MARK MONTGOMERY ADVANCES to the FINALS!!!!!
Congratulations to Mark Montgomery for making it to the finals of the International Blues Challenge in the solo/duo category. It has been a minute since a KC act made it that far. We are so very proud of him and wish him the very best. We will all be at the Orpheum Theater tomorrow cheering him on! WooHoo!!
Coyote Bill and The Brood didn’t advance, but we are still so very proud of them! Thank you for your efforts and for representing Kansas City!
Coyote Bill and The Brood, Band Challenger
Band Spotlight – Junebug and the Porchlights
We highlight Junebug and the Porchlights this month. The band was created by John “Junebug” Stuerke, who does lead vocals. The other members are Mike Elrod on …
Masterclass, Anyone?
On March 11, Eric Gales, Buddy Guy, and Ally Venable will be performing at the Uptown Theater. The KCBS was asked by two local musicians to try and set up …
International Blues Challenge (IBC) 2023 Wrap-Up
After winning the KCBS’ challenge in September and doing many fundraising events and performances, Mark Montgomery (Solo category) and Coyote Bill and the Brood …
The Blues is Everywhere Word search – February 2023
You may feel like you’re living Groundhog Day over and over – but here’s a new word search puzzle! How many bluesy words or phrases can you …
Mardi Gras Party!
Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, reflecting the practice of the last night of eating rich, fatty foods before the ritual sacrifices and fasting of the …
2022 Accomplishments Report
2022 was a successful year for the Kansas City Blues Society; we have even bigger plans to expand on those successes in 2023.

Congratulations!
Patricia Page of Canandaigua, NY!
She won the Blues Cruise Raffle and is on her way to a blues-filled week in the Carribean!
Ms. Page is an avid LRBC cruiser; in fact, she was already booked on the January 2023 cruise. She regularly purchases cabins for musicians to go on the cruise and plans to use her winning ticket to invite Damon Fowler and his wife on the cruise. We appreciate her support and applaud her generosity in support of blues music!
Thanks to everyone who bought tickets and supported this important fundraiser for the Kansas City Blues Society. We will start selling cruise raffle tickets for LRBC #40 in April 2023.
Album Reviews
Album Review: Zero-2-Sixty
From Tulsa, Oklahoma, the self-taught guitarist got his start in the blues business touring in the backing band for Oklahoma legend, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown…
Album Review: The Strongman Blues Remedy
Steve Strongman was shut down by Covid. Don’t let the name fool you, he’s not with the circus, he’s a musician.
Album Review: Good Trouble
Here’s a couple of blues artists that have both recorded and performed as solo acts and in support of others. Annika may be described as soul/gospel, Paul as blues/rock.
Album Review: Everybody Let’s Roll
There ain’t no sitting still when this is playing, you feel the energy from the horns.
Check out Yesterday’s Blues
- Buddy MossBy Doyle M. Pace, originally published in the May 1994 Blues News With the focus so often on the Mississippi Delta area as the “cradle of the blues,” other places where the blues were nurtured are sometimes slighted. One such place is Atlanta, Georgia. In …
- Johnny ShinesBy Doyle M. Pace, originally published in the FMarch 1994 Blues News Johnny Shines was a highly gifted guitar player and a literate and poetic composer of blues lyrics. He was, as well, one of our greatest bluesmen. However, through unfortunate circumstances, he never attained the …
- Professor LonghairBy Doyle M. Pace, originally published in the February 1994 Blues News In October of 1993, New Orleans premier music club, Tipitina’s, officially changed its name to Professor Longhair’s Tipitina to honor the legendary piano player, singer, and composer who made the club his home base …
- Speckled Red & the Dirty DozensBy Doyle M. Pace, originally published in the April 1994 Blues News “Playing at the Dozens” or “Putting in the Dozens” is a folk game in which two or more participants hurl insults and boasts at one another. These highly imaginative and metaphorical comments are …
- Willie Mae “Big Mama” ThorntonBy Doyle M. Pace, originally published in the February 1995 Blues News In 1952, Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton recorded a robust and raunchy number with a lot of innuendo and double entendre about a fed-up female who is telling a no-account, libidinous sporting man …
- Walter “Furry” LewisBy Doyle M. Pace, originally published in the December 1990 Blues News Beale Street, for the first quarter of this century, was one of the roughest and toughest, most rocking and swinging, wide-open streets in the country. It was a close counterpart of Kansas City’s Eighteenth and …