“The show will be a mixture of performance and an educational workshop highlighting Alabama’s rich blues heritage with a focus on blues women,“ said Debbie Bond, a member of Alabama Blues Women along with Shar-Baby and Rachel Edwards.
“Alabama has a rich, much overlooked blues heritage,” she said. “There are so many amazing blues musicians from the state — both women and men. Here with a focus on the women we learn how singer Big Mama Thornton, from Ariton, for example, had a hit with ‘Hound Dog’ before Elvis Presley.
“Blues women like Lucille Bogan, Ma Rainy and Bessie Smith toured the state in the early 20th century, packing theaters and tent shows across the state with their vaudeville blues.”
Tickets for the event, which is part of the statewide emphasis on the Year of Alabama Music, are $15 in advance from the Tennessee Valley Museum of Art in Tuscumbia or online at ritztheatre.ticketleap.com.
The ticket includes a barbecue sandwich with chips from Bishop’s Barbecue in Cherokee. A cash bar with soft drinks, bottled water, beer and wine will be available.
The Blues and Barbecue concert, which begins at 7 p.m., is a collaboration between the Tennessee Valley Art Association and the Alabama Blues Project, a nonprofit groupe with a purpose of keeping Alabama-born blues alive.
Article source: http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20110519/news/110519778&tc=yahoo
