(DELRAY BEACH, FL) – A group of 21 youngsters is bringing in the New Year through song in Delray Beach. They are the first Palm Beach County students to participate in the Fernando Jones International Blues Camp.
For 10 years, Jones, a Chicago-based musician, has held free camps all over the country. Since Sunday, he and his staff have introduced campers to the blues. The students are using what they are learning for a series of public performances they will give around Palm Beach County this week.
“Today is our second day, but it seems like we’ve covered three to four days of material, and that’s because they do their homework,” Jones said.
Jones, who is also a college instructor, is teaching campers that while Blues may be an unfamiliar genre, it is in fact closely associated to the music most of them enjoy.
“Blues is the root of American music,” he said. “When they listen to hip-hop or even gospel music, Thomas A. Dorsey, the father of gospel music, was a blues man.”
Students said they like this introduction to blues. In a way, learning something new is bringing out the kid in them.
“Music means a lot to me because I listen to all these kinds of music, and it’s fun,” said one camper.
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