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Enter to Win a One-On-One “Live” Video Experience with an Award-Winning Blues Artist
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1st Winner of our “Win A One-On One “Live” Video Experience” Contest Series
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 Hey Blues Lovers,
We are pleased to announce the first winner of our “Win A One-On One “Live” Video Experience with An Award-Winning Blues Artist.” Congratulations to Cristy Bacon Benvenutti of Ringwood, New Jersey who will meet with Sugaray Rayford. Click to watch BigLLou congratulating Cristy.
Cristy has met Sugaray before and is "so excited for this opportunity to interview him." You'll be able to see the full  interview on Chasing the Blues Podcast... stay tuned!
 Sugaray Rayford is also pleased to announce his new single released Aug 7th! Click image to listen to "Homemade  Disaster."
If you haven't entered our contest yet, do so now to win a private Zoom visit with either Albert Castiglia, Southern Avenue or Dawn Tyler Watson – all international touring artists and winners or nominees of the 2020 Blues Music Awards. Enter as many times as you wish.
The next Zoom Visit will be with Albert Castiglia and the winner's name will be drawn September 1. All winner’s names will be randomly drawn by celebrity entertainer BigLLou. We’ll then notify you and send you a ZOOM invite. If you don't have a computer, we can arrange via phone. During your one-on-one, 15-minute Zoom (or other method) "live" visit with one of these world-class blues artists, you can ask questions, they may play you a song, or you can just chit chat… connecting you deeper with the artist and their passions.
Entrant has the option of having the Zoom meeting moderated by pro-podcaster/blues recording artist Tom “The Suit” Forst and recorded/aired by Chasing the Blues Podcast.
Note: By entering contest, you agree to have your email address added to our weekly Blues Festival E-Guide list (emails will never be sold).
Find complete details and enter your info at this link and you could win a private Zoom visit with one of these artists: The contest goes until Sept 26th so share, share, share!
This contest is brought to you by Blues Festival Guide, Chasing the Blues Podcast, The Blues Foundation and BigLLou. Must be 18 or over. No purchase necessary.
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Thoughts about venues opening... share yours!
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 Hey Blues Fans!! We see some music venues are opening up around the country. Albeit, opening then closing then opening, etc.
Here's response from another fan that went to the Fargo Blues Festival:
"I was at Fargo as well, sitting next to Anita* mostly. Thought the organizers did a good job with attempting to keep people apart until the very end when people just undid all those 2 days of effort in [the] last 30 minutes. I live in Jax and travel to Baton Rouge. Seen far too many instances of complete disregard to safety in music gatherings. I am more comfortable with outdoor and spaced venues." - Arthur Meusel
(*Anita Schlank commented in last week's e-Guide)
We're interested in your thoughts:
- Have you attended any shows and where?
- If so, how was the vibe (i.e. joyous, awkward, crowded, etc.)
- If not, when will you feel comfortable attending?
- If you're a musician, have you performed live for an audience recently?
- If so, how was the vibe and attendance?
Email me 100 words MAX and make sure to put "VENUES OPENING" in subject line (so it doesn't get lost in my email). Tell us where in the world you're located. Feel free to send me a pic of your favorite blues music experience if you like, too.
Wishing you all good health and peace,
Michele
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Photo Moments with the 18th Annual BFG Magazine!
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 After a long afternoon coordinating and celebrating her son's 1st birthday party at Wild Waters water park in Sparks, NV, this young mom finds a few minutes to relax and catchup with her Blues Festival Guide magazine while the birthday boy snoozes.
Photo: Michele Lundeen
Go ahead and get creative and take a picture with your magazine and email it to us (see below). Don't have your new magazine? You can order one here!
*NOTE! Our 2020 annual was sent to select festivals, blues societies and a few distributors plus we also Encourage Individual Subscribers because of the unusual conditions of the Pandemic... or... if you know of a friendly place that's open that we might send a box to please let us know.
Once you get yours, have fun and SNAP A PHOTO of you, your friends, and/or artists, etc. with the BFG magazine and EMAIL your photo, caption (100 words or less), a URL if applicable, and photo credit to your e-Guide editor!
