The Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival today announced their support of the RESPECT! CampaignSM – an innovative new campaign to end domestic and sexual violence by starting with respect. The campaign benefits the Family Violence Prevention Fund and encourages everyone to do their part to prevent abuse by giving and teaching respect to the young people in their lives.

In support of the campaign, a variety of performers at the November 22 festival at Chicago’s Congress Theater will be sharing stories about the people they respect most and asking the audience to support the campaign by texting the keyword “respect” to 41010, adding a $5 donation to the Family Violence Prevention Fund to their mobile bill.

To learn more, visit GiveRespect.org

Got questions about what the show will be like, what the rules will be, or what we’ll be wearing? Feel free to e-mail us at Michael.raspatello@gmail.com. Hopefully, however, here are some of the answers you were looking for….

SHOW SCHEDULE

*2 Stages, a Balcony, 18 Acts, and Costumed Marching Band “Environmental Encroachment” parading throughout the venue at impromptu times

MAIN STAGE
12:30-1:15pm – Donnie Biggins
1:15-1:30 – Tangleweed
1:30-2:15 - Dollar Store
2:15-2:45 – Tangleweed/Chicago Sketch Comedy Troupe “Cell Camp”
2:45-3:30 – Billy Childers
3:30-4:00 – Tangleweed/Chicago Sketch Comedy Troupe“Cell Camp”
4:00-4:45 – Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials
4:45-5:15 – Tangleweed/Chicago Sketch Comedy Troupe“Cell Camp”
5:15-6:15 – Majors Junction
6:15-6:45 – Tangleweed/Chicago Sketch Comedy Troupe“Cell Camp”
6:45-7:45 – Ha Ha Tonka
7:45-8:15 – The Giving Tree Band
8:15-9:45 - David Grisman Quintet
9:45-10:15 – The Giving Tree Band
10:15-However Long They Want – The Avett Brothers

Jambase.com’s 312 PAVILION STAGE
Noon-12:45 – Blue Room Hero
1:00-1:45 – Cobalt & the Hired Guns
2:00-2:45 - Lindsey O’Brien Band & Friends
3:00-3:45 - Mike Mangione
4:00-4:45 – Jessica Lee
5:00-5:45 – How Far to Austin
6:00-6:45 – Blue Mother Tupelo
7:00-8:00 – Blackdog

• This show is All Ages, runs from 11am-Midnight-ish, tickets are $31 until day-of, when it increases (if there are any left)

• Unlimited Re-Entry: Can come and go freely to and from the theater until 5pm.  AFTER 5PM YOU CAN STILL ARRIVE.  All this means is that once you’ve left the building after 5pm, you can’t come back in.  As in, if you leave at 4:59 you can still get stamped and come back any time throughout the night.  However a minute later that would not be an option. 

• Smoking lounge access without leaving the theater. Security is about as strong as a one-armed swimmer (as in “weak”)

• Sketch Comedy throughout the day from Chicago Sketch Comedy Group “Cell Camp”

• An open jam session and picking circle from the second the doors open. Musicians are all invited to bring their instruments and participate. There’ll be an “instrument check” along with the coat check so that you don’t have to lug your noisemaker around with you all day.

• Over 50 booths of artists, vendors, and charitable causes. Artists will be creating their art on-site and selling it while the Saving Tiny Hearts Society will be raffling off swag from the artists

• The theater is located at 2135 N. Milwaukee (just north of Armitage). There is street parking available all around the theater, as well as very cheap reserved parking by clicking here

• Traveling to the theater is easy via the CTA, as it is within two blocks of the Blue Line train stations at California (& Milwaukee) and Western (& Milwaukee) which operate twenty four hours a day. The theater is also served by the following bus routes: #52 Kedzie/Calfornia, #56 Milwaukee, #73 Armitage, #49 Western (www.transitchicago.com)

• The theater is also a quick walk or bus ride from the METRA train station at Clybourn & Ashland on the Union Pacific District Northwest line. Exit the station to the south to transfer to the #73 Armitage bus going west on Cortland Ave. to the theater.

