The roots of modern American music lie in the blues. The music has rich history, but sadly some of its most eminent practitioners have been forgotten and are struggling just to get by. The Music Maker Relief Foundation was formed to help provide grants to struggling musicians.
One important tool the Foundation uses to raise money and awareness is the Congressional Blues Festival. The festival, now in its fourth year, takes place tomorrow at the venerable Mellon Auditorium. The lineup includes Adolphus Bell, Mudcat, and Sweet Betty, all Music Maker artists. The show's headliner is Derek Trucks, the young slide guitar virtuoso and nephew of Allman Brother's Band drummer Butch Trucks. Trucks also serves on Music Makers's advisory board, whose membership includes B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Brown, and others.

Music Maker provides money with several different goals in mind. "Most importantly," festival founder and Music Maker board member Ryan Costello told us, "the foundation provides money to struggling musicians for life services, which include rent, health care, etc." Additionally, Music Maker operates a small record label on which these artists can record and release their material. The foundation also provides career development services in order to educate its roster of musicians with respect to the business side of music.

Though there are no official ties between Congress and the festival, its host committee is a bipartisan group of more than 35 members of Congress. Rep. Chip Pickering (R-MS), co-chair of the host committee, said he decided to get involved not only because of his respect for the music, but also because his state is "the birthplace of American roots music, especially the blues." He recognized that these artists are deserving of aid not only because they are musicians, but also "walking historians."

Photo from The Music Maker Relief Foundation's MySpace page.

Costello developed the festival after bringing Music Maker founder Tim Duffy up to D.C. for a "typical Washington day" of meetings with people on the Hill. Realizing the visit was less than successful, Costello realized that people needed to "see, feel, and hear the music." Securing sponsorship from Volkswagen of America, an on-going relationship, the first event was an affair with only a couple hundred attendees. Today, more than 1,500 people attend including many prominent members of the political community.

Wednesday's night lineup shows quite a bit of promise. Headliner Trucks was recently hailed by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of "The New Guitar Gods." He will be performing with his own genre blending band that mixes the blues with latin, jazz, and even South Asian influences. Sweet Betty stands firmly in the tradition of blues divas such as Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith but also brings a strong gospel influence to her singing. Guitarist, Mississippi native, and Music Maker board member Mudcat is considered a master of the slide guitar and his rich voice is perfectly suited for the blues. Adolphus Bell has been playing as a one man band for the past forty years after having grown tired of playing with unreliable musicians. With the help of Music Maker, he was able to release his first album in 2005 after decades of performing.

Costello promises a memorable night on Wednesday. "A cross section of America's representatives will be in the building, so it's a national stage presenting American music." In addition to the performers, Music Maker will have 35 to 40 of its artists in attendance. Though the festival has started to make money for the foundation, Costello's goals do not end there. "This music is part of our national heritage and culture and should be a national icon. I hope that one day this festival will be on par with the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival."

Visit the Congressional Blues Festival web site for ticket information. The free admission includes free food and drink. If all the tickets have been distributed, we suggest you visit the internets, as we've already seen some passes for sale on Craigslist. DCist will be in attendance on Wednesday and we're a tad bit curious to see what happens when the blues, free food, and free booze collide with a sea of Hill staffers and political types. We'll be sure to tell you all about it.