Blues Education/Blues In The Schools

Overview

Robbie Laws with the BluesEd program's Roots Revival Band

Blues Ed/BITS is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization in the Portland/Vancouver area and is sponsored by the Cascade Blues Association. The program is modeled after nationally recognized “Blues in the Schools” programs offered throughout the United States. With the exception of Native American music forms, the Blues is the first pure American music form to have originated in this country. Coming from the oral traditions of folk music, the blues is the foundation for all other popular music forms that students listen to today.

Our programs are taught by professional blues musicians and teachers and are offered to local public school systems, private school systems, community centers and institutions, and local community events. The mission of Blues Ed/BITS is to help fill the gap created by budget reductions in arts and music in our schools while providing a fun, interactive and goal-oriented program designed to educate our youth on American history, heritage and culture as seen through music. Programs usually last about 45 minutes and consist of live performance examples by our youth performance bands and/or professional adult musicians along with oral narrations and photos woven throughout the session.

BluesEd/BITS relies on corporate sponsorship, private contributions and grants from public and private agencies and organizations. All contributions are tax-deductible. BluesEd/BITS also periodically promotes benefit concerts and other fundraising activities throughout the community.

Continuing Education Workshops

The Workshops and Performance Program is available to those students who are interested in learning a more extensive history and how to play blues music themselves. Students will be guided through a repertoire of traditional and contemporary blues music as well as writing their own compositions. Students are also encouraged to study these lessons with their own private instructors. These workshops will lay the groundwork for students who want to continue into a performance component providing opportunities to go out into the schools and community with their peers and continue the cycle of education, awareness and inspiration that comes through playing blues music.

The Roots Revival Band in performance

Blues Ed/BITS seeks to provide a positive, alternative activity for our youth, with many of our workshop programs conducted during after-school hours. Students experience many rewarding benefits by participating in a fun and creative outlet that builds a sense of accomplishment and self-esteem through the reinforcement of teamwork to reach common goals. An ongoing level of interest, enthusiasm and skill will be realized through periodic "jam sessions," rehearsals and performances. The result is "accelerated learning" with a smile.

Typically, the workshops support students on guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, drums and vocals, with other instrumentation being open for consideration.

The Cascade Blues Association (CBA)

The Cascade Blues Association exists to support, promote and preserve the blues and blues-related music by bringing together a group of people with a common bond: a love of the music. The Cascade Blues Association is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. It exists thanks to the hard work of volunteers who love blues music and want to see it sustained as an art form. The membership consists of musicians, promoters, and most of all, a variety of individuals from outside the music industry who share the same common interest: The Blues.

Listening to the local bands that perform at Portland’s annual Waterfront Blues Festival showcases what we get to see and hear almost any night of the week. You would be hard pressed to find any town the size of Portland (and surrounding areas) that serve up as much outstanding blues and blues-related music.

The CBA is the city’s “Ambassador of the Blues” all year long! It has built a strong association over its 21-year existence and has expanded to over 1,300 members, making it one of the largest Blues organizations in the country, if not the world.