Two Reasons to Celebrate the Year of the Blues

There are two major museum events this month honoring the Year of the Blues. You might wonder why I've devoted so many bytes to this year's blues celebration this year in Cosmik Blues; let me tell you why.

The Year of the Blues is an unprecedented nationwide effort to promote the blues. From strong Congressional support declaring 2003 as the Year of the Blues to sponsorship from Volkswagen, the blues community has drawn attention to a genre that many have simply been written off. There has been a renewed interest in the blues all over the country, and if you doubt it, check out the full list of events nationwide at www.yearoftheblues.org. Two of those events deserve special mention, because they bring the blues to a wider audience: The Chicago Blues Exchange and Sweet Home Chicago.

Chicago Blues Exchange

You've got only until September 21st to catch The Chicago Blues Exchange. This major exhibition traces the evolution of the blues in Chicago and showcases some of the city's great blues artists. A variety of blues musicians will perform every Monday at noon and Friday at 5:30 p.m., and admission to the exhibit and the shows is free. This exhibit traces the journey of the great migration of the blues from the Mississippi Delta, through Memphis, to Chicago.

Sweet Home Chicago

Sweet Home Chicago: Big City Blues 1946-1966 is the Year of the Blues' first major museum exhibition devoted to Chicago blues. Sweet Home Chicago opens at Seattle's Experience Music Project on September 27th and runs through January 4, 2004, when it travels to Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry to kick-off the Museum's annual Black Creativity celebration. As a kid growing up near Chicago Heights, I marveled at the dinosaurs in the museum, and wound my way through the walk-through exhibit of the human heart. Next time, though, I'll head straight to Sweet Home Chicago. Speaking of museums, I think the EMP has shown the world that honoring rock and roll in a museum context is certainly not stuffy. Far from it: experience EMP yourself online at www.emplive.com.

A preview of the exhibit should be online early this month. According to EMP, Sweet Home Chicago will include:

• Dozens of rare records, concert posters, and photographs;

• Guitars from such seminal figures as Tampa Red, Muddy Waters, Robert Nighthawk, John Lee Hooker, and Eric Clapton;

• Stage clothing and instruments, including Howlin' Wolf's 1950s stage jacket and harmonica;

• A live interactive keyboard where visitors can learn to play the 12-bar blues, and an interactive three-dimensional map where they may trace the Great Migration;

• Rare performance footage of Chicago blues legends;

• Oral history interviews with Chicago blues musicians and producers, and others who have felt their influence;

• Loans to the exhibit include significant artifacts from the careers of such legendary Chicago blues artists as Willie Dixon, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Magic Sam, Charlie Musselwhite, and Hound Dog Taylor.

The Pacific Northwest will be center of the blues world for a few short months this year. Whether you experience Sweet Home Chicago in person or online, I hope that you'll take some time to learn more about the blues through this outstanding opportunity. In the meantime, check out EMP's "Sweet Home Chicago Video of the Week," online at www.emplive.com, featuring interviews with artists like Buddy Guy, Keb' Mo', Otis Rush, Zora Young, and Koko Taylor.

(C) 2003 - Eric Steiner