The 2024 Blues in Schools will be featured in schools all over the Wiregrass Area.
Students all over the Wiregrass Area were invited to attend at no cost.
This year’s Blues In Schools lineup will feature Crystal Shawanda, Eugene “Hide A Way” Bridges, The John Bull Trio, and Ben Flournoy.
1. Debbie Bond, 2012, 2. Vanessa Collier, 2018, 3. Teeny Tucker, 2020, 4. WBS board president Bruce Adams, DCS superintendent Phyllis Edwards, Teeny Tucker, and Emcee Gil Anthony, 2020
Blues in Schools is a free educational outreach program preceding the Wiregrass Blues Festival each year. Blues-in-Schools includes workshops and performances by accomplished blues musicians for local students. Thus far, we have successfully reached over 8,000 students, teachers, and parents. During the program, children learn about the progression and history of blues music in the American South. In addition to the performances, participating schools receive a gift of instrumentation or monetary support for their music departments.
In 2020, we presented another successful Blues-in-Schools program to over 1,200, 5th and 6th grade students from various Dothan City Schools (DCS). The program was held at the Dothan Civic Center, and it was led by the Festival’s headliner Teeny Tucker, and moderator, Gil Anthony.
It is by your sponsorship that we can keep the blues alive by educating our younger generations. What better way to do that than live performances at no charge to the student? All donations of any size are appreciated!
Click below for more images and a complete history of our Blues-in-Schools program:
Crystal Shawanda
Nominated for 2023 Juno Award in Blues category for Midnight Blues!
Juno Award-winning powerhouse Crystal Shawanda is back with her latest studio album, Midnight Blues, on True North Records. Her latest fiery blues collection showcases her full-throttle raspy voice, unmatched in today’s musical landscape, and an authentic appreciation for the genre dating back to her youth.
“Growing up, all of my favorite music had these breadcrumbs that led me to the blues,” Crystal says. “I often quote Willie Dixon: ‘Blues is the roots and everything else is the fruits.’ Even in today’s pop music, there’s all this influence that derives from the blues. I was just always really attracted to the rawness and the realness of the blues.”
Produced and engineered in Nashville by her husband and long-time collaborator Dwayne Strobel, Midnight Blues — her eighth studio album, and fifth since switching from a chart-topping career as a country artist — is a collection of original songs, such as the seductive-sounding rocker “Midnight Blues,” swampy dancefloor groove “Rumpshaker,” and gentler “Take A Little Walk With The Moon,” as well as covers of the Howlin’ Wolf classic “Evil” and her take on Celine Dion’s hit “That’s Just The Woman In Me.”
Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges
Any blues fan familiar with the tradition of the traveling guitar man, whose home is wherever he’s found a gig that week, should find much to admire and revere in Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges. Eugene is the 21st century version of the itinerant blues man. He’s a nomadic musician who, at any given point in time may be living in Chicago or Amsterdam or Melbourne, Australia. And he also happens to play guitar licks as tasty as anything you’ll find on a Texas barbecue grill.
Ben Flournoy Trio
Singer-songwriter and self-taught guitarist Ben Flournoy creates compelling, blues-infused pop, with nimble melodies and laid-back vocals reminiscent of icons like Eric Clapton and John Mayer. Raised on a mix of radio pop and blues records, Flournoy first picked up the guitar at age ten after watching Back to the Future. Struck by the fervor of Marty McFly’s ‘Johnny B. Goode,’ he begged his parents for his own instrument, eventually buying an acoustic guitar and teaching himself to play by ear. Now writing and recording original tracks for his debut solo album, set for release in 2022, Flournoy’s lyrical songs of heartbreak have a charming candor that makes them as relatable as they are beautiful.
Citing acts like Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Mayer, Albert King, B.B. King, and Jimi Hendrix as formative influences for his style, Flournoy plays with an intensity and agility beyond his years. He earned an enthusiastic online fan base for his video covers of blues and pop singles, which led to his first official performance in 2020, backing several Florida acts on guitar. In 2021 Flournoy started five-part blues/rock band Truly Blues, performing both covers and original songs at local venues. His energetic performances reveal a contagious passion that infuses audiences with his love for music. “Above all else, making music is fun. I do this because I love to do it,” says Flournoy. “That’s the most important thing.” Learn more at https://benflournoy.com/.
John Bull Trio
A dynamic blues, jazz, and soul singer/harmonica player, John stretches the traditional boundaries of blues harmonica over all these genres. The result is a unique blend of American music that’s both uptown and lowdown.
His relaxed delivery is the result of decades spent performing at festivals, clubs, restaurants, riverboats and juke joints throughout the southeast.
John teaches harmonica for the Alabama Blues Project and is a member of the Alabama Blues Hall of Fame.
For more information contact President, Donnia Rambin at 334-648-6542.
