memberships will be available at the door. Member-ships are $25.00 a year individual and $40.00 a year for families, and we make as many of our events as possible all-ages events. I would like to thank my Board of Directors . Patty, thanks for your efforts establishing the Musicians Fund and the local Hall of Fame. Cynthia, thanks for carrying on your great work with Blues in the Schools. Sally, thanks for keeping us straight with your meeting notes, Linda, thanks for maintaining the membership information. Kim, thanks for being Sec-ond Banana. Cathy, thanks for handling the newslet-ter mailings, Dave, thanks for keeping the money

straight. John and Stan, thanks for putting together all the great shows we enjoyed this year (again). me look good as President, and made this year a Great Year for the Sacramento Blues Society. And thanks to Liz Walker, Valeriejeanne Anderson, and Hornitos Te-quila for getting me through this past year. Many of us will be returning next year to com-plete our 2-year term, and some of us will be candidates for next year’s Board. I would like to thank all the new members that have joined the Sacramento Blues Society. Our membership is

always increasing. Thank you for the privilege of al-lowing me to be your President of the Sacramento Blues Society. I enjoyed it and will always remember the experience of meeting such great musicians and blues fans. And I’ll always remember to Keep the Blues Alive .

Another two months have gone by and the Blues festival season is nearing an end. We lost a few good ones due to the economy, but the news says it will improve soon and hopefully we will have a full schedule next year. We had great events this last two months, the Blues Band Blow-out in October and the Blues Harp Showcase in November. The Blowout is the SBS band

competition that gives our local bands a chance to compete for a place in the Blues Foundation’s “Big” International Blues Competition in Memphis Tenn. The winner of the Single/Duo competition was Volker Strifler, doing an impressive single performance and Volker should do very well in Memphis. The Best Band (I am glad I was not a judge and had to vote, as they were all winners) was Dave Channell’s band, Fire and Wheels. Congratulations to both. SBS and others will be organizing fund-raisers for our winners to help pay for the Memphis trip. We will be announcing the times and dates of these events. The Harp Showcase featured our headliner, Darrell Mansfield. He was backed by The Used Blues Band, featuring Sean McGroarty. Guests were Kevin Greenwood, Johnnie “Be Good” Lopez, David Croall, Kyle Rowland and Jean “Birdleg “ Pittman. And it was an-other great show for Sacramento Blues Soci-ety members. You will see a sample of how great our local musicians are when you come to the Member Party on December 13th. The first Blowout runner-up, Two Tone Steiny and the Cadillacs, will be opening for our headliner. Our shows keep getting better and better thanks to the continuing membership support as well as help from people like Randy of the Blue Room, Murray from the Powerhouse pub, Brenda and Lynzi from Po Boyz, Tim at Constable Jacks and of course, Marina Teixeira from the Torch Club. Support our local venues, because without them we would not have live music. Wouldn’t you like to help with a show? Consider volunteering. We have some great shows coming up. In Decem-

By

Dennis

Moffett

Two Tone Steiny is opening for Tommy Castro at the Member Party.

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Blues Band Blowout Winners representing SBS in Memphis

Dec 2009-Jan 2010 Volume 30; Issue 6

Harp Showcase a Big Draw this Year

Soloist—Volker Strifer Band—Dave Channell’s Fire and Wheels

As ten groups competed to be the “solo/duo” and the band to repre-sent SBS in the International Blues Competition, we sat back and enjoyed the music of 10 acts in one afternoon. These two acts came out “on top”, and will make the trip to Memphis.

Other bands competing, left to right: Bobby Ray Watson & Mac, The Jokers, 2 Tone Steiny & the Cadillacs, Low-Down Dirty Dogs, Freewheelers, Isis & Cold Truth; Phil Berko-witz & the Dirty Cats; and Bluesion.

Don’t miss this show next year!

We had a full house and then some at the Harp Showcase. Sean McGroaty of the Napa-Sonoma Blues Soci-ety brought the Used Blues Band along to back up a stellar group of harp players this year, and the band was up to the task. And thanks Sean, for all your assistance on this show.

