Blues-Rock Star Joe Bonamassa Will Host a Keeping The Blues Alive Session in Albany, NY at the Palace Theatre on Wednesday, November 9

Blues-Rock Star Joe Bonamassa Will Host a Keeping The Blues Alive Session in Albany, NY at the Palace Theatre on Wednesday, November 9

Keeping The Blues Alive 501(c) seeks to promote Blues music through regularly scheduled school assemblies, and provide funding and educational scholarships for blues based music programs

Bonamassa is a torchbearer for the foundation, helping to create awareness about the blues while educating and empowering young people

DEERFIELD, Fla., Nov. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Award-winning blues-rock artist, guitar hero and singer-songwriter Joe Bonamassa will host a Keeping The Blues Alive session in Albany, NY at the Palace Theatre on Wednesday, November 9. Keeping The Blues Alive 501(c) isa nonprofit organization founded by Bonamassa aimed at promoting and preserving the heritage of blues music. Through regularly scheduled events, Keeping The Blues Alive will help to create awareness about the blues and its impact on our culture, while educating and empowering the next generation of youth. Bonamassa will donate his time throughout select cities on his U.S. tour to an hour long, educational, entertaining, and inspiring lecture for students aged 13-21. As Keeping The Blues Alive expands, its goal will include providing funding for music and educational programs. It also seeks to provide televised exposure of blues music to replace the loss of music education in schools. If you are unfamiliar with Joe's music, enjoy this free download of his recent hit single, "Dust Bowl" http://bitly.com/dustbowldownload.

Bonamassa's hour-long program is designed for students aged 13 - 21. During the events, he plays live, discusses the origins of blues music and his life as a musician, offers guitar technique and emphasizes the blues' relevance to contemporary music. He links it to modern blues idioms as well as connecting it to rock 'n roll, hip-hop and other genres, often featuring current and contemporary interpretations of traditional American blues songs. All of this is achieved by instilling a message that through perseverance, hard work, and dedication, one can achieve the dreams they desire.

"Securing the future of blues music, and helping its legacy as an original American art form live on, is something to which I am deeply committed. In introducing blues to a younger generation, and hopefully inspiring others to support it and play it, my hope is that the music will remain a living, breathing tradition carried forth by new practitioners all the time," said Bonamassa.

Keeping The Blues Alive works with tour markets in advance of Bonamassa's shows to reach out to local schools and communities for participation and support. All Keeping The Blues Alive events are held at the same venue location as Bonamassa's show and are free to students and faculty. As the organization grows, it hopes to contribute further, providing funding and educational scholarships for blues-based music programs throughout the country.

About Keeping The Blues Alive 501(c)

Joe Bonamassa's Keeping The Blues Alive 501(c) seeks to promote blues music through regularly scheduled events to create awareness about the Blues and its impact on our culture while educating and empowering the next generation of youth.

About Joe Bonamassa

As Joe Bonamassa grows his reputation as one of the world's most masterful guitar players, he is also emerging as a charismatic blues-rock star and singer-songwriter of stylistic depth and emotional resonance. Bonamassa's latest solo album, 2011's Dust Bowl is his highest charting (#1 Blues, #37 on the Billboard 200) and best-selling to date. He is also active with Black Country Communion, the British-American rock band he formed with Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin, Foreigner) and Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Billy Idol); their second album was released in June 2011. Bonamassa tours the world regularly, and his ability to connect with live audiences is epic, with a career highlight being a sold-out show at London's Royal Albert Hall--where Eric Clapton joined him onstage. He has been chosen Best Blues Guitarist in Guitar Player Magazine's Readers Choice Awards for four consecutive years, and in 2009 was named Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the U.K.'s prestigious Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards. In 2010, he was named Billboard's Blues Artist of the Year. A child prodigy, Bonamassa began his career at age 12 opening shows for the legendary B.B. King.

www.keepingthebluesalive.org

www.jbonamassa.com

SOURCE Keeping The Blues Alive

Keeping The Blues Alive

CONTACT: Erin Cook of Jensen Communications, +1-626-585-9575, erin@jensencom.com, for Keeping The Blues Alive

Web Site: http://www.jbonamassa.com

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