The Kentuckiana Blues Society (KBS) is a U.S. non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and perpetuation of

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

music, founded in 1988 and based in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. The KBS is an affiliate member of the

Blues Foundation The Blues Foundation is an American nonprofit corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, that is affiliated with more than 175 blues organizations from various parts of the world. Founded in 1980, a 25-person board of directors governs the ...

, an international network of blues organizations headquartered in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

Preservation

The KBS conducts research to document the blues tradition in Louisville, Kentucky, preserving a collection of rare photos and interviews, and identifying the locations of early blues related sites. The society maintains an archive to house these materials, which are available to members. They have arranged for headstones to be placed as memorials at the graves of blues personalities buried in the area, including Sylvester Weaver and Bill Gaither, whose graves were located by the society, and KBS founding member Foree Wells and his wife Lorene, who are buried in Calvary Cemetery. The KBS also provided financial support for the posthumous release of Wells' album ''It's A New Day Brother!'' in 2007, on Stackhouse Records.

Promotion

The KBS is actively involved in the local blues scene, sponsoring or supporting concerts in the Louisville area by local and regional artists, such as

Albert Collins Albert Gene Drewery, known as Albert Collins and the Ice Man (October 1, 1932 – November 24, 1993),Skeely, Richard. "Albert Collins: Biography" Allmusic.com. was an American electric blues guitarist and singer with a distinctive guitar style. ...

Pinetop Perkins Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins (July 7, 1913 – March 21, 2011) was an American blues pianist. He played with some of the most influential blues and rock-and-roll performers of his time and received numerous honors, including a Grammy Life ...

, and

Henry Townsend Henry Townsend may refer to: *Henry Townsend (Norwich) (1626–1695), early American colonist born in Norwich, Norfolk, England *Henry Townsend (Oyster Bay) (1649–1703), American colonist born in Oyster Bay *Henry Townsend (missionary) (1815–18 ...

. The KBS was involved in the Garvin Gate Blues Festival from 1988 until it finished in 1999. From 1997 the festival was moved from the Garvin Gate Neighborhood of "

Old Louisville Old Louisville is a historic district and neighborhood in central Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is the third largest such district in the United States, and the largest preservation district featuring almost entirely Victorian architect ...

" to Theatre Square, co-organized by

The Louisville Palace The Palace Theatre (previously known as the Loew's Theatre, Loew's United Artist Theatre and the United Artists Theatre, it is locally known as the Louisville Palace) is a music venue in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, located in the city's theat ...

, the Public Radio Partnership, and the KBS. In 2007 the festival was revived at its original location of Garvin Place and Oak Street. The KBS is involved with several other local blues festivals, including the Louisville Blues-n-Barbecue Festival held in mid-July at the Water Tower on Louisville's riverfront, and the Jeffersontown-Crusade Blues Festival held the third weekend in May at Veteran's Memorial Park. The KBS organizes an "Unsigned Blues Talent" competition for new bands, with the winner eligible to compete in the finals of the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. The contest is usually held in late summer or early fall at Stevie Ray's Blues Bar. Each year the KBS presents the Sylvester Weaver Award to an individual in recognition of their efforts in representing the mission of the KBS. The society also promotes the blues through formal and informal presentations to various groups, and through sponsorship and presence at festivals and concerts.

References

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External links

The Kentuckiana Blues Society Home Page
Blues organizations Music organizations based in the United States Music of Louisville, Kentucky 1988 establishments in Kentucky