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BLUES FESTIVAL E-GUIDE SEPT 24, 2020 VOL 15 / ISSUE 39
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 | “Can’t Stop the Blues-Athon” series Fundraiser to air Sun Sept 27 & Sun Oct 4
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The blues world has come together to support Can’t Stop The Blues (CSTB), a not-for-profit virtual blues venue that began in the first days of the Covid crisis and has evolved to become the largest ongoing virtual venue for blues performances in the world. “We are hoping to become self-sustaining in the next 6 months”, Gottheimer explains. “We are working with Penn State Erie and their affiliated colleges, as well as University of Nevada, Las Vegas, on multiple projects, including becoming a 501(c)(3) and obtaining grants and sponsorships. We are still in the process of prioritizing all of the things we’d like to do, but our main goal is supporting professional blues artists however we can, while growing our community of blues lovers.”
In a 2-part series on Sept 27 and Oct 4 at 9pm EST, over 50 artists will be participating in a fundraiser to keep CSTB operational, as a one-of-a-kind platform that brings exclusive blues performances to the world. (During regular broadcasting, 100% of all proceeds go directly to the musicians). Participating artists to date include: AG Weinburger, Aki Kumar, Alabama Mike, Alexis P Suter, Alex Lopez, Ally Venable, Ben Rice, Billy Price, Bobby Blackmon, Bob Margolin, Chris Cain, Diana Rein, Doug Macleod, Dudley Taft, Eliza Neals, Eric Johanson, Erin Coburn, Fred Hostetler, Grace Kuch, Greg Rhan, The High Note Group, Jake Thistle, Janiva Magness, John Blues Boyd, Johnny Burgin, Johnny Sansone, Jon Shain, Katie Knipp, Kelly’s Lot, Lakota John, Larry Mitchell, Lisa Leuschner Anderson, Lisa Mann, Lucky Losers, Meg Williams, Mighty Mike Schermer, Mike Dangeroux, Mitch Woods, Nancy Wright, Nick Moss, Odds Lane, Professor Louie & the Crowmatix, Red’s Blues, Six String Andrew, Sonny Green, Terrie Odabi, Texas Slim, Tommy Castro & The Painkillers, Val Starr, and Veronica Lewis.
You can contribute to Can’t Stop the Blues via GoFundMe, PayPal and via the Bravo app.
In addition to musicians, the fans will be cameo’ed in the broadcast as well. “We’ve asked viewers to send in pictures of themselves enjoying the blues,” Gotthiemer says. “They are as big a part of CSTB as the artists are, and we want to feature them too!”
Can’t Stop the Blues currently features 2 blues artists per night, 4 nights per week: Thurs-Sun at 9:00 pm eastern on their Facebook page and Facebook group.
While free to watch, fans are encouraged to tip the artists directly. “For many artists, this is the only gig they are able to do right now. Every dollar contributed is vital to them,” states Gottheimer. Even as venues begin to re-open, with capacity restrictions and health fears, it’s going to be a long time before life gets back to normal for musicians. “We want to be here for them, and we want to be here to bring blues music to the world as well.”
During shows, which are pre-recorded and broadcast in a live format, artists are participating in the real-time comment stream, interacting with the fans during the shows. “We’ve developed quite the social community. We typically have hundreds to thousands of comments during each broadcast. Viewers greet each other, comment on the music, talk to the performers, laugh, joke and dance. It’s about as close as we can come to all reaching out and holding hands right now, and many of our fans tell us they don’t know how they would have gotten through all of these months without the CSTB family.” “We see plenty of artists coming in as well, to greet each other and watch each other perform.”
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