MAY 2021
FREE! Family Friendly! FUN! Come celebrate great music in a perfect setting at The Cellar at White Oak Winery, Memorial Weekend. Admission is FREE! All ages are welcome. Please bring blankets, lawn chairs and all your friends! Wine from The Cellar at White Oak, beer from Confluence Brewing, BBQ and MORE from food vendors will be available to purchase. (Please, DO NOT bring your own alcohol, it is against Iowa State Law. Any alcohol must be purchased from the winery.)
SUNDAY, MAY 30 2021 @ 2PM
THE CELLAR AT WHITE OAK
15065 NE White Oak Dr, Cambridge, IA
(just three miles north of Ankeny)
KEVIN BURT
MIDNITE DAWGS
DEL JONES BLUES GANG
DUCHARME-JONES BAND
BO RAMSEY & THE SLIDERS
Presented By Central Iowa Blues Society, Fat Tuesday
Productions, The Cellar at White Oak and Confluence Brewery
Welcome Spring 2021!
It’s been awhile since our last newsletter, and we apologize. There hasn’t been a lot going on due to the pandemic, and it didn’t seem to be the best use of finances to produce a newsletter with no real news in it. We promise, your board of directors has continued to stay involved, and working towards bringing live blues back to Central Iowa blues fans as soon as it was responsibly possible. That time is now!
The big news right now is SpringFest #4 which will take place on Sunday, May 30 at the Cellar in Cambridge (three miles north of Ankeny). This year’s lineup is set with Kevin Burt, Midnite Dawgs, Del Jones Blues Gang, Ducharme-Jones Band, and Bo Ramsey and the Sliders. Music starts at 2pm. SpringFest is open to the public and FREE for everyone! There WILL be sangria and Confluence will be the official beer! Volunteers are needed for the event so please reach-out to Diane Hoffman at volunteer@cibs.org if you’re interested in volunteering.
Monthly membership meetings will resume on Monday, June 14 at the Cellar in Cambridge (three miles north of Ankeny). July’s membership meeting will be at Confluence Brewing. August-December will be announced as venues are confirmed.
On the top of the CIBS priority list is finalizing the Induction Ceremony for the Class 2020 Iowa Blues Hall of Fame. Watch for an announcement in mid summer for a fall date.
Winter BluesFest will resume in February, and we are hoping to add some club shows in the fall.
Speaking of the fall, the weekend of September 18 is slated for the Iowa Blues Challenge. A reminder about the format for entry: there will be a maximum of six solo/duo entries and six entries in the band category. These entries will be accepted from around the state, and slots will be filled on a first come, first registered basis. For more information, contact Julie Spong at challenge@cibs.org and watch for the call for entry this summer.
We have missed live music and getting together SO
MUCH. We can’t wait to see you all on the 30th!
MONDAY – JUN 14, 2021 @ 7:00PM
CIBS Membership Meeting
The Cellar at White Oak
15065 NE White Oak Dr, Cambridge, IA
CIBS members that attend the membership meeting are eligible to win door prizes at the end of the meeting… prizes such as tickets to a blues show, CDs, DVDs, Books, etc. Enjoy some live music after the meeting from Dewey Cantrell!
Follow us on Facebook!
Be sure to follow CIBS on Facebook for some fun and interesting content. CIBS Education Chair, Steve Vasquez, features a monthly series he calls “Where In The World: A Blues Ambassador’s Travels”, with videos, stories, interviews and the like about Blues Educators in other parts of the world. And next thing you know he puts on his chef hat and goes LIVE with “Out Of The Blues Kitchen”. Adventures with food, drink and Blues, what else is there? Watch for our live spots on location or in The Blues Kitchen! PLUS you will find shared events, video and all the latest news from your favorite artists… check it out!
Upcoming “Where In The World” Artists
- May – Charlie Bedford – Australia – A young soul that Kevin Burt took notice of
- June – Eliana Nikolopoulas – Greece – An old soul with the feel and sounds of hills/delta Blues
- July – Harlem Lake – Netherlands – Watch out and get this on your Blues Radar. I predict these younguns to be the next big thing
Blues With A Healing
Blues With A Healing is alive and well at the VA Central Iowa Health Care System
From left to right pictured is: Kayla Lytle, Kate Stephany, Amber Krakau, and Matt Lloyd. All are Recreation Therapists and Matt is a Music Therapist.
A huge Blues hug goes out to the gifted artists that bring the healing power of Blues music to our Veterans every month! Bob Pace, Heath Alan, Kevin Burt, Rob Lumbard, Dave Ducharme-Jones, and Matt Woods.
Guitars For Vets
Another way to help our Veterans is through donating acoustic guitars. Actually, any instruments, any condition are accepted. The VA Central Iowa Health Care Systems Music Therapist, Matt Lloyd is the Guitars For Vets Iowa Chapter Administrator. A doctor can actually prescribe this program which includes ten, thirty minute lessons. Upon completing the tenth lesson, the Vet “graduates” and the National Guitars For Vets awards the Veteran a new acoustic guitar with many accessories!
If you, or know someone who has a guitar just collecting dust, you can donate this and potentially save a Veterans life! Contact our Education Chair, Steve Vasquez, education@cibs.org or call 515-664-4430
Blues Education
Blues In The Schools
I am meeting with Des Moines Public Schools band directors next week to update contacts and make plans for BITS 2022. Roosevelt and Lincoln High Schools are still wanting our BITS program. DMACC Ankeny Campus is also looking towards having BITS in 2022. There happen to be more sources for grants right now and we will be pursuing all available sources. If you wish to support this vital program, click on that donate button on cibs.org and designate BluesME as the recipient.
Des Moines Public Library’s Crossroads: A Journey With The Blues
The Crossroads: A Journey With The Blues has been given the green light! I spoke with Franklin Ave Library Manager, Nikki Hayter, recently and she said they are scheduling outdoor events at the city parks. I will be working with Lynn Heuss to schedule July through October! Park shelters at Ashby, Greenwood and Whitmer will be used for these events. The park shelters have power and plenty of green space for distancing. Anything indoors is hinging on the Mayor’s decision on how much and when restrictions will be lifted.
Blues-n-Chews
Central Iowa Blues Society’s BluesME e-cookbook, Blues-n-Chews, is available through our site for a suggested donation of $20, cibs.org. On the right hand column there is a donate button, click on that and include “cookbook” in the notes section when checking out. This is a collection of recipes from the Out Of The Blues Kitchen and the Where In The World series.
CIBS Membership
CIBS membership has fallen a bit in the past year — we are currently at 671. The COVID pandemic, inactivity, no membership meetings, no live music has taken a toll on all of us. Please consider joining or renewing your membership as we get back in the swing of things! We appreciate your continued support! Sign-up online HERE
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