Ramblings on my Mind July 2021

by Shelley Garrett CBA Vice President

July and the rest of the year are going to be BUSY!

CBA members are sponsoring two acts at the 2021 Upriver Waterfront Blues Festival — Johnny Rawls, noon and 6 p.m.  July 4, and the Tony Coleman 3 Kings Tribute, noon and 6 p.m.  July 5.

You can listen to the afternoon shows on KBOO 90.7 FM or kboo.com and watch the evening livestream at waterfrontbluesfest.com.

Since the 2021 version of the Waterfront Blues Festival does not allow for the CBA to have an onsite booth, we got creative. The board brainstormed ideas for content. The next step was to involve Cory Burden at Cedar House Media for ideas and cost estimates.

A conference call with Christina Fuller brought new information … that the Oregonian A&E would not be providing a special section like they have in the past. So, what started out as an eight-page flier to pass out at the gate to keep the CBA in mind (and sign up new and returning members) grew to 20 pages. Big thanks to the advertisers who stepped up to help fund this: Music Millennium, Portland Music Company, Ben Rice, Peninsula Rhythm & Blues Festival, Norman Sylvester Band, Ragtime PDX and Dano’s Dogs. And a huge thank you to Cory for donating the expert layout and editing time for Michael Wong (who is a saint … as we added pages and advertising, there were many changes. THANK YOU!)

Watch for our new YouTube channel coming soon. The first interview with Norman Sylvester is two hours long. (Thank you, Norman, for that time!) A small excerpt of that interview is printed in the festival flier. Great stories, Portland Blues history and Norman’s thoughts about the future of blues in PDX.

Reminder to musicians, the deadline for the CBA Journey to Memphis Competition is July 19. The event is Sept 11, currently planned to be held at Artichoke Music (virtual).

Since the 2021 Waterfront Blues Festival~Upriver couldn’t give them the traditional spot for winning the Journey to Memphis Competition to go to the IBC in 2020, the CBA is sponsoring a show with Johnny Wheels & the Swamp Donkeys on July 21 at the Botanist House. Members, check your newsletter for a code to buy discounted tickets.

A new feature starting this month is a listing of key upcoming events, including those where tickets are on sale now and could sell out closer to the show. Use the PDX Blues event tab on the website. Thanks to member Catherine Jolley for adding to this!

The board is in the early planning stages for a “Mini Muddy” event in November, in-person membership meetings, long-term strategic planning, Blues in the Schools, Christopher Mesi Scholarship, officer elections in November and the December Holiday Party. Let us know if you are interested in helping!

Welcome two new at-large board members, Anni Piper and Jeanette Aglipay. Our member newsletter will have more information on these great additions!

Be sure to read the health update and ways to support CBA President Greg “Slim Lively” Johnson.

Thank you to all our CBA members for helping to keep the Blues Alive!