Brings Together the 'Big Guns' of the Blues

to Benefit New Construction at the Bay City Family Y

by Robert E. Martin

      As the bedrock of American music the Blues forms the

foundation from which the multi-layered facets of American music have

flourished.

But on Saturday, July 26th, one could say that the Blues will serve

as a financial foundation for helping to build a $15.5 million dollar

facility for the Bay Area Family Y, as a stellar list of nationally

renowned artists converge upon the F.P.Horak Parking lot at 401

Saginaw Street for the 1st Annual Bay City Blues Festival.

The spotlight will consist of performances by Detroit Blues Diva

Thornetta Davis; Saginaw's 'King of the Rockin' Blues', Larry McCray;

contemporary journeyman Carl Weathersby, and all eyes & ears focused

upon the headliner, Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Doors open at 1 PM with

showtime starting at 2:30 PM. General admission tickets are availble

for $30.00 with VIP tickets going for $60.00, which includes seating

near the stage, tent action, and reserved parking.

The 'House' Built by the Blues

      According to Rebecca Kaiser, Communication & Development

Specialist for the Bay Area Family Y, when it comes to offering a

wide variety of family activities, health & fitness programs, or

childcare, the 'Y' is a difficult act to follow.

"The Y has such a wide variety of offerings for any age group that it

truly does serve a significant purpose," she notes.

"I see the future of our organization as a mainstay in the lives of

Bay Area residents. For those looking to stop in for a workout class,

use some of our new amenities for various physical rehabilitation, or

making us part of their family by entrusting our staff with the care

of their child, we serve a multiplicity of roles within the community"

Given the impact that the Bay City Y has upon the community, what are

some of the goals the organization is seeking to achieve with this

inaugural Blues Festival?

"The goal of the festival is to raise money for a new

state-of-the-art Y facility," she explains. "The Bay City Blues

Festival is going to be an energetic and exciting community kick-off

to a  new Bay Area Family Y. We want to heighten community awareness

of what we are currently doing as well as what we will be able to do

in the future with the construction of the new Y."

"The Bay Area Family Y has an astounding impact on the community,"

continues Rebecca. "

We see such an array of people coming through our doors on a daily

basis for a wide variety of reasons. We service everyone from the

Senior Citizen who joins friends for fellowship and low-impact

exercise to the working parents who rely on the Y for the care of

their child. We see the younger men coming in at lunch for a pick-up

game of basketball and the working mom in the evening for an aerobics

class to better herself physically and emotionally."

"Through our Y financial assistance program we are able to assist

those who don't have the means to pay for a membership, classes or

child care. In essence, the mission of the Y is to provide a place

for everyone to strengthen their body, mind and spirit regardless of

their ability to pay."

Given that most groups face stiff challenges in today's economy, what

does Rebecca feel are the biggest challenges facing organizations

like the Bay City Family Y?

"There are two main challenges that we face today," she reflects. "

The first is meeting the $15.5 million dollar project goal. We need

everyone to help make the Y project a success through their support

of the Capital Campaign."

"The second challenge is maintaining our programs and services in the

current facility which has served the community well over its 52-year

history."

"Unfortunately, the facility does not meet the interests and needs of

the youth, adults, and families of the 21st century and we are

working hard to see that change."

Indeed, it is the hope of organizers that the 1st Annual Bay City

Blues Festival will serve as the platform rung in that ladder of

success they are striving for.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd *

10 Days Out

      With the festival 10 days away as of presstime, it is

entirely appropriate that Kenny Wayne Shepherd should headline this

inaugural event. His latest CD, 10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads

is the result of a 10-day trek into the heart of America.

Traveling highways & byways with a roving documentary film crew, a

portable recording studio, and producer Jerry Harrison (The Verve

Pipe/Hole/Talking Heads) Shepherd visited blues veterans such as B.B.

King and Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown into their homes and local clubs,

creating an intimate and intense experience captured both on film and

the Live CD.

"We culd have stopped in every city in the U.S.," says the platinum

selling guitarist/vocalist Shepherd. "and we'd find somebody, whether

an old cat who is an original product of this music or else a kid my

age or younger - but we'd have found someone who is a fan of the

bluds and trying to do it justice. We could lay out a world map,

throw a dark, and go there to play the blues - and people would love

it."

With a career that began at age 16, Shepherd has a storied decade in

music's big-leagues.

At the age of 13 he was invited onstage by New Orleans bluesman Bryan

Lee, at which point, having proved his abilities, he decided on music

as a career.

His first three albums mixed blues and nblues-rock; his 1995 debut

Ledbetter Heights sold over a million copies, making it a platinum

recording.

Shepherd married actor Mel Gibson's daughter, Hannah, in 2006 and the

magazine Guitar World voted him #3 after B.B. King and Eric Clapton

in terms of iconoclastic Blues performers.

Shepherd came to broader attention when he served as opening act for

The Rolling Stones on their 1999 No Security Tour.

With 10 Days Out and his appearance at the Bay City Blues Festival,

Shepherd continues his love affair with America's homegrown music,

introducing fans to a varied lot of both predecessors and

contemporaries.

The Blues has endured through the power of the truth that it speaks;

and with this unique opportunity to rebuild so vital a family

institution as the Bay City Family Y, July 26th promises to be a

musical highpoint for the summer in more ways than one.

For more info, go to baycitybluesfest.com.