TEEN VOCALISTS SOUGHT ALABAMA BLUES PROJECT

TEEN VOCALISTS SOUGHT ALABAMA BLUES PROJECT

Staff Report

The Alabama Blues Project is searching for teen vocalists to join its award-winning Advanced Band. The

opportunity is open to middle and highschool students. Members of the Advanced Band receive intensive

professional instruction and routinely perform at community events. The band practices together weekly during

afterschool camps. Interested candidates should contact the Alabama Blues Project by calling Executive Director

Paula Demonbreun at 205.752.6263 or emailing paula@alabamablues.org. For more information about the

Alabama Blues Project Advanced Band, please visit alabamablues.org.

Music students who display a high level of dedication and improvement may be asked to participate in the

Alabama Blues Project’s Advanced Band. These young musicians will receive a more intensive learning

experience, having the opportunity to rehearse each week as a structured band. While honing their music skills

and working together, they also learn to recognize and play a variety of Blues styles and sometimes write original

songs. The first Advanced Band was formed in 2005 and as members graduate from highschool and leave the

band, the legacy continues with new young musicians each year. The band has performed at Cityfest, Kentuck Art

Festival, Magic City Blues Festival and Market Street Festival and the Bama Theatre. The band has put on a live

show for Alabama Public Television, and met with Bonnie Raitt when she played Tuscaloosa. In 2006, The

Advanced Band performed in Memphis as the Blues Foundation’s “Keeping the Blues Alive” award ceremony and

the group recorded a CD before many of the original Advanced Band members graduated from high school in

2007. The Alabama Blues Project’s Advanced Bands have had the opportunity to share the stage with many Blues

greats, including Tinsley Ellis, Willie King, Sam Lay, Dr. G.B. Burt, Eddie Kirkland, Bobby Rush, Bettie Mae Fikes

and Carroline Shines. The Alabama Blues Project’s Advanced Band is a wonderful opportunity for up-and-coming

musicians.

The Alabama Blues Project is a nonprofit organization in Northport, Ala., committed to preserving and raising

awareness about blues music in Alabama. The ABP offers blues education through in-school, summer and

afterschool programs.

Alabama Blues Project will host its 2014 Spring After-School Blues Camp At Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School

in Tuscaloosa. The 10-week camp will begin the first week of February, skipping the week of Spring Break. For more

information please contact Paula Demonbreun at 752.6263 or paula@alabamablues.org.

Blues Camp Schedule

Mondays, 3-5:15 p.m.: Blues camp sessions open to MLK fourth- and fifth-graders only.

Tuesdays, 3-5:15 p.m.: Blues camp open to all students.

Our students are taught by some of the best professional blues musicians of our state, and they also learn blues

history along with a life skills curriculum. At the end of the program, our budding superstars will treat their family

and friends to a performance on November 7th.

There are many educational benefits of attending blues camp. Musical skills and group performance improves

students’ self esteem and teamwork and can further their goals in becoming more involved at school and in

their community. The performance at the end of Blues Camp helps introduce a wider audience to Alabama’s