Page 63 - Blues Festival Guide Magazine 2016

office with Sieleman before she officially went to work. Sieleman
remains with the organization as a consultant.
“Jay’s been extremely available and accessible,” she said.
“He’s helped close out some things that he’d started. Some of the
different award processes were already begun before I walked
in the door; he stuck around and helped close them out. It’s
given me a little more space to get up to speed. This transition
will probably be the most intense year since everything’s taking
a little longer to do because I have to learn what I’m doing.”
The IBC this year, which had 257 acts with nearly 900
musicians from 14 countries, went “phenomenally well,”
Newman said. Newman and the Foundation’s Board President
Paul Benjamin made a point to squeeze into each of the 20
venues on the opening night to welcome everyone.
“I learned that I have an amazing staff. Everyone knew
exactly what they were supposed to do. I needed to be able to
trust what they do because it’s a giant operation… I am a person
who needs eight hours of sleep each night. That was the thing I
was most nervous about – how I could make it Tuesday through
Sunday with that little amount of sleep. But I was so energized by
the IBCs that I didn’t even realize I wasn’t sleeping.”
While overseeing the Blues Foundation is a daunting task, it’s
one that seems ideal for Newman. During her short commute to
421 S. Main Street, she listens to music. The CDs in her car at the
moment are Buddy Guy, Harrison Kennedy and Shakura S’Aida,
and, of course, there is WEVL, a blues-based volunteer radio
station that features a Wednesday morning folk show hosted by
Bruce Newman.
“Music is key, but the blues represents a very important part
of American history,” Barbara Newman said. “It’s something that
we have to be aware of, and we have to respect and honor it
by keeping the music in the forefront. That’s what we’re doing.”

Tim Parsons is the 2011 recipient of the Blues Foundation’s
Keeping the Blues Alive award for Journalism. He lives at Lake
Tahoe and is the editor-in-chief of the online music magazine
Tahoe Onstage, www.tahoeonstage.com. He also is a
contributing writer for Blues Music Magazine.

Newman with statue of Little Milton in front of the Blues Hall of Fame
Photo by Bruce Newman

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