**Want more info or your own hard copy? Go to this page!
The Blues Foundation is the official sponsor of our 2020 Blues Festival Guide!
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BluesStream: A Chicago/Kalamazoo Blues Party August 30
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 Virtual six-hour Blues festival features Chicago’s Billy Branch, Johnny Burgin, Joanna Connor and Dave Specter, among others, plus Kalamazoo’s AMays and Blue, Larry McCray Trio and Out of Favor Boys Trio. Pay-what-you-can benefits the musicians plus local and national non-profit organizations.
(VIRTUAL) - BluesStream: A Chicago/Kalamazoo Blues Party, a new six-hour celebration of Blues music, culture, and history, will combine performances by top Midwest and Chicago Blues talent along with sharing great stories of Blues history, streaming live Sunday, August 30, from 2-8pm Chicago Blues Time (Central). Proudly presented by the new Chicago Blues Network in conjunction with the Kalamazoo Valley Blues Association, the BluesStream festival is pay-what-you-can, with a virtual tip jar inviting donations to benefit the musicians and related local and national non-profit organizations.
Tune in at any time throughout the BluesStream broadcast August 30 via the channel of your choice: Facebook Live; YouTube Live; or Facebook Fest page.
Representing Chicago in concert and conversation will be Blues Masters such as Billy Branch, Johnny Burgin, Joanna Connor, Katherine Davis, Billy Flynn, Fruteland Jackson, John Kattke, Dave Specter, and Harlan Terson, while Kalamazoo-based headliners include Larry McCray, AMays and Blue, and Out of Favor Boys Trio. Chicago Blues Network Music Director Dave Specter and Chicago Blues Network Senior Faculty member Billy Branch, along with singer/storyteller Fruteland Jackson, will take viewers through a history of American Blues, from cotton fields and work farms to Chicago and now the world. Pastor Phil Jackson, executive director and founder of the Firehouse Community Arts Center in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood, will focus attention on the entire Chicago Blues community, where so many musicians play and live. ...Read full story here
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10th Annual AimLoan.com San Diego Blues Festival Goes Virtual on Saturday, Sept. 12!
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(SAN DIEGO, CA) - The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank will host its tenth annual AimLoan.com San Diego Blues Festival on Saturday, September 12 virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The two-hour virtual benefit concert will be live-streamed online and broadcast on KUSI TV along with iHeartRadio’s 760AM and KGB HD from 4 pm to 6 pm.This year’s lineup includes the talents of Tommy Castro & the Painkillers, Mr. Sipp “The Mississippi Blues Child,” Southern Avenue, Watermelon Slim and Whitney Shay. This year’s virtual event is free to watch. The Food Bank will ask for donations during the benefit concert to support its COVID-19 hunger-relief programs. San Diego Blues Festival title sponsor, AimLoan.com, will match every $1 up to $100,000 made during the event. All proceeds will benefit the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank and its North County Food Bank chapter.
If you would like to receive updates and reminders about this year’s blues festival, visit the San Diego Blues Festival’s website to sign up for the email list at sdbluesfest.com!
 (LT) When the pandemic hit the San Diego community, Blues Fest beneficiary, San Diego Food Bank, quickly pivoted to help impacted families by supplying emergency food items like fresh produce to keep them fed.
...Click here or main image to enlarge article
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From the desk of Michael Freeman at The Blues Foundation
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Dear Blues Friends,
This past weekend, as I presided over the quarterly meeting of the Blues Foundation Board of Directors, one of our key agenda items was The International Blues Challenge. I am writing to share with our blues community that our Board voted unanimously to cancel this years' IBC and look ahead to the first quarter of 2022 when we can hopefully come together in person to celebrate the blues via this signature Blues Foundation event.
