Give a gift from Music Maker to someone you care about today.
The 2009 holiday gift giving program is back and better than ever.  Enjoy gifts ranging from the Music Maker 2010 calendar to a new Guitar Gabriel release.  Each gift arrives festively packaged with your personal note, and includes a tax-deductible donation and a subscription to the Music Maker Rag.  For more information visit gift.musicmaker.org.

Don't miss out on our FREE summer concerts.  The Warehouse Blues Series runs every Friday from 6-8 pm; however, the last concert will be Sept. 4.  This summer we also started the Music Makers at Weaver Street Market Series.  Join us every Thursday from 6-8 pm for free concerts.  There are still plenty of chances to catch the MM gang at these concerts but hurry because the summer is rapidly drawing to a close.

Warehouse Blues:
8/28- Boo Hanks & George Higgs
9/4- Mudcat

MM at Weaver St. Market:
8/27- Lightnin' Wells
9/3- Justin Robinson of the Carolina Chocolate Drops
9/10- John Dee Holeman & Red Rover

Thanks for your continuous support.

The Warehouse Blues series has been off to a great start.  This year we've had the largest turnout ever!

Please come out and support us every Friday night through September 4th.  These concerts are FREE and open to the public. 

Tonight One Man Band-Adolphus Bell and Dr. G.B. Burt will perform.  Check out http://musicmaker.org for the full calendar. 

Bring food, drinks and friends.

Hope to see you all tonight!

The Music Maker Revue will be at this year's Celebrate Maine Festival.  Check out the press release below for more details. 

The 2009 Celebrate MAINE Festival (www.celebrateMAINEfestival.com) is pleased to announce that we are supporting Music Maker Relief Foundation (www.musicmaker.org), based in Hillsborough, North Carolina.  The organization is dedicated to helping the true pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern music gain recognition and meet their day-to-day needs. They present these musical traditions to the world so American culture will flourish and be preserved for future generations.

J.P.’s Shellfish (www.jpshellfish.com) and Piscataqua Landscaping (www.picataqualandscaping.com), both based in Eliot, are the Entertainment Sponsors for 2009 CMF.  “We absolutely could not have managed such a huge endeavor without their generous support,” said Lisa Raitt, Trustee of the Raitt Homestead Farm Museum.

Music Maker Review will kick off CMF Festivities on Friday, August 7th with “Beer Blues and BBQ - a ‘Toot Blues’ Viewing and Celebration.”  It will be held at the Regatta Banquet and Conference Center (www.regattaroom.com), 28 Levesque Drive (Rte. 236), Eliot Commons, Eliot, Maine.  Guest will enjoy the Cabot Reception, DennyMike’s barbecue dinner including the “Toot Blues” viewing followed by a Q & A session with Tim Duffy, President of Music Maker Relief Foundation.  The evening will culminate with dancing lead by the Music Maker Review.

A prestigious lineup of special guests has joined the “Toot Blues” event to help raise funds to benefit the Raitt Homestead Farm Museum.  Fred Forsley, Partner, Shipyard Brewing Company  (www.shipyard.com); Paul Kirk, Baron of BBQ (www.baron-of-bbq.com) and Tim Duffy will be welcoming Raitt Homestead Farm Museum supporters at the Private Reception scheduled for 6:00 p.m.  The General Reception begins at 6:30 p.m.  Tickets and information are available online at www.celebrateMAINEfestival.com.

John Price, owner of J.P.’s Shellfish (www.jpshellfish.com), is on Music Maker Relief Foundation’s Advisory Board.  “This is a truly premier event at a fabulous venue in a terrific location,” he said.    “The Seacoast Region hasn’t seen anything like this before.  This is going to be a sold-out event.”

Artists featured in the “Toot Blues” documentary will headline Sunday’s live entertainment on August 9th at the Celebrate MAINE Festival.  Dr. Burt, Adolphus Bell, Albert White, Beverly “Guitar” Watkins, Eddie Tigner, Big Ron Hunter and Capt’n Luke will be sharing their life-long experiences through their Southern Country Blues performances.

“I’m so excited about being part of putting this phenomenal group of musicians together,” said Tim Duffy, President of Music Maker Relief Foundation.  “Getting the (Music Maker) gang from Atlanta, Birmingham and North Carolina to perform together at the Celebrate MAINE Festival has been a rewarding feat!”

Sunday’s performance by the Music Maker Live Review will be professionally recorded for CD release.  Sales of the CD, which will be available through Music Maker Relief Foundation, go to support Music Maker Relief Foundation recipients.  The criterion for receiving MMRF support is that they be rooted in a Southern musical tradition, be 55 years or older and have an annual income less than $18,000.

