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Dear Blues Fan,
"The Blues" On the Road is where the music is — want to hitch a ride?

"The Blues," executive produced by filmmaker Martin Scorsese and exclusively sponsored by Volkswagen, anchors a multi-media project to help raise awareness of the blues and its contribution to American culture and music worldwide.

Prior to airing on both television and radio this fall on PBS, Volkswagen is taking "The Blues" On the Road to national film, music and heritage events celebrating the blues throughout the year. Excitement is mounting after a number of successful events, so be on the lookout for "The Blues" On the Road events in your community!

"The Blues" kicked off the year with special screenings at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah (January 16-26), and at Radio City Music Hall February 7th with "Salute to the Blues," a benefit concert produced by Martin Scorsese and sponsored by Volkswagen. According to Daily Variety, "...The stage at Radio City Music Hall resounded with the most genuine strains of blues possible in the 21st century. Powered by a backing band mottled with top-line names (including Keb' Mo', Ivan Neville and Dr. John), a plethora of intergenerational performers delivered the goods in admirably down 'n' dirty fashion... 'A Salute to the Blues' made a good case for the continued vibrancy of one of America's most important indigenous art."

Despite a torrential downpour, about 1,000 people showed up for the opening night of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in North Carolina on Thursday, April 10th, and were treated to a screening of segments from all seven films of "The Blues" — introduced by a surprise live performance by Chris Thomas King, and followed by a panel discussion that included Chris, series producer Alex Gibney, director Marc Levin and quintessential bluesman Bobby Rush, who performs in the films.

It was a hot night for cool blues at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, as "The Blues" hosted a media party April 28th at the House of Blues in the French Quarter. VIPs included blues legend Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Chris Thomas King, Corey Harris and Keb' Mo'. After viewing clips from the upcoming series, Keb' Mo' roused the crowd late into the night, along with Susan Tedeschi.

Upcoming events include highlight screenings and sneak previews at:

the Seattle International Film Festival
May 22-June 15, online at http://www.seattlefilm.com/siff/

the Chicago Blues Festival
May 29 - June 1, online at http://www.ci.chi.il.us/SpecialEvents/Festivals/Blues2003/

the Spirit Festival in Kansas City
July 3 - 5, online at http://www.spiritfest.org

Bumbershoot Music Festival in Seattle
August 29 - September 1, online at http://www.bumbershoot.com

Toronto International Film Festival
September 4 - 13, online at http://www.e.bell.ca/filmfest/

And the Monterey Jazz Festival
September 19 - 21, online at http://www.montereyjazzfestival.org

Stay tuned for more details, and if you're in the neighborhood, be sure to come on down and join the fun!

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Visit THE BLUES Web site at http://www.pbs.org/theblues to check out the film descriptions and get more information about the project and partners. We also welcome your questions, comments, and feedback. Send your message to theblues@pbs.org.

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Volkswagen is proud to be the exclusive sponsor of "The Blues."

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ABOUT THE BLUES(tm)
The Blues, executive produced by filmmaker Martin Scorsese and premiering this fall on PBS, anchors a multi-media project to help raise awareness of the blues and its contribution to American culture and music worldwide. The Blues is a seven-part television series of personal and impressionistic films viewed through the lens of seven world-famous directors who share a passion for the music. The films, by Scorsese, Charles Burnett, Clint Eastwood, Mike Figgis, Marc Levin, Richard Pearce, and Wim Wenders capture the essence of blues music and delve into its global influence — from its roots in Africa to its inspirational role in today's music. Sponsored by Volkswagen, The Blues project initiatives include an extensive Web site at www.pbs.org/theblues; a 13-part radio series; educational outreach; a companion book, and value-added DVDs, a CD box set, individual soundtracks for each show, a single "Best of" album and individual artist recordings. The Blues project will also go "On the Road," to a national schedule of film, music and heritage events celebrating the blues throughout the year. The Blues is a presentation of Vulcan Productions and Road Movies in association with Cappa Productions and Jigsaw Productions; WGBH Boston presents the series on PBS; public television funding is provided by PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Along with Scorsese, Paul G. Allen and Jody Patton of Vulcan Productions and Ulrich Felsberg of Road Movies are executive producing the series; Alex Gibney is the series producer; Margaret Bodde is the producer, and Richard Hutton is the co-producer. The Blues is closed captioned for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers, and described for people who are blind or visually impaired by the Media Access Group at WGBH. The descriptive narration is available on the SAP channel of stereo TVs and VCRs

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All information in this newsletter is © 2003 Vulcan / WGBH Boston. Redistribution in whole or part with proper credit to the source is permitted.