This is fantastic tom, wow! Actually you guys were the only ones i took out ads with!! Looks like you were the right one! – Dave Weld
23-01: Thank you so much for featuring Ray Fuller and the Bluesrockers in your newsletter! Ray Fuller was signed to tour Europe in 2014 and we have been very busy …. Blues Festival Guide proved to be our best decision in advertising; so much more impact for the money! We are thrilled with the results of our Blues Festival guide Email ad campaign and received festival bookings within an hour! You can count on us for at least a half page ad by the March deadline! -Ray Fuller and the Bluesrockers, Cols OH
04-12: Dear Yvonne, Just a few lines to compliment you and your staff on a great publication. I look forward to getting it my e-mail, it helps me keep up with my favorite artists and learn about releases from future “favorite” bands. I write to offer a suggestion on a artist, Kim Simmonds. Although a rock band when formed, Savoy Brown now puts out some really fine blues music. Kim has done some fine solo stuff as well. So much for a “few” lines. Thank you for your time. As Kim say’s in his newsletters, “Let music make your life a little sweeter.”
Marty Conquest Clinton, Ma
07-11: Howdy, Just thought I’d drop you a line to let you know that I think you are doin a great job on this publication! I enjoy getting the updates and information in my mail weekly, very informative and well done, AND I can see somebody even uses spellchek!! Anyway, thanks for sending this to me, I appreciate it.
Linda McDonald
06-11: Michele, I’m getting lots of fan mail on the article I wrote in the Festival guide mag that is starting to circulate now. One letter was from Miss Blues who said she cracked up and loved it. Passed the link on to her whole mailing list. Michele, I give you a lot of credit in this popular piece. You helped me so much in getting it condensed and refined without ruining it, and your layout and color scheme and photo use and overall appearance is excellent. It makes it easy to take in at a glance and an easy read. Kaati, I know you added your advice and touches in this too, so to both of you, thanks for the opportunity and my salute for a job well done.
Carl Gustafson, Blind Dog Smokin
05-11: WOW… Got my box of Blues festival magz, Im so happy with the way everything looks and you done a GREAT JOB!!!!
everyone looks good not just me, but i like seeing some of my friends ads too. wishing you all the best i cant wait to put them out on my merch table at my shows.
Love Biscuit, Biscuit Miller
05-11: I just wanted to share a personal note with you all…
I was shocked when I opened the box and saw our friend John Nemeth on the cover! He conducted a Blues in the Schools program for us recently for a special group of orphans in Mobile, AL. Unfortunately, this particular group of teenagers are so emotionally scarred from their experiences, they are not yet able to function in normal society. John treated them like regular kids, who happened to have experienced some bad stuff. He managed to relate to them, and they were captivated. He was magic. Imagine their surprise when they receive a box of magazines, and there he is, on the cover!!
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to give them such a gift, they are going to be thrilled!!
Laura Vendetti, Gulf Coast Blues Society, www.gulfcoastbluessociety.org
03-11: I have had gotten a lot work as a result of the ads I have placed with Blues E-Guide. A lot of buyers thought that I was no longer touring and the ads I placed let them all know that Big Bill Morganfield is still on the blues circuit.
Big Bill Morganfield
12-10: It’s our third annual this year. I’ll try calling you after the game. I’m excited to get our festival in your publication. It is well received and read everywhere. Very good work, Kaati.
www.snowyrangemusicfestival.com
Carl Gustafson
11-10: Hey Gordon, I just wanted to let you know, how much I have enjoyed reading the latest e-zine you have sent out. In times past I have quickly went through it, not really paying too much attention. Today I took my time and got the full breadth and depth of your coverage. There is nothing out there that I have seen that matches this publication’s scope; I have enjoyed it so much, I am saving it to go through it again.