This event is championed by the membership of the Maine Blues Society, with Maine’s own Myron "Bawlmer Slim" Samuels and Kevin Midgley Duo as Sunday’s opening act.  They project down home country blues featuring guitar, tambourine, harmonica & vocals.

“We truly appreciative organizations that highlight live music of any genre in Maine,” said Duane Little, President of the Maine Blues Society (www.mainebluessociety.com) but Blues in conjunction with Celebrate MAINE Festival’s “Mainely Grillin’ and Chillin’ County BBQ State Competition” is an event we’re ALL looking forward to!”

Celebrate MAINE Festival (www.celebrateMAINEfestival.com) is an authentic family event that honors the people, places and products that make Maine so attractive to visitors from around the world.  It is held August 8-9 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the Raitt Homestead Farm Museum, 2077 State Road, Eliot, Maine.  Admission is $5.00 per person, children 12 and under are free.  Plenty of free on-site parking.  FMI: (207) 748-3303.

Hey folks!
We hope you're doing as well as music maker. Over here, things are moving along as always. Most notably, we've sent a slew of artists down to the Spoleto festival in Charleston: Beverly "Guitar" Watkins, Albert White, Eddie Tigner, Ardie Dean, Sol Creech, and Joe Burton. Of course, Tim is tagging along to make sure things go smoothly (and to enjoy some of the fun, no doubt!). In case you haven't heard, Spoleto is a massive and fantastic festival that you can check out at http://www.spoletousa.org/2009.php
In other news, we are the news! More precisely, Beverly "guitar" Watkins is the news. She's made the local paper down in Charleston. In the article, our favorite septegenarian tells of her musical history--from its beginnings to how she's kept it going.
Until next time, thank you for all you do and best wishes for a wonderful day!

Article on Tim Duffy and Music Maker

Hey folks!

First of all, check out this great article on Tim Duffy and Music Maker at http://fountain.unc.edu/spr_09/blues.html

Here at Music Maker, things are movin' and shakin'--we've got a busy week ahead of us.

Right now, our artists are on the move! Beverly "Guitar" Watkins and John Dee Holeman are heading up to New York City for "A Great Night in Harlem" at the Apollo. Meanwhile, Dr. Burt, Ron Hunter, Ardie Dean, and Boo Hanks have safely made it through the travails of the airport on their way to Belgium. They'll be playing on the 16th and 17th, and we wish them the best of luck!

On a more local note, Adolphus Bell will be bringing his tunes to Wake Forest on Sunday the 17th. He'll be playing at Holding Park from 5 to 7, and we're looking forward to it!

Thanks for reading! Until next time, keep on keeping the bluest of the blues alive.

After a lifetime of toil, the working poor often find themselves in their
"Golden Years" with inadequate resources to maintain even the humblest
of lifestyles. The Musician Sustenance program steps in so our
recipients do not need to choose food over medication or housing over
heat.

To be eligible for Music Maker Relief Foundation programs,
artists must have an income of $18,000 or less.  Unfortunately, the sad
truth is that nearly all of our recipient artists rely on incomes of
less than $10,000 per year, some subsisting on less than $6,000. The
Musician Sustenance program allows us to provide monthly stipends to
many of our artists.  These are granted to artists living on extremely
small incomes who cannot meet their needs on a continual basis.

However, sometimes the monthly stipends are not enough.Musician incomes
are often subject to seasonal fluctuations. The winter months are
particularly difficult on our artists as work opportunities drop
significantly and expenses for health care and utilities tend to
escalate.  Because of our

generous
supporters, Music Maker Relief Foundation is able to offer our artists
Seasonal and Periodic Expense Grants.  This month we were able to
extend these types of grants to two of our Music Maker artists, Captain
Luke and George Higgs.


Captain Luke is the man everyone in Winston-Salem, NC depends on to get around. He takes Whistlin' Britches to the doctor and picked up Macavine Hayes for gigs. On his income, there is no way he could keep his car running and "street legal". MMRF pays his insurance
and auto repair bills to keep the guys moving.  This month Music Maker
was able to provide Captain Luke with supplemental grocery money to
hold him over during the gig "dry season".

George Higgs was
born in 1930 in a farming community in Edgecombe County near Speed,
North Carolina ("a slow town with a fast name" as he is fond of
saying.) He learned to play the harmonica as a child from his father,
Jesse Higgs, who enjoyed playing favorite spirituals and folk tunes at
home during his spare time. George got to catch the medicine showman
and harmonica player Peg Leg Sam playing locally in Rocky Mount during
the tobacco market season and he made a lasting impression on the young
harp player. He was later attracted to the guitar as a teenager. He has
been playing ever since.  This month we were able to provide George
with a little help to buy gas to heat his house.

To learn more about supporting a Music Maker Artist, CLICK HERE