Colorado Blues Society Mission Statement

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

 

                                 Colorado Blues Society Statement on Racism

The Colorado Blues Society acknowledges that the art form we love and know as The Blues was originally created by and remains an artistic expression of Black artists and musicians as their artistic response to slavery, oppression and injustice.  The Colorado Blues Society will not remain silent in the face of the recent and past senseless murders of black Americans in our communities, whether the cause be overt racism, implicit bias, or systemic racism.  We stand with the musicians and members of our communities in expressing our sadness and outrage at prejudice and injustice towards the black community and the lives that were taken so unjustly.  The Colorado Blues Society grieves with their families for their losses.
                                                              The Board of Directors of the Colorado Blues Society

 

Colorado Blues Society is Announcing Their IBC Competition- The Colorado Blues Challenge

Yes, CBS is going to have an IBC this year! There is no entry fee this year. The competition will be a Virtual one using videos submitted to the judges instead of performing at a venue with a live crowd. With Covid 19 restrictions this year's competition will by judged in accordance with IBC rules and the set length will be 20 minutes, filmed using either an Apple or Android cell phone. No editing is allowed per IBC regulations governing Virtual competitions. The deadline for application and video recording is September 20.

Here are the Blues Foundations Expanded Rules for the 2021 Competition

The rules as they are currently written remain in effect for this coming year with an expanded opportunity to hold a virtual event should a live event be impossible due to the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Any Blues Foundation affiliated blues society may still hold a live judged event in its community if it is allowed to do so under its local COVID-19 gathering rules and if it so chooses, in accordance with the current IBC rules applicable to live challenges. Individual blues societies may determine social distancing rules, requirements for masks, and other protections as needed and as required by its local COVID-19 gathering rules. Live challenges may also be held without audiences present or streamed to audiences by the affiliate. In this scenario, judging must happen live and in-person in the venue, and not over streamed content.

 

Should an affiliated blues society be unable to hold a live judged event it may choose challengers via video submissions by the challengers, with the following protocols required:

 

1. All performances must be pre-recorded and distributed to judges for review and scoring. Streaming is not allowed to ensure consistency for judging purposes.
2. Performances must be filmed single view with one camera, landscape/horizontal capture, on a cell phone. No professional video equipment may be used. Tripods may be used and are encouraged to ensure a stable picture.
3. Performance must be continuous. Musicians may not capture and edit multiple takes.
4. There may be no post-production edits or post-production elements added to the video.
5. There may be no captions and no lower thirds added to video content. Content must be taped raw with no editing of originally captured content.
6. The same judges must be used to score all submitted performances.

 

The manner in which the local blues community is engaged in viewing and supporting each local challenge will be left to the leadership of each affiliated blues society. The Blues Foundation encourages continued use of this event to support fundraising, bring in sponsors, build membership, and expand awareness of the blues within each community.

CLICK THE IBC Logo below to download an application for this years CBS Solo/Duo or Band IBC competition:

*Should you have any questions regarding the application or the Colorado Blues Challenge in general, please feel free to contact our IBC chair, Kyle Deibler, at kdeiblerbiz@cox.net

 

 

***   BOHEMIAN FOUNDATION NOCO-MUSIC RELIEF FUND  To the Northern Colorado music community: if you or someone you know works in music and has been severely financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, check out the NoCo Music Relief Fund. This Bohemian Foundation fund provides assistance that may help. 

The NoCo Music Relief Fund is meant to provide immediate relief for severe financial distress caused by lost income due to Coronavirus/COVID-19 precautionary measures. Severe financial distress might include low or no savings, an inability to cover basic needs such as food and rent or inability to meet financial responsibilities for family members in critical need. 

Click the link to learn more:
bohemianfoundation.org/noco-music-relief-fund   ****

 

Joe Bonamassa's KTBA LAUNCHES FUELING MUSICIANS PROGRAM    Joe Bonamassa’s Fueling Musicians Program  is an emergency relief plan for touring musicians affected by the COVID-19 crisis. This initiative is designed to support musicians by providing financial assistance for essential living expenses such as food, shelter, and more. Fueling Musicians provides immediate cash payments of $1,000, as well as pre-paid gas cards of $500 to help struggling musicians get back on the road again when it is safe. Your gift today will have an impact on the livelihood of struggling musicians. Please help with what you can - your donations go directly to musicians in need. DONATE NOW!  If you are a musician that has been dramatically affected by the cancellation of shows due to COVID-19, click here to apply.

 

Hey Musicians - Bands & Solo Performers!!!

Covid-19 is cutting into your gigs. Many of you have started streaming shows, music, concerts, lessons, etc.... online. If you do, let CBS help. Send your online performances to calendar@coblues.org just like you did your live gigs. Let CBS help spread the word on our website and the Weekly Update.  To get it in the Upcoming Update please get the information to calendar@coblue.org as soon as possible! The service is FREE!

 

 

Emergency Grants and Resources for Artists 

Alex Teitz, President and Founder of Teitz Media and FEMMUSIC.com has put together a resource for grants and aid for artists that have had their incomes impacted by the corona virus. If you are in the music business and have been a victim of Covid-19 and its fallout check this out. Click the image below to go to the webpage of grants and resources.

Or use this link: https://femmusic.com/wp/index.php/2020/03/17/emergency-grants-resources-for-artists/

 

_______________________________________________________________________

                                                                                             

 

 

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.

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 chick1951@hotmail.com.

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 has created 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.

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. We similarly work with other nonprofits, such as The Blues Foundation, Swallow Hill Music Association, The Colorado Music Hall of Fame, Blue Star Connection and The Colorado Music Business Organization.

Our members number approximately 600. Some are professional musicians; most are fans of the music and embrace the art and literature of the Blues culture. We publish a bi-monthly newsletter, The Holler, and a weekly email blast, The Blues Update.  The purpose of the newsletters, web site and social media platforms is to provide our members and the public information about Blues-related news and events in Colorado.

CBS created the John Alex-Mason Scholarship Fund to help send student-age musicians to workshops and seminars to further their Blues music education.   We sponsor youth performances where young blues performers can be seen making music on the “Blues 101 Stage”. Here kids of all ages have the opportunity to learn about the music which is part of their national heritage and the basis for present-day popular music.

We honor those individuals who have made extraordinary contributions.  Over time, CBS has honored Blues musicians and outstanding contributors with Lifetime Achievement Awards, Heritage Awards, In Memoriam or other special recognitions.

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

Date of most recent review by the Board of Directors:  June 12, 2018

The Colorado Blues Society Anti-Discrimination Policy

The Colorado Blues Society believes that equal opportunity is important for the continuing success of our organization. In accordance with state, federal, and municipal laws, this organization intends to comply with these laws which preclude negative discrimination against any person or organization because of race, disability, color, creed, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, military status, sex, transgender status, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, veteran status, political service, affiliation or any other protected classification. This policy applies to all activities of The Colorado Blues Society, including but not limited to employment, selection of volunteers, selection of recipients of its programs, grant- making, purchasing, and selecting vendors or consultants. The Colorado Blues Society defines "negative discrimination" to include (but not necessarily be limited to) denial of services, employment, or volunteer opportunities to any class of individuals in a manner that negatively restricts opportunities to that class of individuals.