You changed Precious's life!

Your Support Ensures the Survival of the Roots - Donate Today Precious Bryant relaxes in her newly installed mobile home Music Maker is dedicated to the preservation of the Roots, musical traditions that share a birthplace among our nation's working poor. Our cultural identity is threatened daily as traditional musicians are silenced by poverty and time. Music Maker gives these artists a voice, and ensures they can live out their elder years in safety and comfort. Support Music Maker Today Acoustic Blues legend Precious Bryant has been a Music Maker partner artist since 1995, but due to her health is no longer able to tour. Last year, we discovered Precious's living situation was no longer safe, and she would need a new mobile home. We called out to you, Music Maker's Friends, and you responded - your gifts enabled us to complete this milestone for Precious this July. Her new home was installed on her ancestral land in Georgia, ensuring she and her son have a comfortable place to live. Through your support of Music Maker, you ensure the survival of Roots music, and the artists who create it. Please renew your support today, and help us continue our mission in the coming year. Listen: Henry Byrd- Busrider Blues Lee Gates by Tim Duffy Keep up with Music Maker! Support Music Maker, and help keep the music alive! eMusic Heralds Ironing Board Sam as a "maverick!" Emusic.com wrote a wonderful review of Ironing Board Sam's Ninth Wonder this week, advocating that it is "a superb album for anyone interested in hearing a true maverick at work." The article lays out Sam's story, including mentions of his inventions, his triumphs, and his work with Music Maker. To read the awesome article, click here! Diggin': "Busrider Blues" Every variety of Roots music, be it blues or bluegrass, is inimitably tied to a place. Even if its branches have spread beyond that place, the root of its influence remains strongly regional. That's why I find "Busrider Blues" by Henry Byrd so interesting: his mumbling bluesman vocals and finger-picking guitar mix that eastern blues regionalism with an almost nomadic theme. He evokes the transience of bus stations and train depots, the kind of community that springs up around these places and makes them cultural oases. My personal philosophy when it comes to travel is to see a place on the cheap. I didn't drive for a long time, and forget plane tickets -- it was Megabus or bust. I once spent 28 hours straight in a bus, watching the landscape roll by. That's why it's not hard for me to remember that feeling when listening to Byrd's steady picking: I can pretty much close my eyes and see the movement, feel the isolation and the strange connectedness of public transport. The posthumously-released "Pomegranite Ave." by Henry Byrd is going out to Record Club members as the September pick and will available to the public later this month. - Whitney Hoppin' John this weekend! Today, September 13th, Hoppin' John Old-Time Bluegrass Fiddler's Convention kicks off at Shakori Hills in Silk Hope, NC! The convention, featuring square dances, camping and fiddling contests, is always a blast. This year, Music Maker is proud to be a sponsor of the event. Programs like Hoppin' John are incredibly important to keeping the spirit of the Roots vital. For more information on Hoppin' John, ending September 15th, or to buy tickets, click here!

Upcoming Shows: Click here for more info on upcoming events 9/14 - Ironing Board Sam - The Depot, Hillsborough, NC 9/15 - Ironing Board Sam & Big Ron Hunter - Apex Jazz Festival 9/20 - John Dee Holeman & Lightnin' Wells - SOOTS Benefit, Chapel Hill, NC 9/22 - Music Maker Blues Revue - Roots N Blues N BBQ, Columbia, MO 9/23 - Leyla McCalla - Mass MoCA Fresh Grass Bluegrass Festival, North Adams, MA 9/29 - Ironing Board Sam & Drink Small - Sweet Palmetto Festival, Columbia, SC 10/4 - 10/7 - Deer Clan - Shakori Hills Music Festival, Pittsboro, NC 10/6 - George Higgs - St. Anne's Chapel, Tarboro, NC 10/11 - Pura Fé - 8th Annual Dreamcatcher Awards Gala, Hamilton, Ontario 10/12 - Big Ron Hunter - The Depot, Hillsborough, NC 10/13 - Ironing Board Sam, L.C. Ulmer, Ben Peyton, Drew Young Band - Music Maker Stage, Southern Mississippi Roots Festival, Hattiesburg, MS 10/13 - John Dee Holeman - Richmond Folk Festival, Richmond, VA 10/14 - Ironing Board Sam - Crescent BBQ and Blues Festival, NOLA 10/19-10/21 - Robert Lee Coleman, Ironing Board Sam, Nashid Abdul Khaaliq, Big Ron Hunter, Ardie Dean- Blues at the Crossroads, Salina, KS 10/27- 11/2- Ironing Board Sam, Carolina Chocolate Drops - Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise 11/11 - George Higgs - Pinecone Music of the Carolinas, NCMoH, Raleigh, NC 11/19 - Lakota John and Kin - American Indian Heritage Festival, NCMo, Raleigh, NC Music Maker Relief Foundation, Inc. helps the true pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern music gain recognition and meet their day to day needs. We present these musical traditions to the world so American culture will flourish and be preserved for future generations.