• The “Official After-Party” will be held at Chicago’s #1 rock club The Elbo Room immediately following the show. Entry is free with your festival ticket. Check out more details at elboroomchicago.com

•A WARM FUZZY FEELING FOR MAKING THIS EVENT AMAZING AND HELPING PEOPLE AT THE SAME TIME!

by Mike Mering, mikemering@gmail.com, Senior cbbfestival.com correspondent

Starbucks. Burger King. (Insert large cell phone company of your choice): Need NOT apply.

You may have noticed this absence of large corporate involvement and major sponsorship at the inaugural Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival (www.cbbfestival.com)

Besides being the only winter music festival, Chicago Bluegrass & Blue is also the only independent music festival of this scale to hit Chicago in recent memory. The festival boasts major acts such as the Avett Brothers, David Grisman and Ha Ha Tonka alongside a roster of surging local and national talent.

“Major producers and major labels are not needed to throw a major event, just independently minded people looking to invest in a righteous cause” explains festival founder Mike Raspatello.

It’s this sort of resolve that has united festival artists and organizers for what is gearing up to be a groundbreaking event

In fact, nearly all of the artists and producers participating in the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues festival are independent entities.  While the Avett Brothers have recently joined forces with the renowned Rick Rubin and his American Recordings label, they have long been faithful to their Ramseur Records roots.

Check out the stats…

The Labels:
“There is an inherent spirit of independence that resonates with all parties involved in the event from sponsors to the artists and their record labels,” says Raspatello.

Alligator Records and Bloodshot Records, both Chicago-based labels, along with David Grisman’s Acoustic Disc Records, have been nurturing indie artists for decades and will spotlight artists of its own at the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues festival. Grisman’s Acoustic Disc Records is best known for its collaborations with Jerry Garcia who, in 1990, decided to record with Grisman’s independent label for his first acoustic-only disc.

The Venue:
Providing the platform for the festival is the legendary Congress Theater, a successfully run concert hall that operates free of overriding corporate ownership or partnership. This is a rarity today as most existing concert halls with large capacities and prime locales have succumb to the lure of corporate takeover.

Jam Production and Live Nation have a stranglehold on all large concert production, even with C3 Presents recently entering the market with Lollapalooza and a limited partnership with the Congress Theater.

Sponsors:
Take one look at the festival’s “Partners” page and you will see an assortment of independent-minded businesses (www.cbbfestival.com/partners)

Producers:
Just a couple of guys, such as independent producers Michael Raspatello, Lucas King, Max Wagner, Jeff Callahan, and Will Lambert, with great support from the Congress Theater

What does all this mean to the concertgoer?
Saturday November 22, you will be a part of history in the making. Creativity will be tapped in many forms. There will be no restraint from those corporations more concerned with squeezing money from your pockets than producing a quality, free-flowing, energized assembly of music and art.

MORE RAUCOUS FOOT-TAPPERS AND CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED BALLADS TO BE EXPECTED FROM BILLY CHILDERS, ONE OF COUNTRY’S FASTEST RISTING TALENTS

When the inaugural installation of the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues festival touches down at the historic Congress Theater later this month, the city’s surprisingly-vast mainstream country music fan base won’t go unfulfilled.

That’s because the Midwest’s latest country music sensation will be there to greet fans from the festival’s main stage, showcasing a range of styles that has perked the ears of mainstream and alt country fans alike.

After upwards of 400 fans filled the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Chicago last June to help Billy Childers land a spot in Kenny Chesney’s “Poets and Pirates” shows at Soldier Field, Billy’s career ascension was unstoppable.  First up: Sharing the stage with an all-star lineup comprised of Chesney, Luke Bryan, Gary Allan, LeAnn Rimes, and Keith Urban at the Midwest’s biggest venue.  Next came premiere spots in front of the region’s biggest country music gatherings, including Country Thunder and the Chicago Country Music Festival, and the growing legion of fans that inevitably followed.

Fresh off a set of Vegas dates, Childers is ready to take his modern honky-tonk stylings to one of Chicago’s most historic stages, alongside a roster of Roots and Americana powerhouses that includes David Grisman, The Avett Brothers, Ha Ha Tonka, Lil ‘Ed, Giving Tree Band, and Waco Brothers offshoot Dollar Store.

