Katrina: 24 Hours of the Blues

WHO: The Bay Area Blues Society

WHAT: “24 Hours of the Blues” – A benefit for musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina

WHERE: Vallejo Performing Arts Center, 707 Marin Street, Vallejo, CA

WHEN: November 19th and 20th, 2005
6:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

WHY: The Bay Area Blues Society is assisting the MusiCares Foundation by hosting this 24 Hoursof Blues Benefit. Many styles of music will be presented including Blues, Cajun, Zydeco, R&Band Gospel to raise funds for the many displaced musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina andthe areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

The MusiCares Foundation is assisting hundreds of musicians. Hurricane Relief Assistancemay include funds for basic living expenses such as shelter, food, utilities, cell phones andtransportation; medical expenses including doctor, dental, hospital bills, and medication; clothingand toiletries; musical instruments and recording equipment replacement; relocation costs;school supplies for students; insurance payments and more. The funds for this specific need willsoon run out. The Bay Area Blues Society would like to assist by presenting this benefit in order to continue the much needed support for the hundreds of musicians in order for them to make a living. Many musicians in the 7th and 9th Wards of New Orleans lost everything. We cannot let New Orleans, the birthplace of Jazz Music, or it’s music be washed away.

BAY AREA BLUES SOCIETY, INC.

MISSION STATEMENT

The Bay Area Blues Society is a non-profit, 501 © (3) organization dedicated to the perpetuation of Blues, Jazz and Gospel as an indigenous American art form. We are dedicated to the preservation , promotion and representation of this American folk music and cultural forms of Blues, Jazz and Gospel as they took root in African-American communities. The communities of Vallejo, Richmond, Oakland and Russell City all have deep roots in the music idiom.

For the past 17 years, the Bay Area Blues Society has surpassed all other blues society's who focus on just Blues festivals and membership. We have reached out within our community, as well as expanded to other communities, to present the rich musical heritage of the Blues, American's only true home-grown art form.