Leading up to this Board decision, we wrote expanded rules that would have allowed our affiliated blues societies to choose their challengers outside of a live judged event. In response, many have reported back to us that they and the musicians in their communities are not enthusiastic about proceeding. It has become clear to us that without full engagement of artists, industry, blues society leadership, and fans, we could not produce an event with the musical diversity and quality you have come to expect. After much discussion and careful consideration of all options, including a virtual IBC, we universally agreed that this special and unique Blues Foundation program is meant to be experienced live and that it would not be safe or feasible to attempt to produce it this winter in the midst of a pandemic. The Board concurrently voted to suspend nominations and selection of Keeping the Blues Alive Award recipients until the fall of 2021, with plans to honor those selected during the 2022 IBC Week, where they can be celebrated in person with their family and friends surrounding them.
...Find entire letter and links about postponed IBC
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CD, Single & DVD Releases
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Andrew Alli :: HARD WORKIN’ MAN
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 Andrew Alli’s Hard Workin’ Man on EllerSoul Records features nine original songs and three classic covers from Little Walter, Big Walter, and George Smith. Alli handles the vocals and harmonica, with musicians Jon Atkinson on guitar and bass, Carl Sonny Leyland on piano, Danny Michel on guitar, and Devin Neel and Buddy Honeycutt on drums. Hard Workin' Man was engineered, mixed and mastered by Atkinson and produced by Alli.
Alli has been nominated for the Blues Blast 2020 New Artist Debut Album and Rising Star Award, plus a Living Blues Most Outstanding Musician (Harmonica) nominee.
"A timeless piece of moving and kick ass traditional blues… When Alli sings in a deep, rich tenor and plays his fierce harp that cuts straight back to the golden era, everybody looks up at amazement. It is clear that great things are coming for this talented singer and harmonica player" - Living Blues Magazine
The Richmond, Virginia native took up music relatively later in life at the age of 20. After being inspired by a busker playing harmonica on the street one day, he hit the local music store and a harmonica of his own. From that point on, Andrew committed himself to learning the history of the instrument. He very soon fell in love with the blues and began studying all of the harmonica greats including Big Walter Horton, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Junior wells, and more. He has developed his own unique style of playing, while still paying his respects to his biggest influences from the past.
 "Hard Workin' Man"
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Which Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise Hits Your Groove?
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Our Artists & Headliners Stay & Play, They Don’t Hit & Run!!
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 LRBC#35 Southern Caribbean: Oct. 24~31, 2021 From Ft. Lauderdale, Fl To Willemstad, Curacao; Oranjestad, Aruba & Half Moon Cay (Bahamas Private Island) On Holland America’s Ms Eurodam. Cabins & Info HERE
 LRBC #36 Eastern Caribbean: Jan. 29~Feb. 5, 2022 From Ft. Lauderdale, Fl To Tortola, St. Thomas & Turks And Caicos On Holland America’s New Flagship Ms Rotterdam. Cabins & Info @ HERE
Visit Reservations Or Call (816) 753-7979 To Reserve Your Cabin!
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LEGENDARY RHYTHM & BLUES CRUISE
313 Lawrence St., Kansas City, MO
- More Than A Cruise… More Than A Festival…
More Than You Can Imagine! -
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Chasing The Blues Podcast
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Tom "The Suit" Forst Presents: Kirk Fletcher
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SEASON 2 / EPISODE 20: Cleopatra Records recording artist Kirk Fletcher joins Tom The Suit Forst on the 70th Episode to date of the Chasing the Blues Podcast. Fletcher discusses his new album Hold On, coming September 21, 2020, as well as his experiences performing on stage with Robben Ford, Joe Bonamassa, as well as his time playing with the Fabulous Thunderbirds.
The seasoned veteran of the blues talks about finding his own person "pathway to the blues," as well how he rediscovered his original joy of playing music during the Covid-19 pandemic, which he compares to earlier struggles in his life. The California musician, now living in Switzerland, offers  deep personal insights sure to be an inspiration to other musicians struggling to move ahead in their own lives.
LISTEN
DOWNLOAD
Chasing the Blues Podcast is sponsored by Blues Festival Guide Magazine, which Bobby Rush calls his "roadmap to the Blues," and Factory Underground Studio in Norwalk, CT
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Listen for Chasing the Blues Podcast on Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify and wherever podcasts are streamed around the world. Stay tuned for the new Chasing the Blues YouTube Television show starting in August.
