The annual Picnic for MnBS members and guests will be held on July 12 from 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm. This event will be held at Rosetown American Legion in Roseville.
The MnBS will provide bottled water, ribs and pulled pork.
Members and guests are asked to bring a dish to share. The bar will be open with a cash bar and there will be $2 beers available on our patio.
Our musicians for the day are Retro Soul and the Westside Horns. The music starts at 2:00.
Stop by the MnBS tent to get your wrist band. Be sure and check out our new swag, the CD sale, renew your membership, let us know of address or email changes or just say hi.
Bring food (or cash) for the Keystone Services donation.
MnBS will reveal the 2026 Hall of Fame at the picnic.
We will need several volunteers to make this event a success- if you would like to volunteer: email lina@mnbs.org.
The Minnesota Blues Society is proud to announce a grant from the Dual Citizens Brewery in St. Paul. This grant is due to the recommendation from the Backyard Bluesfest that MnBS is a sponsor for.”The Backyard Blues Fund” is a grant of $5000 which will support our mission to “Keep the Blues Alive in Minnesota” by linking experienced Blues musicians with young Blues musiciansThe goal of this program is to encourage our up and coming musicians as they begin the journey from starting a band to establishing themselves as “gigging” musicians.
The program was developed due to an identified shortage of young musicians in Minnesota who are interested in pursuing Blues Music as a career. The MnBS believes that through mentor relationships, young musicians will gain:
- Musical guidance and skill development
- Knowledge of the music industry and band management
- Exposure to live Blues performance and professional musicians
- Opportunities to participate more fully in the Blues community in Minnesota
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The timeline:
Summer 2026:
Convene an oversight committee for the program
Develop an application process and training program for mentors, including a screening program for background checks and a code of conduct
Develop an application process for mentees
Develop an evaluation of program success.
Fall 2026:
Identify and train 5 mentees
Identify and inform the 5 mentors
2027 and beyond:
Begin and then expand he program
Minnesota Blues Society is a proud sponsor of the 13th Annual Backyard Bluesfest. This festival started in Hall of Fame Inductee Charlie Lawson’s backyard and has grown into a two-day event with the Butanes and Toronzo Cannon as headliner on Friday evening. There will be 10 bands on Saturday.
MnBS is providing volunteers, a backline, and lots of planning for this event. We will have a booth set up and would love to see you there.
dcbc.com/event/13th-annual-backyard-blues-festival/
All Ages – Free Entry – Food Trucks on Site and plenty of beer
August 7:
6:00 The Butanes
8:00 Toronzo Cannon
August 8
12:00- THE DIESELFITTERS
1:00- OTHER COUNTRY ENSEMBLE
2:00- NIKKI MATTESON & RICH RUE
3:00- RAY BARNARD & THE DUDES
4:00- NATURAL SELECTION Feat Fredrick Thomas
5:00- SWAMP TWISTERS 2.0
6:00- PAUL BARRY BLUES BAND Feat Bruce McCabe
7:00- GREAZY GRAVY
8:00- ERIN MCCAWLEY’S HARRISON STREET BAND
9:00- HURRICANE HAROLD’S ALL-STAR BLUES REVUE
Producing a new album?
MnBS is accepting CD’s for the Best Self Produced CD contest. The deadline is October 26. For more info: https://mnbs.org/self-produced-cd-competition/
The MnBS is seeking patrons and sponsors for our activities.
A patron would contribute a donation to an event of their choice. In return you will be listed in our programming and PR materials for the event.
We are also hoping to add some new corporate sponsors to our organization.
We deeply appreciate the many people who help make our organization successful.
For more information:
Click on the images to link with information specific to the type of sponsorship.
The Virgil Caine Band and the duo Peter Meyer/Bill Finke won the Road to Memphis Challeng and will be competing for a chance to represent MnBS at the International Blues Challenge, January 19-23, 2027 in Memphis, TN.
