The Great Lakes Blues Society (GLBS), in cooperation with numerous community supporters, is pleased to present another chapter in our "Blues In The Schools" (BITS) series of learning through the arts programming. Blues is the foundation for all of the popular music styles we listen to today. The focus of BITS is to educate our youth on the importance of this uniquely North American art form known as the blues.

Each year, the GLBS provides these educational performances for local schools at absolutely no charge. Our goal is to educate our youth about the history of the blues and how it has influenced our music today, but moreover, to keep our youth engaged and excited about music and the arts.

The GLBS is proud to once again present Reverend Robert B. Jones, an accredited blues historian who has been awarded the prestigious Blues With A Feeling Award - a recognition offered by The Blues Foundation in Memphis, Tennessee -- for his lifetime of work in music history education.  After one of Rev. Jones' performances, Terry McManus (Fanshawe College Music Industry Arts Professor) had this to say, "Rev. Robert Jones delivered a spiritual journey through the roots of North American music. His time-lines and the use of period instrumentation brought the story home to my students."

The revised and up-to-date schedule for our 2011 Blues In The Schools program is as follows:

Date:March 8, 2011

Location:St. Mary Choir School

Show times: 10:15AM and 1:30PM

Date:March 9, 2011

Location:South Secondary School

Show times: 11:00AM and 1:30PM

Additionally, Rev. Robert Jones will perform at the London Music Hall Lounge on March 8, 2011 at 8PM

The Great Lakes Blues Society is a responsible music preservation group based in London that produces blues events throughout the calendar year. Each event is a fundraiser for BITS and/or a community partner. In our short history, we have raised more than $100,000 for local charities and invested more than $30,000 in our BITS programs. Here is a brief history of our previous BITS events.

MARCH 2006 - Reverend Robert Jones performed four shows at various locations. Approximately 900 elementary students and more than 500 Fanshawe College music students attended the sessions.

MARCH 2007 - Reverend Jones returned to the London area, and performed four shows at various locations. Approximately 1000 elementary students and more than 1000 college and university students attended the sessions.

MARCH 2008 - Reverend Jones returned to London and performed six shows. Approximately 1300 elementary students and more than 1000 high school students attended the sessions.

APRIL 2009 -Acclaimed Canadian folk/roots music artists Rick Fines and Suzie Vinnick teamed up to present the history of roots music and its relevance to North American pop culture. Fines and Vinnick performed four shows in London and Woodstock for more than 1400 elementary grade students.

MAY 2010 - Legendary Chicago blues master Billy Branch is a 40+ year veteran of the blues stage and is one of the founding fathers of Blues In The Schools. Branch and his band performed four blues music history lessons to approx. 700 elementary, high school, and college students.