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Mission Statement

The Washington Blues Society is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to promote, preserve and advance the culture and tradition of blues music as an art form. 

 

Bi Laws : https://wablues.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WBSBylawsRevised05082008.pdf 

The Washington Blues Society is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization and donations are tax-deductible.

The Washington Blues Society is one of over 250 affiliates of  The Blues Foundation in Memphis, Tennessee. and it is the only all-volunteer nonprofit
blues society to have continuously produced a monthly magazine since 1989. In 2009.

The Blues Foundation awarded a prestigious Keeping the Blues Alive Award to the Washington Blues Society on its 20thanniversaryin  2009

 

Annual membership is $25 for individuals, $35 for couples, and $40 for overseas memberships.

More About The Washington Blues Society

The Washington Blues Society is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization whose purpose is to promote, preserve and advance
the culture of blues music as an art form. The blues society is affiliated with The Blues Foundation, headquartered in Memphis, and
is the third largest blues society in the world (out of approximately 150 peer, all-volunteer arts organization). Recognizing this music’s
roots in African American history, the blues society provides arts and cultural programming to raise awareness among all communities of
this uniquely African American art form. We not only focus events and activities on Black, Indigenous and People of Color, but also sexual and religious minorities and the disabled in our 32-page color Bluesletter monthly magazine, monthly free blues concerts (“Blues Bashes”), and support musicians in need through a Musicians Relief Fund.

We adhere to all state and federal guidelines in presenting live music shows, and our “Blues Bashes” have returned to Shoreline, Washington. The blues society’s primary
activities are:

1) Production of a monthly 32-page Bluesletter magazine with a circulation topping 5,000 (in print and online),

2) Host free live blues shows at our second Tuesday “Blues Bashes” and pay musicians a reasonable stipend,

3) Host a Musician Relief Fund to confidentially respond to requests for emergency assistance from musicians in need,

4) Staff over 40 festivals and other special events (including memorial services) with volunteers and merchandise sales support,

5) an education initiative, Passing the Torch, designed to reach children and youth through in-school and after-school music
workshops led by professional musicians,

6) Host an annual awards show, Best of the Blues (“BB Awards”) recognizing blues performers
nominated by the society’s 1,000+ members, and

7) Conduct a statewide awards competition to send a band and a solo/duo act to compete in Memphis at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.
The Washington Blues Society received a prestigious Keeping the Blues Alive Award in 2009 from The Blues Foundation on its 20thanniversary, and many blues society board members are active
nationally in select Blues Foundation events (e.g., International Blues Challenge, Keeping the Blues Alive Awards, Blues Music Awards).
For example, current president Tony Frederickson and Bluesletter editor Eric Steiner each served one three-year term elected to serve on the Board of The Blues Foundation in Memphis. Eric and Tony have led workshops at Blues Foundation events on budgeting, sustainable operations, and fundraising (grants, business plans, revenue development, in-kind donations).

 

Washington Blues Society P.O. Box 70604
Seattle, WA 98127

EIN:         94-3093057
WA UBI:   601152278

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