Page 57 - Blues Festival Guide Magazine 2016

Especially playing new,
different, and cultural
instruments that probably
they have never seen
nor heard before in their
lives.” And one student
from Muncie, IN, wrote,
“Without your donation
our band wouldn’t be
possible! Thank you so
much for supporting our
classroom and for giving
us the gift of music!”
Blues – the unique
American art form –
has evolved over the
Joe Bonamassa, founder of Keeping The Blues past 100 years from
Alive Foundation Photo by Rick Gould
African American poetry,
spirituals and work-songs into a thriving musical movement that
incorporates a wide array of musical elements and inspiration. In
fact, many genres of music, including jazz, rock, R&B and soul,
can trace their roots back to the blues. Joe’s personal experience
and growth within the blues/rock community over the past 20+
years is reflected in the Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation. The
website offers a wealth of information about both blues history
and contemporary blues, in the interest of continuing to foster a
love and passion for the music.
KTBA preaches the message that although music is an innate
and accessible outlet for creativity, realizing your dreams in the
music industry requires discipline, perseverance and extreme
dedication. Becoming a professional musician is a difficult
task, and requires an amazing amount of ambition, discipline,
education and even financial resources. It is KTBA’s mission to
help students achieve their goals as aspiring musicians and
help get them on the path to success. Today’s music students
are tomorrow’s opera singers, first violinists, maestros and blues
guitarists. It is never too early to begin aiding these students on
the path to musical success, which in turn helps to breed success
in all the various facets of their lives.
To date, KTBA has donated over $100K in every state in
the country. Eight scholarships have provided students access to
higher education, and over 35,000 students have gained access
to new instruments, sheet music, supplies and field trips!
If you would like to help Joe Bonamassa keep music alive
in schools by making a donation or if you know a school that
could use some “TLC” in their music department, please visit
keepingthebluesalive.org to learn how to get involved!

Brian Reiser currently works as the content manager for
J&R Adventures and as a copywriter for Keeping The Blues
Alive. Before his writing career, Brian earned degrees in both
management and philosophy, but he’s always had a passion for
music. Favorite blues artists include Joe Bonamassa, Keb’ Mo’,
Joanne Shaw Taylor and, of course, B.B. King.

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