SINCE 2005

About the Society

An all-volunteer 501(c)(3) preserving the Blues of Memphis and the Mid-South.

An outdoor blues concert at sunset, with a crowd watching the stage

OUR STORY

Preserving a unique American art form

The Memphis Blues Society is an all-volunteer non-profit arts organization. Our mission is to preserve and promote the Blues by presenting Blues events to the community of Memphis, and to support Blues artists.

Since 2005 the MBS has worked to preserve Blues culture, organizing and encouraging live Blues performances by Memphis and Mid-South musicians. We have broadened public awareness of the Blues across the Memphis and Mid-South area by expanding the number of venues featuring local Blues musicians, and by developing the educational content of our newsletter, social media and other outlets.

The Memphis Blues Society promotes and preserves a unique African-American art form. We dedicate ourselves to offering the community — every socio-economic level, all ages — the opportunity to study, research and appreciate the Blues, and the culture that gave it birth.

Memphis and the Mid-South hold a special place in the history of this music, and our Blues practitioners carry it around the world as ambassadors. The MBS intends to bring them home — to strengthen our city and our region, and to honor our ambassadors where they live.

MEET THE BOARD

WHAT WE DO

Programs

Bona Fide Blues Festival
A two-day festival of Mid-South blues, first held in Overton Square in 2015. Two free, family-friendly stages — a format the Society names as critical to drawing mainstream Memphis audiences. MBS hires Blues musicians from within 100 miles of Memphis: Jackson TN, Helena and Jonesboro AR, Oxford and Clarksdale MS.
Blues in the Schools
Presentations to schools and community organizations that teach the Blues as American heritage and history, the common ground we can find in the music, and where the art form came from.
Jam Band Outreach
The MBS Jam Band plays a one-hour set every month at regional healthcare facilities, for residents who cannot get out to a venue. Currently rotating through National Health Care in Somerville, Millington Health Care, Grace Health Care in Cordova and West Memphis Rehab.
The Weekly Blues Jam
Every Thursday night at RockHouse Live in Memphis, hosted by Jackie Flora & Friends. Open to players, bring an instrument and sit in.
ON HOLD — SEEKING A VENUE
Bluesday Tuesday
An 18-week spring-summer concert series of original Mid-South blues. Bands are paid, play 100% original material, and keep everything they make on CD sales at the show.

Volunteer

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

The Society runs on volunteers

HOW TO HELP

like a Biblical prophet “who was honored everywhere except in his own town”, our Mid-South Blues practitioners often receive more appreciation outside our community than within.

The BFBF aims to increase Memphians' awareness of the Blues by expanding the local audience, bringing residents of our region together to celebrate Blues prophets; musicians who embody and create the Blues, our local treasure.

SEE WHO IS PLAYING

Board of Directors