Keep up the great blues news and coverage! A new souled out fan
God bless
Danny Brooks
www.dannybrooksmusic.com
3-09: Nancy, Thank you for a great newsletter and resource!!! Don Workman
3-09: Nancy, I just wanted to thank for your help in getting this nailed down. We’ve already gotten several promising responses. Tom Gerrits, Bass Player/Webmaster, The DELTA WIRES
4/09: Hi Gordon, I enjoy receiving your Blues Festival guide – keep up the excellent work it is greatly appreciated. As the owner of a small record company that release Blues, in Australia, I wish to comment on your article re YouTube as I am familiar with a similar issue here in Australia. The main gripe that major record companies, and societies such as PRS and the equivalent in other societies is that Youtube is leveling the playing field for “free” music videos. Whereas prior to Youtube, there was no way that any commercial TV station in Australia, for example was going to show a clip of say, Joe Bonamassa. Now I can click on Youtube and see Joe, or heaps of other such Blues artists on Youtube. There is no way such artists would have appeared on MTV etc. Control the methods of distribution and you control capitalism – said Karl Mark. He may well have been talking about the music industry….and not just distribution, but more importantly exposure. Feargal Sharkey and such, are stalking horses for the major record companies who are struggling with the new technologies, and business models. Of course they don’t want kids seeing a funky young Blues artist on Youtube, or old Freddie King clips for that matter – because the kids may prefer it!!! The issue of artist royalties is perfect for such interests, as who could oppose the argument that artists need to get more royalties from Google! Of course the claim is always for a blanket payment – and how many Blues artists, who usually don’t have publishers etc, are going to get any honey from the pot. In my experience here in Australia- none. “It is too difficult to distribute to independent artists so we just give it to the big guys” goes the argument when the dividing up of such spoils are done. Keep Youtube as it is – free access means free exposure, surely the basic democratic right of all artists. Again – keep up the good work. Cheers John John Durr Black Market Music
1/09: Your magazine is the best detailed mag EVER on the blues. I always look forward to it turning up in my inbox. Keep up the fantastic work. CHEERS. Martin Waite
8/19/08: Just a “thanks” for your efforts on the Blues Festival E-Guide, I really look forward to reading my weekly e-mail. I’m a lifetime Alabama boy, been listening to John Lee Hooker since I was 10, I’m a young 54 now, and am now listening to Eden Brent as I type. Going to the Howlin’ Wolf Memorial Blues Festival in West Point, Mississippi and would not have known about either without the info on the website. You take care, now David Porter, Montevallo, Alabama
2/18/08: Hi Nancy! Every week, I read through the Blues Festival Guide, and tell myself….”self…I love this site!” You do a fabulous job. Keep up the great work. Ciao, Christine
8/3/07: Thank you for the weekly Blues Festival E Guide. It’s most informative, the articles are well written, and the variety, of your coverage, of blues news is vast. -bam_agal@
8/4/07: Hi Nancy, Just wanted to thank you for the wonderful job you do in putting this letter together. Always read it from top to bottom and thought why not send you an appreciation……so thank you very much………… Catch you on the turnaround. -Bill Noteman
7/20/07: I love this newsletter! That and the guide are great! Keep up the great work! -Jason Shane Mason
4/12/07: I went to the closing performance of the Reykjavik Blues Festival — only because you had it advertised on-line!! It was very cool to fly from New Jersey (a huge blues fan – with mother and daughter) to Iceland (for 4 days) and find the blues in a church near our hotel. It’s a small world — and your newsletter really helps to bridge the continents! Thanks alot!!
Thank you for responding to my email and thank you very much especially for providing such informative news on a weekly basis. It sure lets me know what’s going on in the blues world. I will continue to be a loyal reader as long as the interesting news keeps coming!!! -Mel
3/26/07: I just want to thank you again for a wonderful publication and the e-mail news that I receive from you all. It is such a pleasure to keep up on what is going on across the country and all over the world, and it certainly wets the appetite to pack the bags and go see some great shows all over!! Thank you!! -Chef Gail, Tuesday morning blues dj, Breakfast With the Blues, KRVM 91.9 FM
3/11/07: Hello Nancy, Just wanted to say “Thank you” to to you and the rest of the staff for doing such a great job in keeping me informed with the latest, and coolest, blues news. Keep up the great work!! -MEL
3/4/07: Dear Nancy, I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed reading the blues festival E guide this morning. I have a very busy career as a physician, and the blues provide with me with much needed relaxation and enjoyment. There isn’t much of a blues scene here in Spartanburg, so I typically have to travel to Charlotte or parts further away to listen to live blues. Your newsletter will help me to keep a watch out for future opportunities to listen to my favorite form of music. I also appreciate learning about the history of the blues, and the article about Led Zeppelin being sued years ago was most interesting, as it was the recycled blues played by “rock bands” in the 60s and 70s that first drew me in to love music, and it was only in more recent years that I came to understand that it was the blues that is the foundation for so much of the rock and roll that I came to love. Please keep up the good work and please keep giving us a heads up to blues festivals and acts that are coming up in months ahead, as I typically need a month or more advance notice in order to arrange for me to get out of town to catch some live blues. Sincerely, Chris Patterson MD
11/10/06: I enjoy the weekly emails and think your concept is going to help the Blues artists’ markets really grow. -Thanks, Dan Bacon, Blues Express
6/6/06: Just thought I’d drop you a short note that I look forward to your weekly guide. It has great information. Keep up the excellent work! Thanks Jo
4/18/06: No questions, just a huge thank you. Your guide is one stop shopping for fans. My sister and I have planned trips based on your information. We’ve never been disappointed in the performances or the people. It’s a wonderful culture for middle aged women. Again, thanks and you deserve many awards…. -Cathy Silver
4/5/06: This is wonderful…thanks so much! -Feldheltz@”