Learn more about Billy’s November 22 date at Chicago’s only winter music festival at www.cbbfestival.com  Learn more about Billy at www.billychilders.com

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL:

On November 22nd, 2008, the Congress Theater will host the inaugural Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival (cbbfestival.com). While rooted in the foot-stomping influences of bluegrass and blues, the festival will transport the concertgoer through the genre-defying evolution of music today.  The one-day event will serve as a tribute to two schools of music that continue to shape and inspire contemporary rock, jamband, funk, folk, roots, Americana, and indie cultures, while allowing festivalgoers to save a heart.  A portion of each $31 ticket will be donated to the Saving tiny Hearts Society (www.savingtinyhearts.org), an non-profit organization that raises money for America’s #1 birth defect, congenital heart defects (CHD).

HA HA TONKA LEAVES THE ALTAR AND BRINGS THEIR SULTRY SERMON TO THE SECOND CITY

by Mike Mering, Senior cbbfestival.com Correspondent, mikemering@gmail.com

When your backyard is nestled in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, you are officially in the Bible Belt. When you assemble a band there to record an album inside an old church, what would you imagine to be the end result?

If you guessed a collection of anthems fit for a Sarah Palin rally you are not only wrong, but also perhaps a little cynical this election year.

I’m actually referring to Ha Ha Tonka’s inspired debut album, Buckle in the Bible Belt, which is indeed a product of the band’s Missouri roots. However, the fellas from Springfield have crafted an assortment of thoughtful, often moody rockers which rail against blind flag-waving, the crippled state of health care, and the plague of methamphetamine in rural areas.

Their self-described “foot stompin’ indie rock” can be witnessed at this fall’s Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival, where they share the main stage with The Avett Brothers, The David Grisman Quintet, Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials, Majors Junction, Billy Childers, and Dollar Store.

In the meantime, salvation is just a click of the mouse away; Ha Ha Tonka’s video for St. Nick makes for worthy youtube viewing whenever you’re feeling like procrastinating at work

St. Nick’s haunting daydream begins, fittingly, in a churchyard. The four band members set the stage by chanting in unison before levying a dose of driving rock to usher in nightfall. As the bonfire rages, so does the party.  The band’s harrowing chants on St. Nick make it known that it’s time to “get one thing straight from the get-go: this glimpse of brilliance is better than a long look at mediocrity.”

For a live and up-close glimpse of this brilliance strap on your boots and stomp over to the Congress Theater on 11/22.

AMEN.

HOMETOWN WINNER WILL PERFORM ALONGSIDE NATIONAL HEADLINERS AT THE CONGRESS THEATER’S INAUGURAL CHICAGO BLUEGRASS & BLUES FESTIVAL

The Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival, a one-day music fest to be held this November at the legendary Congress Theater, is bringing the Battle of the Banjos to the Windy City. Organizers today announce the kickoff of “LAST BANJO STANDING,” an online contest that will scour

Chicagoland to find the top bluegrass or blues inspired artist.

The winner, as voted on by fans, family, friends and music lovers around the city, will join a slew of national headliners including the legendary David Grisman Quintet, and the chart-blazing Avett Brothers, on stage this fall. 16 bands for a mere $31 bucks just got a whole lot sweeter, as one local band will get the chance to bring down the house, alongside:

The Avett Brothers, The David Grisman Quintet, Ha Ha Tonka, Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials, Majors Junction, Billy Childers, Dollar Store, Blackdog, Blue Mother Tupelo, How Far to Austin, Mike Mangione, Cobalt & the Hired Guns, The Lindsay O’Brien Band, Jessica Lee, and Blue Room Hero

How Bands/Artists can enter:
Starting September 15th, until October 1st, bands can fill out an entry form and upload two of their original tracks to www.cbbfestival.com. Keep in mind that artists do not have to be of the traditional bluegrass and blues persuasions to be considered.

Winner will be announced:
On October 16th, the votes will be tallied and Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival organizers will choose the winning artist amongst the top 5 vote-getters. The winner will be announced at 12:00 a.m. on October 17th, at www.cbbfestival.com.

Online Voting:
The online voting period begins on October 2ndth, and concludes on October 16th, 2008. Each e-mail address will be allotted one vote per day, and as is the tradition in Chicago, encourage your supporters to vote early and often!

“As we kick off the inaugural Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival, we launched the Last Banjo Standing contest to give every musician a shot at taking the stage. Chicago boasts an un-elitist reputation for recognizing good music, and we’re excited to give an up-and-coming, still-to-be-discovered musician the exposure they need to break through to the next level,” said Michael Raspatello, founder/organizer of the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival.