Sean McGroarty Johnny “Be Good” Lopez Fred “The Deacon” Baker David Croall Kevin Greenwood

Kyle Rowland Birdlegg Pitttman Darrell Mansfield Darrell with Guitar winner Wendy Tellez

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Did you know...? By Linda McShane

The Sacramento Blues Society is a totally all-volunteer Non Profit Organization. All business is conducted by volunteers. We have Committees (of sometimes just one Board member) and we are al-ways looking for help from our members. These newsletters, the BITS program, annual Hall of Fame awards, Gene Chambers Emergency Fund (for musi-cians in need) and our monthly events - all of these are managed by volunteers - usually Board mem-bers. You may have heard the old saying 80% of the work is done by 20% ... our membership is at 431 and we have a board of 11 that does just about eve-rything - let's see, that looks like about 3%. Many of you have indicated on your SBS Member-ship application that you would be interested in vol-unteering, and we need you! You can volunteer for one day, one event or one committee, your choice. Please email membership@sacblues.com for more info and to tell us what you would like to do & when. Also, come to the events and introduce your-self to us. We'd love to meet you and have your sup-port and help! Come to a Board meeting and see how it's done. Think about being on the Board as well. It is a great opportunity to learn Board proce-dure, and it looks good on your resume.

I unexpectedly found myself out on a Tuesday night (Happy Birthday to the U.S. Marine Corp!) and dropped in at the Torch. Don’t ya just love it that we can “drop in” at the Torch and always find some out-standing music? The Lew Fratis Trio was doing a great rendition of Otis Redding’s “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay”. Dave Garrity (Sammy Winner for Best Bass Player) harkens back to the old Torch days of the Luminators. He can play anything asked of him with precision and passion. Kenny Nicholas (one of the sweetest guys you can meet) though fairly new to the area in the last couple of years, has been turning up everywhere. He’s an excellent drummer and is in demand by many players in the area. You can also check him out with the Low Down Dirty Dogs-another rockin’ band to get behind, but I digress. Together they supply the rock solid bottom for Lew’s fantastic and diverse guitar playing. You know, there are a lot of fantastic guitar players in this town but Lew? Well, he not only plays guitar, he sings to you. I mean really sings. I like to listen, I

Out & About By Lizzie

never was a huge Dead fan, those long rambling jams just confused me. I admit it. I’m pretty simple & straight forward. Tell me a story, let me wander for awhile but give me an anchor and the smooth, sweet, soulfulness of Lew Fratis is a great anchor! It’s an odd sort of night, the crowd is a mix of old and young, regulars and newcomers, but everybody digs Sam Cooke and “Cupid” brings out the dancers and while the floor is hopping we’re on to some reggae. But somewhere in here Lew decides to turn it up and the smokin good guitar player comes out to play. Kenny and Dave are right there bringing it on home. Wow! I know that there are some of you out there who would like a little more musical content in these “reviews”. But that’s not what it’s about for me. It’s the moment, never to be had again. I have made a conscious decision to try and do only those things that further my journey. This night, this moment? Well, it’s my journey, who the hell cares?

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As part of a program sponsored by the HOPE Foundation,. Blues In The Schools musicians Mick Martin, Jimmy Pailer, Joe Lev, Steve Namle, Kyle Rowland and Tess per-formed for the Boys and Girls Club in Midtown Sacramento. They did a great job and the kids really enjoyed hearing live blues performed just for them. It’s surprising how many kids

never get a chance to hear music performed live, let alone live Blues!

For the past two months, the BITS Committee has become actively involved in the local arts community. Members of the Sacramento Blues Society have joined Mayor Kevin Johnson’s For Art’s Sake Initia-tive, a huge collaborative effort to expand Arts in the Sacramento region. It’s very important we become more involved in the overall community to ensure we have a voice and place in the growing arts scene. Liz Walker and myself have joined the Arts and Edu-cation Committee where we report on BITS activities, successes and challenges. It’s a wonderful opportu-nity to interact with folks from the Crocker Art Gallery,

P a g e 5 V o l u m e 3 0 ; I s s u e 6

the Mondavi Performing Center, the Sacramento Philharmonic, Sacramento Ballet and many, many others.

Lizzie was traveling this month and met with San Diego Blues Society’s Blues In the Schools Commit-tee members to share program ideas. She came away with some fresh ideas we hope to incorporate into our program. We are often asked to share our BITS program with other Blues Society’s and wel-come the opportunity to meet with our fellow Blues educators!

We’re in the planning phase of a new summer pro-gram for students and are exploring possibilities with a local campus. We are also looking at various all-age venues for our annual end of the year benefit concert. In fact, we’re always looking for places that welcome our next generation of musicians – sadly, they are few and far between. If you know of such venues, please support them.

