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Delta Blues Casino coming to Greenville, MS

A $30 million casino and blues museum will soon bloom in the Delta, the impoverished area that spawned a rich musical legacy as the birthplace of blues musicians such as Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and Howlin' Wolf.

The Delta Blues Casino will break ground May 8, 2006 on a 55-acre downtown Greenville, MS parcel, the site of a defunct mill. The Delta Blues complex will include a 120-room hotel, 30,000-square-foot convention center and a 9-acre water park.

The 7,000-square-foot museum is expected to be the jewel that will draw European tourists, a demographic seldom met in Mississippi casinos. The Delta already draws a pretty steady stream of European visitors who are fascinated by blues history and love the music

The museum will contain many miniature theaters, each devoted to individual blues musicians and historical periods. Small groups of visitors can watch rare film and listen to audio of their favorite blues artists.

Live performances will also be featured. Blues enthusiasts are expected to provide the convention center with a steady steam of bookings during Delta music festivals and scholarly gatherings.

Gibson Guitar Sponsors "Guitars Not Guns" Program

Guitars not Guns announced today that musical giant Gibson Guitar has become the official guitar sponsor for their youth music program. They are grateful to Gibson Guitar for their enormous generosity and incredible support.

Guitars not Guns Founder, Ray Nelson finalized the agreement with the Gibson Foundation on April 26, 2006. The Gibson Foundation is looking forward to working with Guitars not Guns over the coming years to help bring their message to a broader base and to assist in providing a wonderful alternative to violence for foster and at risk children across the country.

Nelson and his entire staff are overwhelmed by Gibson's support. The three year sponsorship agreement includes a guitar donation to help offset the organizations events and programs, website announcements, and monetary assistance.
 

Rock and Roll "Hard of Hearing" Hall of Fame

The official selection for the 2006 Rock and Roll Hard of Hearing Hall of Fame has been made. www.hardofhearinghalloffame.com Selection criteria are based on consideration of an individual’s body of work, and damaged inner ears because of music amplification and use of headphones.

Initial Selections for 2006:

Pete Townshend – Guitar (The Who)
Jeff Beck – Guitar (Yardbirds)
Eric Clapton – Guitar (Yardbirds)
John Entwhistle - Bass Guitar (The Who)
Mick Fleetwood – Drums (Fleetwood Mac)
James Destri – Keyboards (Blondie)
Bono – Vocals (U2)
Phil Collins – Vocals (Genesis)

Rock and Roll music can cause both temporary and permanent damage to the inner ear. Damage may occur from one extremely loud session of exposure to noise or it may occur from sustained exposure to lesser noise levels. Most rock and roll musicians received their hearing damage from both amplified music and listening to music on headphones.

The overall mission of the Hard of Hearing Hall of Fame is to educate people about potential inner ear damage caused by noise AND to seek tax deductible donations to support research for hearing regeneration.
 

Blues Music Awards are Next Week

So far close to 50 nominees have confirmed their attendance at the Blues Music Awards May 11 at the Cook Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee on May 11.

Those attending the event will be hangin' with Tab Benoit, Elvin Bishop, Jimi Bott, Mookie Brill, Big George Brock, Nora Jean Bruso, Sam Carr, Tommy Castro, Kirk Fletcher, Rich Del Grosso, Zac Harmon, Mitch Kashmar, Denise LaSalle, Magic Slim and the Teardrops, Bob Margolin, Big James Montgomery, Nick Moss & the Flip Tops, Paul Oscher, Calvin Owens, Sista Monica Parker, Bobby Purify, Ann Rabson, Bobby Rush, Mem Shannon & the Membership, Eddie Shaw, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Bob Stroger, Larry Taylor, Otis Taylor, The Hollywood Blue Flames, The Mannish Boys with Johnny Dyer and Finis Tasby, Eddie Turner, Michael "Mudcat" Ward and Kim Wilson just to name a few.

 Most of these folks will be on stage at one time or another. The Blues Foundation also expects some very special guests joining in the festivities. There are still seats left for the reception, dinner, awards, performances, dancing, networking and all around fun. Presenters will include Eric Burdon and Steve Cropper, among others.

You may still purchase tickets--either a table or individual tickets at www.blues.org or call 901.527.2583.

Jazz Alley TV to film and show 2006 Blues Music Awards

Jazz Alley TV, the longest running Blues and Jazz TV series seen in over 80 countries and celebrating 15 years with BLUES on TV is filming the 2006 Blues Music Awards for a National TV Special that will be airing on the BET J network this winter season! Check out www.jazzalleytv.com

Irma Thomas Webcast: 2006 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

This year watch Irma Thomas as she is a featured performer at the 2006 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Viewers can tune in to the festival coverage courtesy of MSN at http://msnvideo.com/jazzfest

MSN is celebrating the return of the legendary New Orleans Jazz & Heritage musical event by bringing select performances into homes around the globe April 28–30 and May 5–7. MSN has entered into an agreement with the 2006 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival to be the exclusive webcast provider of the first Jazz Fest following the catastrophic events of Hurricane Katrina and will donate all the advertising proceeds to benefit New Orleans Katrina Relief efforts.

The 37th annual Jazz Fest will be held at its traditional home on the Churchhill’s Fair Grounds Race Course and is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of fans to the event.
 

BENEFIT FOR CURTIS SALGADO

MAY 28TH SUNDAY

IN EUGENE, OREGON

As you may have heard one of our own Blues musicians - Curtis Salgado has been diagnosed with liver cancer.

We are planning a benefit concert at The McDonald Theater, on Willamette Street, in downtown Eugene-Oregon on the last Sunday of May.

 I am in charge of the silent auction, and raffle.  If anyone has
 anything that they would like to donate, please contact me directly at:
HutchHavencomcast.net
AND
 541/461-3619  and/or  541/915-0902
 and I will give you the mailing address.

Curtis' radiation and chemotherapy treatment will cost $100,000
That does not include the liver transplant.

Please feel free to forward this information to any other societies and musicians, and places that you feel would be able to donate to Curtis' medical expenses, and to the silent auction.

We want our Curtis to get well.

Sincerely,
Christine L. Hutchinson
Blues In The Schools - Coordinator
Rainy Day Blues Society - Board
Lane County - Oregon