Chasing the Blues Podcast is produced by Factory Underground Studio, and Marketed by Factory Underground Media (Norwalk, CT). The season sponsor of the podcast is Blues Festival Guide Magazine, which Bobby Rush calls the "Roadmap to the Blues."
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Fruteland Jackson is Sittin' On Top Of The World
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Print & Digital Versions Available
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18th Blues Festival Guide Magazine Print & Digital Editions
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 (ARCATA, CA) — RBA Publishing offers the 18th annual Blues Festival Guide magazine in both print and digital formats as well as our weekly Blues Festival e-Guide newsletter.
Blues legend Bobby Rush calls our magazine: The Roadmap to Everything Blues. Indeed, the articles offer something for everyone, all blues related, of course. This year’s engaging editorial is once again from aficionados in the blues community.
- Living Legend: Charlie Musselwhite By Eric Steiner
- Blues Movies Reel Away the Blues By Roger Stolle
- The Healing Blues By Anita Schlank, Ph.D.
- What’s Cookin’ with Victor Wainwright
- The Jus’ Blues Music Foundation
- Jammin’ On the High C’s On Board the LRBC By Mitch Woods
- A King and A Duke By Reverend Billy C. Wirtz
- Festivals Receive KBA
- Blues: An African Sonic Response By Pascal Bokar Thiam, Ed.D.
To order a hard copy mailed to your home, send $9 to RBA Publishing Inc. P.O. Box 920, Arcata, CA 95518. To read the 64-page magazine online for free, visit our website.
Blues Festival Guide is a division of RBA Publishing, Inc, which specializes in blues publishing, publicity and marketing.
...Click here to read cool mini descriptions of these fine articles
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 Birthdays upcoming of note:
Aug 29-Charlie Parker (1920-1955), Dinah Washington (1924-1963); Aug 30-Luther "Snake Boy" Johnson (1934-1976); Aug 31-Joanna Connor (1962), Van Morrison (1945); Sept 2-Billy Preston (1946-2006); Sept 3-Memphis Slim (1915-1988), Freddie King (1934-1976); Sept 4-Meade "Lux" Lewis (1905-1964); Sept 5-Sunnyland Slim (1907-1995); Sept 6-Jimmy Reed (1925-1976); Sept 7-Little Milton Campbell (1934-2005), Latimore (1939); Sept 8-Harmonica Fats (1927-2000), Guitar Shorty (1939)
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Missed your copy of the Weekly e-Guide?
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BFG Twitter-Instagram-Facebook
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Join Blues Freaks at our Tweeter feed & on Instagram
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Hey, come on over and Join over 13,000+ Blues Freaks at our TWITTER feed @BluesFestGuide
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  Also Follow us on INSTAGRAM See awesome, bluesy festival photos
from our team and fellow blues lovers!
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Get your Face in our Book
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Then please drop on by and"LIKE" us to get a daily dose of blues related stuff! ...
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Radio Submit Roots Blues Airplay Chart (click chart for more)
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Billboard Blues Album This week
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Billboard's Top 2 Blues Albums - Week of Aug 29, 2020
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  #1
HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND YET?
Fantastic Negrito
#2
BLUES WITH FRIENDS
Dion
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We've Got You Covered with Live Streams & Online Concerts
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Blues Festival Guide Magazine Media Platforms Feature Live Streams, Online Concerts & more
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The Blues Festival Guide platforms are fast becoming the main portal for blues live stream and blues online concert events.
As fast as an online event is announced, the Blues Festival Guide team makes the announcement and link go live in a special section on the top-ranking Blues Festival Guide Website, as well as on their social media platforms ( Facebook with 195,000 Followers, and Instagram @bluesfestguide with 6,000 Followers). This service is provided for free to the artist as well as the viewer.
Even though music festivals and clubs are on lockdown across the globe, there are loads of brand-new music and live concerts via live stream, both small and large, local and international, that can be watched from the safety of your couch on your own TV, computer or phone.