Save the date of March 13, 2010 . We’re planning a St. Patrick’s Day dinner and show – you’ll love it. Stay tuned for more details!

SBS says goodbye to Big John

By Jan Kelley, with assistance from SacBee interview, -José Luis Villegas, 2004

and internationally acclaimed blues-man Johnny Heartsman. Heartsman brought Big John to Sacramento around 1983, where they gigged around town and then around the world, making nearly a dozen trips to Europe. The two bluesmen remained close until Heartsman died in Sacra-mento in 1996 following a stroke. The health of each man had taken a back seat to his music. Heartsman had diabetes, and Big John had suffered five heart attacks and four strokes.

With the death of Johnny, Big John decided to lose some of his weight, dropping more than 100 pounds with his renewed health consciousness. Big John and the Chosen Few band were nominated for the Best Blues Band at the Sacramento Sammies in 2004. He will be missed by many, and especially by the Blues community.

Big John Evans, on the road pounding out the blues since he was 12, lived his life with no regrets. He felt drumming with many blues greats for 50 years and living the roving life of a musician opened up the world to him. He fa-thered 10 children in his life, always caring for them no matter where the road took him. Big John, 66, got his name because of his size. He first be-gan his blues journey in Oakland and completed it in Sacramento, passing away on Monday, November 9, 2009. He met and was mentored by Little Junior Parker and jammed with Ray Charles, Count Basie, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Art Blakey, Sonny Payne and James Brown's famous drummer, John "Jabo" Starks. His size and his sound, an up-tempo blues called a shuffle, set Big John apart. It was this shuffle that brought him to the attention of the late Sacramentan

Blues In the Schools News

By

Cynthia

Janes

Photo by Bob Cosman

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2009 Blues Blast Music Awards

THE SACRAMENTO BLUES SOCIETY: A 30 YEAR TRADITION OF

BRINGING THE BEST BLUES TO SACRAMENTO by John Noxon

Thirty years of Blues… It's hard to believe, but the Sacramento Blues Society has been bringing the Blues to Sacramento for over thirty years. We're ac-tually older than the Memphis Blues Founda-tion. Thanks to our founding members, including the late Phil Givant, Mick Martin, Big Mike and many oth-ers who started up the Society back in 1979. And if we trace our roots back to the first Sacramento Blues Festival which started up in 1977, then we're a big 32 years old.

Looking back, it's amazing the great talent that the Sacramento Blues Society has brought into Sacra-mento. Over our 30+ years of serving the local Blues Community we've brought in a fabulous "who's who" of blues artists including Ray Charles, Robert Cray, Papa John Creach, Bobby "Blue" Bland, John Hammond, The Memphis Horns, Floyd Dixon, Little Milton, Chris Cain, Smokin' Joe Kubek, Magic Slim and the Teardrops, Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers, Glenn Lane, Guitar Shorty,

the award to Koko’s daughter, Joyce “Cookie” Threatt. Another highlight was the presentation of the Sean Costello Rising Star Award by the parents of the late Sean Costello, Debbie Costello Smith and Glenn Smith. What a memorable night of music,

camaraderie and a few sur-prises! Kenny Neal brought in Koko Taylor’s band to back him up. Dave Gross performed with The Insomniacs who loaned keyboardist Alex Shakira to Nick Moss & The Flip Tops. Curtis Salgado sat in with both The Insomni-acs and Nick Moss & The Flip Tops. Other performers included Guy King, Lurrie Bell, John Primer, Billy Branch, Matthew Skoller, Robin Rogers, Billy Boy Arnold, Carlos Johnson, Chris James & Patrick Rynn with Bob Corritore, Eden Brent, The

Kilborn Alley Blues Band, Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcom, Dave Herrero, Shirley John-son, and Albert Castiglia . Special appearances in-cluded Billy Flint and Willy “The Touch” Hayner.

Chicago really is my kind of town. Architectural master-pieces fill the skyline, flower boxes brighten the sidewalks, massive parks line Michigan Avenue, and Buddy Guy’s Legends, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in June, graces the streets of Chi-cago. With the club moving to

a larger venue in 2010, a return visit surely will be in order!

