The Colorado Blues Society will present BLUESMAN WILLIE HOUSTON
with a LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN THE BLUES award on .....(date to be announced later.

Born in Grand Cane, Louisiana, in 1927, Willie Houston is Colorado's elder statesman of the blues. He has written, performed and taught the blues for over 60 years, and he is still going strong today. We are pleased and proud to honor this wonderful gentleman for a life in the blues. Please join us in honoring our great Blues Man, Willie Houston!

All three of these fine Colorado blues artists have been nominated for Blues Music Awards this year. Lionel Young and Otis Taylor for the same category, "Instrumentalist-Other"...

...and, Colorado Blues Society submitted John Alex-Mason's JOOK JOINT THUNDERCLAP for Best Self-produced CD has made the cut for the final 30 entries!

Here is the entire list... Blues Music Award Nominees

Please give generously to John-Alex Mason's

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.

Congratulations to Dan Treanor who has received the 2012 Blues Foundation Keeping the Blues Alive (KBA) in Education Award. Dan was nominated by CBS Education Chair Jeff Koepke. Dan started the Colorado Blues Society Blues in the Schools program back in 1994 and since then, Dan estimates he has touched the lives of more than 100,000! With a master's degree in American History, Dan's unique presentation combining history with music has finally been recognized by the Blues Foundation and the rest of the Blues world.

Way to go Dan, you make all of us in Colorado proud! Thanks for ALL that YOU do! You can read more on the Blues Foundation website.

Thanks to everyone who voted (and especially those who voted often!).
Stay tuned for further details on the show that will be happening in 2012.

"Wichita-based roots rockers Aaron Moreland and Dustin Arbuckle are no strangers to hard work. Having released a steady stream of records beginning with 2005's Floyd's Market, the duo also spent some time in Iraq supporting the troops with their music in 2008. Citing Little Walter and Son House as influences, the two are committed to bringing a strong brand of country blues to the music world, and it doesn't seem like they are planning on slowing down anytime soon."

Congratulations to the Delta Sonic, Johnny O and Bad Brad & the Fat Cats, who are all going to Memphis representing the Colorado Blues Society!

The Delta Sonics won out over an incredible field of talent to take the CBS 2012 IBC Band Competition at the Buffalo Rose in Golden Sept. 25th.

Johnny O. won out in similar style at the Solo/Duo competition one week earlier at the Boulder Outlook.

Bad Brad & the Fat Cats won the Youth Showcase on October 23rd.

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 a newsletter, The Holler, and maintain a web presence at http://www.coblues.com.  The purpose of the 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.