2018 Colorado Blues Challenge

The Colorado Blues Society is proud to announce the dates for the 2018 Colorado Blues Challenge with the winners of the band, solo/duo and youth showcases being selected to represent the society at the 35th International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN early in 2019. 

Get all of the details HERE!

Colorado Blues Challenge
Preliminary Rounds Results

Blueswoman Erica Brown co-stars in Emancipation Theatre Company's "Honorable Disorder"

 

Set in the dynamic landscape of present-day Denver, Honorable Disorder is a story of reconciliation, growth, and recognition for a young black veteran.

 

DeShawn Foster (Theo Wilson) is a native of Denver's Five Points neighborhood and a veteran from Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has had a difficult time readjusting to civilian life due, in part, to the loss of his commanding officer and father figure, Sergeant Gerald Sheffield (Chet Sisk). DeShawn holds on to the life lessons the sergeant taught him, a set of mantras and affirmations known to their platoon as the "Soldier’s Creed." Justin MacDonald (Corey Rhoads), the only other surviving platoon member, lives in a tent in Curtis Park and has given up on society, the government and their creed. His only comfort in the midst of the despair of drug addiction and homelessness is his friendship with DeShawn.

DeShawn lives with his mother, Nancy Foster (Erica Brown), an active church and community member who only wants the best for her son. Her brother, Bernard (Jeff Campbell), is her complete opposite. A former featherweight boxer, he imposes his womanizing and entitled ways into their lives. Nancy finds hope when Samantha Stewart (Devon James) moves into the neighborhood. Samantha is a social worker who supports veterans in her start-up nonprofit. Upon meeting DeShawn, she becomes convinced that he will be the success story she needs to transform her career and fulfill her life’s purpose.

Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm through the month of April. Tickets are available at emancipationtheater.com or the box office.

Want Your Music Featured On This Site?

CBS is updating the music that is streamed from coblues.org . We will remove songs older songs and add new ones. If you are a member of CBS and you want your blues song featured on the site, please send a 320kbps MP3 file to webmaster@coblues.org . Please include your permission for CBS to stream the song from coblues.org. If you are covering another artist please include the mechanical copyright details that shows you are licensed to publish and stream the music.

John Catt - Never To Be Forgotten

Colorado lost its great friend May 15, 2017. John Catt finally lost his year-long battle and will now find his peace. John's impact went far beyond his contributions to the blues scene as a promoter. Families and kids will remember him even more for creating Blue Star Connection and helping countless kids with the gift of music. We can't do justice to John for all of his great work, his time with kids and families was special to him, and he was at his best dealing with the Blue Stars who needed him the most. Blue Star Connection and Blues from the Top will be his lasting legacies. To honor John, make a contribution to Blue Star Connection and help keep this wonderful organization alive.

 

CBS Needs Vital Volunteers

Your Blues society has an urgent need for some very special volunteers. Here is a great chance to meet a bunch of fellow Blues fans and make new friends!!! You can become part of a great community 501c3 non-profit, an award winning Blues Organization- the 2013 recipient of the Keeping the Blues Alive Award from the Blues Foundation!

The Colorado Blues Society is looking for some special blues lovers- a Volunteer Coordinator, Merchandise Coordinator/Chair, and a Web Admin. These positions work close with our members and blues fans. The Merchandise Chair helps with managing our merchandise that we sell at the CBS Booth at Festivals and CBS events. This person doesn’t have to actually attend the events or physically manage the booth but will make sure we keep a good stock or merch, look for new items we might want to sell, figure how many volunteers will be needed at the booth, as well as look for opportunities/events to have the CBS merchandise tent at.

The Volunteer Coordinator will put out calls for the volunteers we need at events and work with the Merchandise chair and other CBS Directors to make sure we have adequate volunteers at events we are at. It is a great position for meeting other members and making new friends.

The Web Admin is responsible for maintaining this web site and the Office 365 mail platform used by the CBS Board.

If you think any of these sound like something you might enjoy, send an email to info@coblues.org and let’s get together and talk! See you soon!

Get Your Ad In The Weekly Update and On This Website

CBS Business members (that includes bands and CBS acts) keep in mind as a member, for $25/month you can run an ad in the Weekly Update AND on this website. Send send us a .pdf or .jpg of your ad or poster (min size 293 width x 432 height) and we will link it to your website or event link. Not a CBS member? We'll give your ad the same two spots for $50 a month. That's a pretty cheap way to promote your act and something to keep in mind if you have a special show coming up down the road.

For more info send an email to info@coblues.org.

CBS Membership Referral Program

When you refer another person who becomes a new member of the Colorado Blues Society, you will receive a credit worth $5.00 toward any CBS merchandise or your next membership renewal.  You will also receive one entry for each referral into a drawing for gifts at the Annual Membership Party. Simply add “referred by Your Name” to an application you provide to your friend or make sure they include your name as the referrer to their application on the Membership page on the web-site.  We will log your referral into our database and send you a credit voucher which you and use at CBS’s merchandize booth at events.
A drawing will be held at the Annual Membership meeting, selecting three winners.  The winners will receive a gift, which may include tickets to events, merchandize, or a free membership. The member referring the most new members will receive the following year’s membership for free.

Disclaimers: The credit voucher has no cash value other than credit toward CBS merchandize or the membership fee.  All membership categories are eligible and are treated equally.

Do you receive the weekly Blues Update from the Colorado Blues Society?

Every week the Colorado Blues Society sends out a Blues Update that includes timely blues related news, band introductions, jam and performance schedules and more. There is no cost or membership required to receive the Blues Update. If you would like to receive this excellent Colorado blues resource please sign up here.

John-Alex Mason Scholarship Fund

The Colorado Blues Society is creating an annual John-Alex Mason Scholarship to honor his memory and help continue the educational work he felt was so important. John-Alex took high school students from Colorado Springs to Mississippi on more than one occasion for an extended field trip that sometimes included visiting Memphis and New Orleans. This scholarship will help send student-aged musicians from Colorado to workshops and seminars that will further their blues music (and cultural) education. Your donations will help keep the dreams and memory of John-Alex alive.

Colorado Blues Society Mission Statement

The Colorado Blues Society is dedicated to increasing awareness of and appreciation for the Blues as an indigenous American Art form (and the wellspring from which all contemporary popular American music originated).

Programs and Services Offered

To further our mission, we sponsor Blues in the Schools programs, in which musicians present music and information to students at all levels (kindergarten through college). We offer programs in American social history, women in blues, language arts, conflict avoidance, storytelling and even math.

We also donate Blues-related materials (books, videos and CDs) to public libraries and offer educational programs in conjunction with those donations. Because many musicians learn to perform during jam sessions, we sponsor blues jams in several Colorado locations. We also work with other nonprofits, such as The Blues Foundation, Volunteers of America, Hudson Gardens, Swallow Hill Music Association, the Business of Art Center in Manitou Springs, and Performance International. Our members number approximately 583 and range in age from 17 to 75. Some are professional musicians; most are fans of the music and culture of the blues.

We also publish an eZine/newsletter, The Holler, and maintain a web presence at http://www.coblues.org The purpose of the eZine/newsletter and web site is to provide information to our members and the public about blues-related events in Colorado.

We work with local nonprofits, civic organizations and businesses to strengthen the awareness and appreciation of the blues as an art form.

The Colorado Blues Society is a ;501(c)(3) organization.