With almost 20 years of experience delivering blues music and blues music news around the world, Publisher Kaati Gaffney says, “We are experienced digital marketers specializing in live music events. During this time of pandemic, while festivals and events are virtual, it is our pleasure to provide this service.” ...Find more about BFG or to contact us to share your events
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To view entire calendar of festivals & Live Streams, click here!
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ATTENTION:
FESTIVAL PROMOTERS
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LIST YOUR FESTIVAL ON OUR
WEBSITE FOR FREE HERE
To ensure that your festival also appears here in the e-Guide Festival Calender EMAIL |
Not all upcoming blues festivals/events are listed here at certain times of the year due to space constraints. Unless highlighted, festivals are no longer inked due to increasing spam
For a complete list and links see our comprehensive website.
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NOTE: Highlighted/Linked events are paid "Featured" ads. For complete list & links go to our website Festival page!
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*CORONAVIRUS UPSETS:
Please click through the festival links on our site for most current updates
VIRTUAL
Rentiesville Dusk til Dawn Blues Festival In the House at Your House
Sep-04-2020 - Sep-06-2020
Rentiesville, Oklahoma, USA
VIRTUAL
Tim Horton's Southside Shuffle Blues and Jazz Festival
Sep-10-2020 - Sep-13-2020
Mississagua, Ontario, Canada
Mifflinburg Wine, Brews,
& Blues Festival
Sep-12-2020
Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania, USA
Laconia Blues Festival
Sep-19-2020
Laconia, New Hampshire, USA
Crosby Zydeco Festival
Sept-19-2020 - Sept-20-2020
Crosby, Texas, USA
VIRTUAL
Kimbrough Cotton Patch
Soul Blues Festival
Sep-26-2020 - Sep-27-2020
Holly Springs, New York, USA
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please go to our website
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CANCELLED - NOW OCT 2021
San Felipe Blues & Arts Fiesta
Oct-2-2020 - Oct-3-2020
San Felipe, Baja, Mexico
Jimiway Blues Festival
Oct-16-2020 - Oct-17-2020
Ostrów Wielkopolski, Poland
Chelsea Blues,
Rhythm & Rock Festival
Oct-31-2020
London, United Kingdom
Interstate Blues Fest
Nov-6-2020 - Nov-7-2020
Hagerstown, Maryland, USA
CT Rhythm & Blues Festival
Nov-13-2020 - Nov-14-2020
Farmington, Connecticut, USA
POSTPONED until Nov 2021
Forgotten Music Festival
Nov-14-2020 - Nov-15-2020
Port St. Joe, Florida
Great British Rock & Blues Festival
Jan-15-2021 - Jan-18-2021
Lincolnshire, Skegness, UK
Clarksdale Film & Music Festival
Jan-29-2021 - Jan-31-2021
Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA
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Please stay safe and optimistic!
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We are thinking of you and wishing you good health!
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RBA Publishing/Blues Festival Guide
P.O. Box 920, Arcata, CA 95518
Call 707-630-3304
RBA Publishing, Inc. in business since 1993, is a boutique blues-specific PR and marketing firm based on the West Coast. We help musicians, festivals, labels and music-related brands. Our digital campaigns target fans, industry and influencers. We are masterful at email marketing, social media, fan acquisition and long-term marketing plans. Our media services are supported by people who understand and love the blues genre. Publishers of annual the Blues Festival Guide magazine, our top-ranking website, and e-Guide newsletter with approx 30,000 weekly subscribers, we have been blues industry leaders for over 18 years. Please contact us at 707-630 3304 or EMAIL to findout how we can help you!
Information both editorial and advertising in the Blues Festival E-Guide is believed to be correct but not guaranteed. Double check info carefully before you attend any event or send money for anything. We do not do CD/DVD reviews nor write the news... we just share and report it.
We also welcome your e-Guide suggestions, critiques and questions. You can reach our E-Guide editor, Michele Lundeen via EMAIL.
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Hey blues lovers! Got 
