The Blues Church: Press

The Chittlin Circuit magazine was invited to B.B. King's in Hollywood, California last Saturday Setpember 8, 2008 to watch several Blues bands show off their stuff on stage.

One of those bands was Suzanne & The Blues Church. Lead guitarist and bandleader. The band played a full set of songs with a mixture of Blues standards and orginial tunes. Suzanne's uptempo take on Shirley Brown's Sleep With One Eye Open would have made Shirley proud.

The final tune for The Blues Church, an orginial called Payday Loan helped end the set in grand style and was reason for the STANDING OVATION the band recieved upon closing.

You can bet that as soon as the CD is ready we will get in added to our playlist on our Internet Radio Station.....

2nd National Women in Blues Festival
Celebrate the Arts presents, the 2nd National Women in Blues Festival in Wilmington, North Carolina, November 2nd & 3rd on the lower level of the Water Street Parking Deck, over looking the Cape Fear River. The Festival not only brings in women blues artists from all over the country, its ticket profits benefit many women’s charities including; Domestic Violence, Rape Crisis, CARE of UNCW, and the Full Belly Project.

This year’s headliners are well-known to blue’s lovers worldwide. Friday night, November 2nd sees none other than the Georgia Songbird and six time Blues Music Award nominee, EG Kight. Her music has been on the Billboard charts and she has shared the stage with notables like; Taj Mahal, Delbert McClinton, Phoebe Snow, and Merle Haggard.


Saturday night, November 3rd headliner is Deanna Bogart, who will be coming fresh from the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue, sharing the stage with Tommy Castro Band, Ronnie Baker Brooks, and Magic Dick. Deanna also was nominated as Best Instrumentalist for the 2007 Blues Music Awards. She will be appearing at the National Women in Blues Festival with The Deanna Bogart Band.


Blues women from around the country will appear on this Festival’s stage, including artists from the West Coast like Lara Price and Laura Chavez, Suzanne Thomas and the Blues Church and the Queen of Steam, Michele Lundeen. New York hails solo artist Sarah Lemieux. Back from Arkansas, Big Red & the Soul Benders. Southeast artists include; Robin Rogers (finalist in the 2004 International Blues Challenge), Patty Benson, The Grit Pixies and the regions Grandmother of Blues, Rose Lucas. Hailing from Chicago is Juke Joint Judy. A surprise this year is an international artist, Sophie Kay from France. We have a few other artists confirming so check the web site line up!


Event founder and coordinator, Michele Seidman (of Michele & The Midnight Blues) is pleased to announce the addition of a compilation CD, in conjunction with JoMar Records. The artists chosen are as far away as Australia and Paris and as near as your own backyard. They include Sandy Atkinson, Julie Black, Kelly Dees, Nicole Hart Band, Michele Lundeen, Pat Hunter, Sophie Kay, Patty Benson, Andrea Marr, Octavia, Laura Price Band, Michele & The Midnight Blues, Peggy Ratusz, Suzanne Thomas & the Blues Church, Gina Sicilia, and Sarah Lemieux. This CD will be on sale at the festival and available on line through JoMor Record and their distributors!


Tickets will be available through the web site starting September 1st, 2007 ($20 each night or $30 for the weekend pass). For blues lovers and music fans of every age, this is an event not to miss. Compilation CDs will be available at the Festival and soon online. For more information go to www.NationalWomenInBlues.com, where you will find more on the line-up and direct contact information, or you can email Wilmywoodmayor@aol.com . To sample the artists music check our friends list at www.myspace.com/nationalwomeninblues

MAKING MUSIC: National Women in Blues Festival
The beautiful thing about the creation process is that sometimes your creation takes on a life of its own. And before you know it, you’re working with something much larger than ever anticipated.

Such is the path that led local musician, actress, acting coach and all around good-hearted woman Michele Seidman to turn an inspired idea into a successful annual event: the National Women in Blues Festival.

In its second year, the National Women in Blues Festival will take place November 2 and 3 on the lower level of the Water Street Parking Deck, overlooking the Cape Fear River.


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One of Seidman’s goals was to do “something good” with the festival – which she is doing plenty of. This year’s festival will raise money for women’s charities such as Domestic Violence, Rape Crisis, CARE of UNCW and the Full Belly Project.

“The idea was to make this a positive thing in multiple ways – and darn if it didn’t work,” said Michele.
This year, blues lovers can enjoy the sounds of six-time Blues Music Awards nominee EG Kight on November 2. On the following night, fans can listen to the sounds of the Blues Music Award’s 2007 “Best Instrumentalist” Deanna Bogart with her band, The Deanna Bogart Band.


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Ensuring that all facets of the blues world are represented (soul, Memphis, Texas, rockin’ blues, etc.) the festival will feature countless acts from around the country, and a few international artists: Lara Price and Laura Chavez, Suzanne Thomas and the Blues Church, Michele Lundeen (the “Queen of Steam”), Robin Rogers, Patty Benson, The Grit Pixies, local favorite Rose Lucas, Sophie Kay (all the way from France) and many others.

Event Founder and Coordinator Michele Siedman will perform her brand of “blues that’s more than ‘cry in your beer music’” with her band Michele & the Midnight Blues.


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In near disbelief at how much the festival has grown in such a short period of time, Michele humbly, yet excitedly, shared how her good idea evolved. After attending the King Biscuit Festival in Arkansas (the “Bonnaroo of Blues Music,” she tells me), Michele was very surprised to discover that out of 50 acts, just how few women blues artists were there taking center stage. But yet every woman that she did meet wanted to be a part of something bigger.

“In less than six weeks, I had women from all over the country coming in – interested in being a part of the Women in Blues Festival,” Michele said. “Now I get calls from very famous blues women telling me that what I’m doing is important and to keep it up.”

“The Women in Blues is a ‘sisterhood of blues,’” Michele concludes. “There’s a community – it’s a blues family. The fans and the musicians know each other. Everybody looks after you…When the artists leave this event, I want them to go ‘that was special.’”