The BLues Project 2014 - Black and Blue: The Fight for Freedom
This year, the Blues Project will be focused on the Civil Rights movement. Though emancipated from slavery after the Civil War, it took African-Americans nearly a century to claim their full legal rights as American citizens. Although small gains were made over that time, it wasn't until the late 1950s and 1960s that the Civil Rights Movement really gained steam, thanks in large part to the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. During this time, black Americans marched, sat, and protested for their equal rights in a non-violent social revolution. Since they did not physically fight against the US legal system, the only weapon they had was their voices. In mass meetings, sit-ins, and marches, singing was always prominent. Music unified the activists, strengthened their resolve, and reminded them of the mission ahead. While getting black and blue from violent beatings, attack dogs, fire hoses, and billy clubs, these civil rights activists sang in the face of their oppressors the songs of their ancestors, reworked and re-purposed for their current fight. This year's Blues Project will highlight those songs, as well as other popular music of the time that reflected the struggle and fight for civil rights. This music is the soundtrack to the civil rights movement.
Saturday, March 15th, 2014
Valparaiso High School Auditorium
7pm
$5/person, $20/family
Valparaiso High School Auditorium
7pm
$5/person, $20/family
Blues Project 2014: The Script
Learn the history behind the songs and the power of the music of the Blues Project by reading the narrative from this year's show
Blues Project 2014: Set List
The Blues Project this year will be focused on the music of the Civil Rights movement. Below you'll find some of the topics we'll cover and the songs we'll listen to.
Opening
1. Traditional (Louie Armstrong) - Go Down Moses
Blues and Sharecropping
2. Charley Patton - I Shall Not Be Moved
Lynchings
3. Billie Holliday – Strange Fruit (1939)
Jim Crow/Blacks in WWII (1942-1946)
4. Josh White – Uncle Sam Says (1941)
Brown Vs. Board (1954)
5. Big Bill Broonzy – Black, Brown and White (1946/7)
Emmett Till (1955)
6. The Ramparts – Death of Emmitt Till (parts 1&2) (1955)
Rosa Parks (1955)
7. Brother Will Hairston - Alabama Bus (1955)
Little Rock 9 (1957)
8. Staple Singers – Why (Am I Treated So Bad?) (1957)
Sit-ins – Greensboro, NC (1960)
9. Traditional (Dan Zanes) – The Welcome Table
SNCC – Freedom Rides Begin (1961)
10. The Consolers - Waiting for My Child to Come (1963)
James Meridith (1962)
11. Traditional (Joss Stone) – Keep Your Eyes on the Prize
Medgar Evers Killed (1963)
12. Traditional (Blind Boys of Alabama) - This May Be the Last Time
Great Migration
13. Louisiana Red - Ride on Red (1962)
Church Bombing in Birminham, AL (1964)
14. JB Lenoir –Alabama Song (1965)
Civil Rights Act (1964)
15. Sam Cooke – A Change is Gonna Come (1964-5)
Freedom Summer - 3 Freedom Riders found Dead in MS (06/1964)
16. Mavis Staples – In the Mississippi River
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party/Fannie Lou Hamer (10/1964)
17. Traditional (Fannie Lou Hamer) - This Little Light of Mine
March from Selma to Montgomery (1965)
18. Traditional (The Roots) – Aint Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around
Voting Rights Act (1965)
19. People Get Ready - The Impressions (Mayfield) (1965)
Thurgood Marshall appointed to SCOTUS (1967)
20. Aretha Franklin - Respect (1967)
MLK shot (1968)
21. George Perkins – Crying in the Streets
Civil Rights Act of 1968
22. Traditional – We Shall Overcome
Opening
1. Traditional (Louie Armstrong) - Go Down Moses
Blues and Sharecropping
2. Charley Patton - I Shall Not Be Moved
Lynchings
3. Billie Holliday – Strange Fruit (1939)
Jim Crow/Blacks in WWII (1942-1946)
4. Josh White – Uncle Sam Says (1941)
Brown Vs. Board (1954)
5. Big Bill Broonzy – Black, Brown and White (1946/7)
Emmett Till (1955)
6. The Ramparts – Death of Emmitt Till (parts 1&2) (1955)
Rosa Parks (1955)
7. Brother Will Hairston - Alabama Bus (1955)
Little Rock 9 (1957)
8. Staple Singers – Why (Am I Treated So Bad?) (1957)
Sit-ins – Greensboro, NC (1960)
9. Traditional (Dan Zanes) – The Welcome Table
SNCC – Freedom Rides Begin (1961)
10. The Consolers - Waiting for My Child to Come (1963)
James Meridith (1962)
11. Traditional (Joss Stone) – Keep Your Eyes on the Prize
Medgar Evers Killed (1963)
12. Traditional (Blind Boys of Alabama) - This May Be the Last Time
Great Migration
13. Louisiana Red - Ride on Red (1962)
Church Bombing in Birminham, AL (1964)
14. JB Lenoir –Alabama Song (1965)
Civil Rights Act (1964)
15. Sam Cooke – A Change is Gonna Come (1964-5)
Freedom Summer - 3 Freedom Riders found Dead in MS (06/1964)
16. Mavis Staples – In the Mississippi River
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party/Fannie Lou Hamer (10/1964)
17. Traditional (Fannie Lou Hamer) - This Little Light of Mine
March from Selma to Montgomery (1965)
18. Traditional (The Roots) – Aint Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around
Voting Rights Act (1965)
19. People Get Ready - The Impressions (Mayfield) (1965)
Thurgood Marshall appointed to SCOTUS (1967)
20. Aretha Franklin - Respect (1967)
MLK shot (1968)
21. George Perkins – Crying in the Streets
Civil Rights Act of 1968
22. Traditional – We Shall Overcome