The Blues News

The Blues Foundation Keeps the Blues Alive

With Its 30th Annual Awards Ceremony

in Memphis this February

Honorees Include Key Movers from Around the Globe

[For Immediate Release November 9, 2011] Memphis, TN – On the heels of achieving its all-time high membership (quickly approaching 4,000 total), The Blues Foundation will honor 21 individuals and organizations with its 2011 Keeping the Blues Alive (KBA) Award during a recognition brunch on Saturday, February 5, 2011, in Memphis, Tennessee. Each year, The Blues Foundation presents the KBA Awards to individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the blues music world. The KBA ceremony begins at 10:00 A.M. and will be held in conjunction with the 27th International Blues Challenge (IBC) weekend of events that will feature the final rounds of the world’s most prestigious blues competition and largest gathering of blues acts, as well as seminars, showcases, and receptions for blues societies, fans, and professionals on February 1-5.

The KBAs are awarded strictly on the basis of merit by a select panel of blues professionals to those working to actively promote and document the music. Nominations are accepted from affiliated blues societies, past KBA recipients and current members of The Blues Foundation’s Board of Directors.

“The recipients of this year’s awards – as with every year – are people and organizations who are an integral part of not only promoting blues music, but of preserving it as well. Their work applies to the business of recorded music, also to live events, print media, radio and visual broadcasts, and increasingly, the international blues community,” notes Art Tipaldi, KBA chairman.

The 2011 Keeping the Blues Alive Awards recipients are:

1. Agent: Intrepid Artists, Charlotte, North Carolina

2. Blues Club: Chan’s Fine Oriental Dining, Woonsocket, Rhode Island

3. Blues Organization: Billtown Blues Society, Williamsport, Pennsylvania

4. Education: Gary Allegretto, Los Angeles, California

5. Festival (International): Notodden Blues Festival, Notodden, Norway

6. Festival (U.S.): Tampa Bay Blues Festival, St. Petersburg, Florida

7. Film, Television, and Video: Mako Funasaka, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

8. Historical Preservation: Canada South Museum, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

9. International: Paul Jones, London, England

10. Internet: Mary4Music.com, Baltimore, Maryland

11. Journalism: Tim Parsons, Lake Tahoe Action, California/Nevada

12. Literature: Mary Lou Sullivan, Coventry, Connecticut

13. Manager: Paul Nelson, Bullseye Management, Stamford, Connecticut

14. Photography: Bill Steber, Murfreesboro, Tennessee

15. Print Media: Twoj Blues, Chorzow, Poland

16. Producer: Michael Freeman, Barrington, Illinois

17. Promoter: Didier Tricard, Montferrier sur Lez,France

18. Publicist: Debra Regur, Blind Pig Records, San Francisco, California

19. Radio (Commercial): Mark Pasman, WCSX-FM, Detroit, Michigan

20. Radio (Public): Tom Wendt, KBOO-FM, Portland, Oregon

21. Record Label: Electro-Fi Records, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Tickets to the KBA ceremony are sold only as part of the IBC Big Blue ticket package, available online at www.blues.org or by calling 901.527.2583. The IBC weekend, commencing Tuesday, February 1, 2011, is sponsored in significant part by ArtsMemphis, Budweiser of Memphis, FedEx, First Tennessee Foundation, Gibson Guitars, Lee Oskar Harmonicas, Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau, Smokin’ Bluz Radio and Entertainment Network, T. Clifton Art, Tennessee Arts Commission, and VividPix & Design.

Media sponsors include Beale Street Caravan, Big City Rhythm and Blues, Blues Festival Guide, Blues Revue, BluesWax, Downtowner, House of Blues Radio Hour, Living Blues, Memphis Flyer, WREG-TV, and Sirius XM Satellite Radio B.B. King’s Bluesville.