What is a Blues in the Schools program (BITS)?
Blues in the Schools (BITS) is one of our favorite presentations, as it holds our record attendance — 1,800 kids on one day!
Blues education crosses the disciplines of history, geography, social studies, and of course, music. Blues in the Schools brings the blues genre into the classroom where students are exposed to these traditional subjects, while breaking down racial barriers and opening dialogue about cultural diversity.
Music builds imagination and intellectual curiosity, fosters creative thinking, better SAT scores, and helps kids stay engaged in school.
Who knows…beyond creating the next generation of Blues music fans & helping to keep the Blues alive, we may even spark the next Etta James or B.B. King!
You'll take a ride on The Blues Highway
Highway 61 is called “The Blues Highway” because it follows much of the path along the Mississippi River where the blues was born, nurtured, and carried northward. Stretching from the Mississippi Delta through cities such as Clarksdale, Memphis, and St. Louis, Highway 61 became both a literal and symbolic route for blues musicians seeking opportunity, sharing stories, and spreading a new musical language.
Before St. Louis became known as a blues city, it was already one of America’s most important centers for ragtime. The city’s contribution to the blues came largely from its unique position at the crossroads of cultures, migration routes, and musical traditions. Rather than replacing ragtime, the blues absorbed elements of it. Pianists in St. Louis blended ragtime’s rhythmic complexity with the emotional storytelling and blue notes of the blues, helping create a distinctive urban sound.
Legends such as Robert Johnson, Bessie Smith, Muddy Waters, Koko Taylor and Howlin’ Wolf all had connections to communities along this corridor. The blues highway became a pathway through which the Delta blues evolved into electric blues, influencing rock, soul, R&B, jazz, and virtually every form of popular music that followed.
