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.