Blues Dancing: "Hey, the Blues is Alright!"

• Event Date: Thursday, April 1, 2021
• Time: 4:00 pm (CDT)
• Location: Online, via Zoom
• Cost: Free

• Talk
• Exhibit-Related tag
• Online tag

“Hey, the Blues is Alright” is presented as part of Spurlock Museum's Contemporary Conversations program series. Several conversations have been organized to connect to Spurlock’s current exhibit Blues Dancing and Its African American Roots and aim to explore the social construct of Black music and dance. “Hey, the Blues is Alright” highlights blues music, the characteristics that animate it, and its cultural influence.

This virtual program takes place Thursday, April 1, 2021 at 4:00 pm CST and runs one hour, with an additional 30 minutes for audience questions.

“Hey, the Blues is Alright” is moderated by Gabriel Solis, Head of the Theater Department and Professor of Music, African American Studies, and Anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Webinar Details

• Webinar ID: 895 1769 7443
• Webinar Passcode: 311839

Panelists

Dawn Clark

Dawn Clark is an Urbana native who has been singing since she was 5 years old. She is the former singer in the group DaJa Vu’ and a current vocalist with the Painkiller Blues Band and Candy Foster and The Shades of Blue.

Candy Foster

Candy Foster (external link) has been performing classic rhythm and blues throughout the Midwest for 40 years. Based in Champaign‐Urbana since the 1960s, Candy currently leads Candy Foster and The Shades of Blue. Over the years he has appeared with many blues greats, including Etta James, Junior Wells, Little Milton, and Bobby Blue Bland and soul artists Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and The Temptations.

Bob Paleczny

Bob Paleczny is the Blues Genre Director for WEFT 90.1 FM Community Radio Station and the President of the Prairie Crossroads Blues Society, a non-profit local affiliate of the Blues Foundation.

Augustus Wood

Augustus Wood is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Background

Contemporary Conversations instigates conversations around contemporary cultural issues, themes, and ideas. These are mostly moderated conversations with a panel of experts, practitioners, and enthusiasts. The discussions are informal and aim to provide space to explore timely themes.