Page 51 - Blues Festival Guide Magazine 2017

human condition. The core message I took away from the forum
was that we are not alone in our struggles, and music is a gift
that unites us. Once we realize we are not alone in our pain, we
can begin to heal.”
Blues music is honest, cathartic and revelatory in its delivery of
a message that tells it like it is in a trance-like delivery that puts the
listener and the musician on a shared footing. But you intrinsically
know that already, or you wouldn’t be reading this Guide.

The Blues – Why It Still Hurts So Good is available for
purchase on Marie’s website. One hundred percent of
the book’s proceeds will be donated to the HART (Handy
The "Blues as Healer" panel topics resonate with the audience. Photo by Andrea Zucker Artists Relief Trust) Fund, assisting blues musicians and
their families in financial need due to health concerns.
effects of the music. “A lot of people are embarrassed by having For more information and to purchase the book, please
hepatitis C,” said Kenny who almost died from the disease in visit www.marietrout.com.
2005. “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about ’cause you get help
to get rid of it.” Don Wilcock was host of the 2017 "Blues as Healer" panel, the
In her book, which was released the day of the panel, Dr. keynote event of the Blues Foundation’s 2017 International Blues
Trout says, “Ninety-four percent of fans (surveyed) agreed blues Challenge. This year he will co-host the seventh annual Call and
music helped them release emotion, and 92 percent stated they Response Seminar at the King Biscuit Blues Festival. He writes
felt the healing effects of blues: what is commonly meant by ‘hurt for several blues websites and magazines and can be reached
so good.’ This term, hurt so good, could well be interpreted to at donwilcock@msn.com.
mean that one can let go of unresolved distress in a properly
distanced ritual, while feeling connected to others.”
A native of Denmark, Dr. Trout is able to see the cathartic
value of blues from a more objective perspective than many
Americans who view this cultural treasure as a forest, rather
than appreciating each tree. “Blues speaks an honest and
sincere language of the heart,” she writes, “and a simple shift
in perception from one that is mental to one that is more heart-
centered can add a healing perspective (and possibly one that
is more inclusive of those perceived as ‘different from ourselves’)
to our busy, fragmented 21 century lives. This kind of communal
st
shift ‘to the healer’ can also partially explain why we emerge
from a blues concert – or the personal listening experience it
becomes – restored.”
“Each day is a new day and there is or can be a better
and bright future,” says "Blues as Healer" panel attendee Suzan
Shaske, a retired psychologist. “And although no one ever
wants to experience the trauma each individual [on the panel]
experienced, to some extent, trauma can be reframed through
the healing power of blues, and music in general, with the
potential for some good to come out of it.”
“I found the 'Blues as Healer' forum to be very life affirming
and inspiring,” says Barb Addlespurger, wife of Jimmy Adler,
a contestant in the IBC. “As a nurse who has worked in mental
health for many years, I found myself drawn to the subject matter.
Being a life-long blues lover who has used the music to unwind
and recharge my batteries, I found a roomful of kindred spirits
who appreciate that music has the power to lift us out of the
depths of sorrow. The speakers bravely shared their stories of
how the blues had been a balm to ease the pain of great personal
tragedy. The search for inner peace is an essential element of the

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