Crossroads Blues Society News: January 2013

Crossroads Blues Society has given the green light to begin planning their Inaugural Field of Blues Festival in earnest. The group was seeking funding for seed money for the festival and has obtained enough to get the ball rolling. Additional sponsorship for the festival is still desired and needed, but the festival has been approved by the Crossroads officers and board and it will happen on Saturday, June 22, 2013 at the soon-to-be renamed Rockford Riverhawks Baseball Stadium!

This is an exciting event and the first of its' kind in 20 years. Yes, Rockford has had other outdoor musical events, but the last pure blues festival has not been held for 20 years. With the demise of On The Waterfront, the Rock and Rib Fest and other outdoor summer events that featured a lot of blues music, there is a void that needed to be filled. This has been in planning for a few months and Crossroads is now ready to make it a reality.

The Society is in serious discussion with a half dozen or more bands to be featured at the festival. Some bands have already been arranged and Crossroads expects to have the lineup completed and announced within the next two weeks. They will feature 6 or 7 blues bands, plus solo acoustic blues between the sets. A good mix of local and international acts is planned for the event.

Tickets will go on sale soon. Advanced seating will be only $10. Seating in the ball park stands is available, first come, first served, and if you bring your own lawn chair or a blanket you can sit on the infield! The ballpark will provide concessions for the festival.

Crossroads Blues Society is a 501c3 non-profit organization. Their main emphasis is to raise money for Blues in the Schools (BITS) programs. They have done 108 of these programs to date for over 32,000 area students since May of 2002. All profits from this new festival will go towards their BITS efforts and will allow them to expand the number of programs done each year.

For information on the Inaugural Field of Blues Festival, please contact Crossroads President Steve Jones at sub_insignia@yahoo.com or at (779) 537-4006.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

2012 Review for CBS

‎2012 was another great year for us at Crossroads. We did some fun events:

January 2012: 99th and 100th Blues in the Schools (BITS) programs.Fruteland Jackson presented both.

February 2012: BITS with Gerry Hundt, 2 great programs! Benefit at Byron American Legion with Reverend Raven and the Chain SMoking Altar Boys and the Barstool Bob Band. Raised over $2,000 to help Bryan Lee with medical expenses.

March 2012: Mark Thompson honored as he stepped down as President and moved to Florida. Party at Adriatic to send him off with gifts and as an Honorary Lifetime Member.

April 2012: A quiet month. Kicked off ticket sales for BCBF and finalized most arrangements for the event.

May 2012: Billy Flynn conducts 2 more BITS programs and a solo evening show in Byron.

June 2012: Hosted Walter Trout at the Adriatic with a huge crowd in attendance. Bryan Lee came to town with the Blues Power Band for a CBS show at Mary's Place. Lots of CBS members at the Chicago Blues Fest, Blues on the Fox and Mississippi Valley Blues Fest.

July 2012: MVBF finished up. CBS presence at Blues Central and as volunteers to assist at the fest was pretty big!

August 2012: CBS sponsored Janiva Magness at the Adriatic for a super show! We also kicked off the week leading into our festival with The Nighthawks at the Adriatic for a Sunday night show. The Third Annual Byron Crossroads Blues Festival also drew another huge crowd. Aaron Williams, The Jimmys, The Cash Box Kings, Nick Moss, and Candye Kane put on 5 fantastic sets of music and Joe Filisko once again did his outstanding harp workshop.

September 2012: Doug Deming, Dennis Gruenling and the JewelTones performed at Tailgaters for our sponsor and volunteer recognition party after BCBF. Bryan Lee and the Blues Power Band did 2 more BITS programs as did Spencer Bohren. 108 programs for over 32,000 students and 2,200 teachers and school administrators have been held.

October 2012: 2013 BCBF Lineup is official! We will have Tweed Funk, Bobby Messano, Dave Specter and Sharon Lewis, Doug Deming and Dennis Gruenling and the Jewel Tones, and the Nighthawks!

November 2012: Another quiet month, but we began planning the 2013 Inaugural Field of Blues Festival for 6/22/13 at Riverhawks Stadium.

December 2012: Held our 8th annual CBS Christmas Party. Many members were in attendance. Annual election of officers held (no changes). Lots of food and fun! Held a gag gift record album exchange that was also a lot of fun, then listened to Studebaker John.