Kentuckiana Blues Society
Encyclopedia
The Kentuckiana Blues Society (KBS), founded in 1988 and based in Louisville, Kentucky
is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and perpetuation of the blues
tradition in all of its forms. The KBS is an affiliate member of the Blues Foundation
. The Blues Foundation is a non-profit corporation headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee
. The Foundation consists of more than 160 affiliated blues organizations and societies around the world and serves as the hub for the worldwide passion for blues music.
and "Little" Bill Gaither and arranged for the placement of headstones to preserve their memory. One of their most recent projects was the placement of a headstone for Louisville bluesman Foree Wells and his wife Lorene at Calvary Cemetery. Foree was a founding member of the KBS and of the Walnut Street Blues Band. He died in January 1997. In January 2007 his long awaited album It's A New Day Brother! was finally released on Stackhouse Records with assistance and financial support of the KBS.
, Pinetop Perkins
, and Henry Townsend (musician)
were all able to appear in Louisville under the auspices of the KBS.
From 1988 through its demise in 1999, the KBS was involved in the festival formerly known as Garvin Gate Blues Festival - which was held the second weekend of October. Beginning in 1997 the festival was moved from the Garvin Gate Neighborhood of "Old Louisville
" to Theatre Square. It was held in cooperation with The Louisville Palace
, the Public Radio Partnership and the KBS. 2007 saw the rebirth of the Garvin Gate Blues Festival at its original location of Garvin Place and Oak Street.
The KBS is also involved with several current local blues festivals including the Louisville Blues-n-Barbecue Festival held in mid July at the Water Tower on Louisville's riverfront and the Jeffersontown-Crusade Blues Festival held the third weekend in May at Veteran's Memorial Park.
The KBS Unsigned Blues Talent Competition garners recognition for new bands and, due to its affiliation with The Blues Foundation, the winner is eligible to compete in the finals of the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee
. The KBS contest is usually held in late summer or early fall at Stevie Ray's Blues Bar.
One of the ways in which KBS perpetuates the blues is through the annual presentation of the Sylvester Weaver Award to an individual in recognition of their efforts in representing the mission of the KBS.
Additionally, it seeks to perpetuate the blues with formal and informal presentations about the blues to various groups, and through sponsorship and presence at festivals and concerts.
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and perpetuation of the blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
tradition in all of its forms. The KBS is an affiliate member of the Blues Foundation
Blues Foundation
The Blues Foundation is an American nonprofit corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, that is affiliated with more than 175 Blues organizations from various parts of the world....
. The Blues Foundation is a non-profit corporation headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. The Foundation consists of more than 160 affiliated blues organizations and societies around the world and serves as the hub for the worldwide passion for blues music.
Preservation
Through extensive research and documentation, the KBS has made major inroads into the documentation of the blues tradition in Louisville, Kentucky. This research has led to the discovery of many rare photos, interviews, and the location of many early blues related sites. An archive has been established by the KBS to centrally locate all of these materials and make them available to members. They have also located the grave sites of blues greats Sylvester WeaverSylvester Weaver
Sylvester Weaver was an American blues guitar player and pioneer of country blues.-Biography:On October 23, 1923, he recorded in New York City with the blues singer Sara Martin "Longing for Daddy Blues" / "I've Got to Go and Leave My Daddy Behind" and two weeks later as a soloist "Guitar Blues" /...
and "Little" Bill Gaither and arranged for the placement of headstones to preserve their memory. One of their most recent projects was the placement of a headstone for Louisville bluesman Foree Wells and his wife Lorene at Calvary Cemetery. Foree was a founding member of the KBS and of the Walnut Street Blues Band. He died in January 1997. In January 2007 his long awaited album It's A New Day Brother! was finally released on Stackhouse Records with assistance and financial support of the KBS.
Promotion
From its inception the KBS has been actively involved on the local blues scene. Many local and regional talents have been showcased in local venues under either direct sponsorship or contributed support of the KBS. Such artists as Albert CollinsAlbert Collins
Albert Collins was an American electric blues guitarist and singer whose recording career began in the 1960s in Houston and whose fame eventually took him to stages across the US, Europe, Japan and Australia...
, Pinetop Perkins
Pinetop Perkins
Joseph William Perkins , known by the stage name Pinetop Perkins, was an American blues musician, specializing in piano music...
, and Henry Townsend (musician)
Henry Townsend (musician)
Henry 'Mule' Townsend was an American blues singer, guitarist and pianist.-Career:Townsend was born in Shelby, Mississippi and grew up in Cairo, Illinois. He left home at the age of nine because of an abusive father and hoboed his way to St. Louis, Missouri...
were all able to appear in Louisville under the auspices of the KBS.
From 1988 through its demise in 1999, the KBS was involved in the festival formerly known as Garvin Gate Blues Festival - which was held the second weekend of October. Beginning in 1997 the festival was moved from the Garvin Gate Neighborhood of "Old Louisville
Old Louisville
Old Louisville is a historic district and neighborhood in central Louisville, Kentucky, USA. It is the third largest such district in the United States, and the largest preservation district featuring almost entirely Victorian architecture...
" to Theatre Square. It was held in cooperation with The Louisville Palace
The Louisville Palace
The Louisville Palace is a theatre, in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, located in the city's theater district, on the east side of Fourth Street, between Broadway and Chestnut Street. It has a seating capacity of 2,700 people and is owned by Live Nation...
, the Public Radio Partnership and the KBS. 2007 saw the rebirth of the Garvin Gate Blues Festival at its original location of Garvin Place and Oak Street.
The KBS is also involved with several current local blues festivals including the Louisville Blues-n-Barbecue Festival held in mid July at the Water Tower on Louisville's riverfront and the Jeffersontown-Crusade Blues Festival held the third weekend in May at Veteran's Memorial Park.
The KBS Unsigned Blues Talent Competition garners recognition for new bands and, due to its affiliation with The Blues Foundation, the winner is eligible to compete in the finals of the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. The KBS contest is usually held in late summer or early fall at Stevie Ray's Blues Bar.
Perpetuation
Probably the strongest commitment that the KBS has is its efforts to perpetuate the blues tradition so that generations to come may be able to attain a knowledge and appreciation of the blues. In a way, this perpetuation encompasses the other two "p"s of the mission: it is through the preservation and presentation of the blues that we can begin to perpetuate it.One of the ways in which KBS perpetuates the blues is through the annual presentation of the Sylvester Weaver Award to an individual in recognition of their efforts in representing the mission of the KBS.
Additionally, it seeks to perpetuate the blues with formal and informal presentations about the blues to various groups, and through sponsorship and presence at festivals and concerts.