Public Events --

Fernando Jones to Present History of the Blues

Fernando Jones to Present History of the Blues

• Location: Illinois State Museum, Springfield, Springfield
• Date: Sunday, February 19, 2012, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Free and open to the public

The Illinois State Museum, in collaboration with the Illinois Central Blues Club, will again present the “History of the Blues” February 19, 2012 from 2:00pm – 4:00pm.  Fernando Jones, a self taught blues musician from the age of four, will present the history of the blues genre in narration and musically with his group, My Band.  From concerts to books to films to theater, Jones’ contributions to the blues genre have been paramount, and his incomparable body of work speaks for itself.  For his accomplishments, Jones was the 2008 recipient of the prestigious Blues Foundation’s Keeping The Blues Alive Award.

In his hometown of Chicago, he’s the go-to-guy for all things Blues.  He has taken great pride in lobbying for proper recognition of this indigenous African-American art form and its practitioners.   Jones is on a global mission to show people the joy and beauty of the blues genre through academic implementations, lectures, and concert performances.  As a result, his hands were photographed by National Geographic Magazine.  He has been a guest lecturer since 2007 at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum and his book, “I Was There When The Blues Was Red Hot,” has been used as a resource by many news outlets including Newsweek, Living Blues, and the London Times. 

Fernando Jones, who was mentored by blues great Willie Dixon,  is a college music teacher at Columbia College, Chicago.  Jones is the director of what is believed to be the nation’s first collegiate Blues ensemble at an accredited college or university.  Jones founded the Blues Camp and Blues Kids of America in 1989, which is an internationally recognized, multicultural, interdisciplinary artist-in-residence music program that was featured on Chicago’s WGN television station in 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25iHr3X-ZlA&feature=related.