The Blues Blast Music Awards show was held Octo-ber 29, 2009 in Chicago at Buddy Guy’s Legends. It was blues party heaven for the capacity crowd of musicians, record label execs, radio jocks, promot-ers, managers, booking agents, and most impor-tantly, fans from all over the world. The club jumped with six solid hours of top-notch performances by the best the blues has to offer. With the award presenta-tions scattered throughout the evening there was not much down time, not even for my requi-site cigar break! The 14,000 Blues Blast M a g a z i n e readers from across the United States and all over the world chose the winners. The award winners were: Best Contemporary Blues Recording, The Insomniacs – At Least I’m Not With You; Best Traditional Blues Recording, Various Artists – Chi-cago Blues: A Living History ; Best Blues Song, Albert Castiglia – “Bad Year Blues;” Best Blues Band, Nick Moss & The Flip Tops ; Best Male Artist, Elvin Bishop ; Best Female Artist, Robin Rogers ; Best New Artist Debut Recording, Chris James & Patrick Rynn – Stop And Think About It ; and the Sean Costello Rising Star Award, Kilborn Alley Blues Band . Koko Taylor , “Queen of the Blues” posthu-mously received the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award. Marie Dixon, Willie Dixon’s widow, presented

The insomniacs receiving their award

Curtis Salgado and Bo

By Bo Ely

See page 7 –SBS 30 yrs

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create a foundation that includes perfect timing and balance that sets a song into play. Kenny is married to such great bass players as Greg King, Joe Lev and Dave Garrity and says, “when its good, it is something you don’t have to think about, it’s synchronicity.” Kenny is currently the drummer for the Dirty Low Down Dogs, Lew Freitas Band, Jimmy Pailer and Lew Freitas on Friday nights at the Torch Club, and participates whenever possible in the BITS program. He has toured with Michael Furlong, Stoneground, Hotel California and a variety of

other signature bands. You can come see Kenny play out and about town most any evening. Contact Kenny for gigs at kenny@kennynichols.com. He is also on Facebook and My Space. Thanks for com-ing home, Kenny.

Then there was Kenny Nich-ols, an amazing drummer, AKA, “Kenbone,” on the Sac-ramento Blues scene. Every-body who knows Kenny knows his love of children; hence, his participation in the Blues In The Schools (BITS) program with Mick Martin. He gigs at the Torch Club with Aaron King, Lew Fratis, and Jimmy Pailer, at Louie’s with Steve Foster, at the Folsom Hotel with Dave Channell, Coopers and Regans with Greg King and anywhere he is called to sit in with “the boys.” The interesting thing about this is that you must be VERY GOOD to play with these musicians and Kenny Nichols fits the bill. Kenny’s Grandma Gladys bought him his first set of drums when he was in Elementary School. He played from the beginning as if it were second na-ture. He was born and raised in Sacramento, left for 10 years, and returned 10 years ago to give something of himself back to the Sacramento mu-sic scene. He is a dedicated family man and the proud father of two sons, Henry and Max. The boys play guitar and drums. If you know Kenny you know he loves to fish anytime, anywhere, with anyone, especially his brothers and Uncle Daryle in Oregon (Hubba Hubba!). Future dreams? Watch-ing the boys grow up and lots of fishing. Kenbone’s style of play compliments all those he accompanies on stage. He’s flexible enough to rise to any occasion and easy going enough to make everybody happy. There is a special relationship between a drummer and a bass player, almost like being married. When it’s the right marriage they

Profile: Kenny “Kenbone” Nichols comes home

by

Deborah

Gregory

Joe Louis Walker, Charles Brown, and Chuck Berry. These are but a few of the great blues talents. With your help we hope to continue to provide the local Sacramento Blues Community with quality shows and top talents. Here's to another great 30 years !

continued from page 6

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Kyle Rowland 916-236-9204 Kyle.rowland@yahoo.com Linda Bracamonte Linda@lindabracamonte.com Lisa Phenix 916-719-6106 www.Lisaphenix.com Marshal Wilkerson & Smoked Sugar 916-443-3392 marshalwilkerson@ hotmail.com Marta Gee martagee@comcast.net Mill Creek Blues Band millcreekblues@snowcrest.net www.myspace.com/millcreekbluesband

Mitch Kay & Groove Deluxe 916-217-1263 Mr. December Band mrdecembermusic @yahoo.com Myspace.com/mrdecembertheband O Street Jumps Dan 916 -944-7292 Cari 916-725-4889 Rick Donaldson Blues Band Jay Beaumont 530-902-8600 rickdonaldsonbluesband.com Rock of Ages jellis2003@yahoo.com Roy Rogers www.roy.rogers.com