And although the festival will get to break a band, festivalgoers will get to save a heart. A portion of each $31 ticket will be donated to the Saving Tiny Hearts Society (www.savingtinyhearts.org), a non-profit organization that raises money for grossly under-funded, crucial, life-saving research of congenital heart defects (CHD), America’s #1 birth defect. Nearly one of every 125 babies born in America each year is affected by a Congenital Heart Defect.

In 1983, it was difficult for Chris Bauman to understand why his baby brother Carsten was “sick and not going to wake up”. At only two years old, “Cardiomyopathy” didn’t make much sense to Bauman, who was only been able to spend nine short months with his baby brother.

The death of Carsten created a permanent void in the Bauman household, a void that remains this day. “I still remember as a kid, we as a family would set and keep a spot at our

Joshua Bennett Paul; The Saving Tiny Heart's Society's First Member

dinner table for Carsten. We kids would insist upon it,” comments Bauman. “His loss is something that still effects us on a daily basis.”

Thanks to the organizations like the Saving Tiny Hearts Society that aim to eradicate congenital heart defects (CHD) like cardiomyopathy, fewer families are currently forced to experience such a tragedy. Since 1993, death rates for congenital heart defects have decreased by over 35% due to advances made through research, according to the American Heart Association. The progress is encouraging, but Bauman isn’t satisfied.

“It is unbelievable how much has been accomplished due to the valiant efforts of organizations like the Saving Tiny Hearts Society, but there are still families hurting, and much more work to be done.”

It’s this passion, coupled with a string of extraordinary events that has empowered Bauman’s “Music 2.0” company, FanFound, to help make a difference.

Since the event’s conceptualization last March, Chicago-based FanFound has acted as both a sponsor and organizer of the upcoming festival

“Newgrass” legend and longtime Jerry Garcia collaborator David Grisman and his David Grisman Quintet will be sharing the headlining duties with surging festival sensations The Avett Brothers and their massive following of rowdy devotees. The Avett Brothers have recently teamed up with legendary producer Rick Rubin, and signed with American/Columbia Records, home of Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, and The Black Crowes.

Throughout, FanFound has dedicated its resources and manpower to help ensure the budding festival’s long-term success. “The grouping of these artists has been long-awaited amongst the roots music community, and it’s almost surreal that they’re finally coming together for a cause that is so near and dear to my heart,” expresses Bauman.

“This is a killer event, at a killer price. There couldn’t be a better place to spend $31 dollars around the Thanksgiving holiday.” Bauman continues, “We are hopeful the Chicago community will rally around this event, helping aid in this unbelievably important, under-funded, and life-saving cause. My dream is that less and less families this year will have to go through the pain of losing a brother, sister, son or daughter as a result of our efforts ”

About FanFound (savingtinyhearts.org):

Since it’s conception in 2006, FanFound has made significant strides guiding the music industry into a new era of online social networking, ad-supported content distribution, and fan-designed live music events. “Saving Music, One Fan At A Time”, FanFound aims to help fans, artists, and venues collaborate to shape their respective musical communities.

Located in downtown Chicago, FanFound continues to develop a suite of services that will pave the way to an integrated “Music 2.0” industry. Sign up on (www.fanfound.com) to stay informed and learn more.

About the Saving Tiny Hearts Society (savingtinyhearts.org):

The Saving tiny Hearts Society’s mission is to raise money for grossly under-funded, crucial, life-saving research of congenital heart defects (CHD), America’s #1 birth defect. Nearly 1 of every 125 babies born in America each year is affected by a Congenital Heart Defect…

The Saving tiny Hearts Society is the only organization in the country that was formed for the sole purpose of raising funds for congenital heart defect research with 100% of general donations going directly to funding this research. There are no paid employees and we are run entirely by dedicated volunteers. Furthermore, the organization’s overhead costs are fully funded by our Board of Directors and directed donations.

The Saving tiny Hearts Society has 501(c)(3) tax exempt status and a contribution to the organization may be deductible as a charitable contribution.

Fanfound Press Contact: Chris Bauman
Phone: 866 – MUSIC-RX
Email: Chris@fanfound.com