Lisa joined MBS in 2019, as blues music has been a big part of her life since growing up near, then in, Chicago in the late 1980s/early 1990s. She explains, “…back then I lived right by the “L”, was finishing undergrad at UIC, and working at a marking research firm downtown. Live music was a big part of my life.
Thinking about it now, it’s astonishing that I could walk acouple blocks any night to experience Dion Payton (& Joanna Connors), Bobby Blue Bland, Junior Wells, Eddie Kingston, Eddie Clearwater, BB King, Buddy Guy, and just so many more!! Kingston Mines , Rosas, Legends, Checkerboard, Circle Star Theatre, and more.” Dion Payton and his 43rd Street Blues band was nearly a nightly routine. Yet those afterhour forays with Juie, my sister, and her boyfriend Tim, deep west and south to experience pure sweet *and raucous* blues — people, culture, music, food that seared deep into my heart all that is so incredibly, so richly Blues.
Lisa provides website support for MBS, and with Bruce Wasserman, serves on the Social Media Team to kickstart MBS’s presence on line and right into the hearts of new generations of appreciative folks.
“I love this group — the board members, volunteers, musicians and audiences bring out this, “be who you are, we love Ya!” Shared positive energy listening & lovin’ music, pure and simple.
MBS though does more, provding needed community support, enhancing library resources on blues, and special to me, hosting “music experiences” for kids, libraries and elsewhere… It’s my hope we can reenergize those important initiatives in the coming years…”
MBS provides a judgement-free ‘space’, a feeling of “welcome, everyone is invited to share this good time!” Now that to me is worth working hard to create and maintain!