Allie Marcel Blues Riot 916-451-1075 Allie@Allie’s Alley.net Andy Keane & Kinda Blue ajkeane3@aol.com Black Cat Bone www.blackcatboneblues.net cmoriel@ucdavis.edu 530-753-5265 Bluz Catz 916-769-7934 bluzcatz@yahoo.com Bobby “Blue” Ray Brad Wilson Band bw3guitar@aol.com Dave Channell’s Fire & Wheels Band 916-705-8628 www.davechannell.com

David J Eisel 916-966-2992 easel@sbcglobal.net Delta Wires Prime Management 510-601-9277 info@deltawires.com Equinox Blues Review Stan Alves 916-969-3995 Gordon Groft Band 916-374-0874 evilgenius333@hotmail.com www.gordengroft.com Johnny “Guitar” Knox Dave Croall & the Soothers 916-455-6349 rightdave@hotmail.com

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H i r e a n S B S m e m b e r b a n d

Welcome new SBS Band Members!

“Loads of Fun” 561 La Purissima Way 95819

(916) 455-3358 (916) 203-9781

jmcguiresac@earthlink.net

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Northern California Blues Festival c/o:

Matson Breakey

Matsonian@yahoo.com www.NorthernCalforniaBluesFest.com

Sacramento Blues Revue Rick Von Geldern Rick-vg@eyesonu.com Spotted Dog Rockin’ Blues Revue Greg Gantrell 916-332-5417 greg@spotteddogmusic.com Steve Foster Band 916-276-9170 Stevefosterband@comcast.net

Steve Gatz & Double Shuffle 209-217-7532 Steve Hall 1-888-468-8663 bluestevemsic@sbcglobal.net www.stevehallblues.com Stevenson Proffitt & the Vintage Overtones 916-475-2566 StevensonProffit@yahoo.com

The Aces 707-490-8126 www.acesfan.com The Cold Truth Isis 408-835-4168 Myspace.com/coldtruthband The Hucklebucks Doug James 916-454-0577 www.thehucklebucks.com The Used Blues Band

Sean McGroarty 916-204-9800 Sean@myifp.com Tim Noxon’s Rockin’ Blues Band Tim—916-201-4648 George-916-343-3172 Two Tone Steiny & the Cadillacs 916-765-5564 twotonesteiny@yahoo.com

Please Patronize these Businesses that Support your Blues Society

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Please Patronize these Businesses that Support your Blues Society

313 Laurence Ave.

Kansas City, Mo 64111

1-888-BLUESIN’

www.bluescruise.com

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COMMITTEES

Blues In The Schools Patty Furey & Cynthia Jaynes

BITS Benefit

Liz Walker

Blues Challenge Event Kim Duvall

Concessions/Merchandise Cathy Dubets & Kim DuVall

Events

John Noxon & Stan Alves

Fundraising and Grants Debbie Galik

Gene Chambers Musician’s

Crisis Fund Committee Patty Furey

Hall of Fame Patty Furey

Membership

Linda McShane

Public Relations Willie Brown

Webmaster

Dave Baldwin

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PRESIDENT

Dennis Moffett

VICE PRESIDENT Kim DuVall

SECRETARY Sally Katen

TREASURER Dave Alcock

PARLIAMENTARIAN

Cathy Dubets

MEMBERS AT LARGE Stan Alves Patty Furey

Cynthia Jaynes Linda McShane

John Noxon

P. O. Box 60580 Sacramento, CA 95860-0580

VISIT OUR WEBSITE! WWW.SACBLUES .CO

M

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION

U. S. POSTAGE PAID

SACRAMENTO, CA

Blue Notes! is The official bi-monthly

Newsletter of the Sacramento Blues Society .

Send information for the newsletter to

editor@sacblues.com or to

Editor—Blue Notes! 4116 Lotus Avenue

Sacramento, CA 95822

Sacramento Blues Society

(SBS) is a 501 ( c ) 3 nonprofit corporation

formed to preserve and promote blues music as an art form.

The Sacramento Blues Society

is one of the oldest blues societies in California, founded 1979.

SBS has kept the blues tradition

alive in the Sacramento area by pro-moting the local blues music scene

and bringing internationally re-nowned artists to the region.

SBS is an affiliate member of

The Blues Foundation.

SBS provides educational opportuni-ties for young people with the Foun-

dation’s “Blues In The Schools” Program.

SBS produces a newsletter,

“Blue Notes” Bi-Monthly (six times a year)

to our membership.