In the spirit of Ken Burns' breakout PBS documentary series on American country music, acclaimed guitarist and music historian Joey Leone presents “The History of Blues in America” covering the history, influence, and social impact of American blues music through songs, stories, and historical facts. Joey highlights the influence of blues on virtually all styles of contemporary music over the past seven decades, playing a variety of songs on multiple guitars from his personal collection. In addition to the live music segments, he touches on recurring themes of how the blues transcended racial boundaries, brought people together in times of celebration and times of healing, and how the blues followed the migration from the rural south to the urban north. A lifelong career musician, he has toured and recorded as a guitar player for many high profile artists including Etta James, The Coasters, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, Chaka Khan, and many more.
Registered participants will receive an email with a link to join the virtual program. Programs can be accessed from a computer, tablet, or mobile phone. First-time participants may need to download and run the free software upon joining a program. For this reason, we recommend joining a few minutes early.