The people and musicians of Chicago's old Maxwell Street invite you to a 'Blues Festival' on Sunday, June 11, 2000 from 10:00Am to 3:00Pm and maybe later. The Fest will take place at Frank 'Little Sonny' Scott's Juketown Community Bandstand, at the NW corner of Halsted and Maxwell Streets, across the street from Original Jim's Hot Dog Stand.

The bandstand will be anchored by Maxwell Street veterans Al Harris and the 6 Pack R and B Band with special musicians coming by to sit in, including Jimmie Lee 'Lonley Traveler' Robinson, Johnnie Mae Dunson (Queen of Maxwell Street), Jimi 'Prime Time' Smith, Frank 'Little Sonny' Scott Jr., Clarence 'Lill Scotty' Scott, Mr. H (Baron of the Blues), Shirley King, Bobby Too Tough, Jimmy Isit, Bobby Davis, Rene Maxwell, Irma 'Sugar Baby' Minzie, and surprise guests.

Al Harris is from Shreveport Louisiana where he picked up music from his mother, Beulah McBride, a traditional gospel singer. His 'hard poor' family came to Chicago in 1963 from New Orleans. Al has been singing all his life. "I sang Blues on Bourbon Street in New Orleans when I was 8 years old. When I came to Chicago, I went to Maxwell Street. I listened to those Blues guys, learned from them, and jammed with them. I played a lot by the Blues Tree in back of Nate's Delicatessen with guys like Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis, Willie James, David Lindsey, and Johnny Dollar."

Says folklorist Janelle Walker, "You can listen, dance, sing along, clap your hands, and even sit in with the musicians. This is informal. This is family and grassroots. This is not a bureaucratic-managed simulated experience. This is Blues by, for, and in the community. It's called a 'Blues Festival' but it is really no different than jam sessions that occur frequently and spontaneously all through the warm weather months down on Maxwell Street. There's nothing like it. You can't truly understand the Blues unless you experience it in an authentic environment."

Clarence 'Lill Scotty' Scott exclaims, "Maxwell Street is down home, the real deal, like ham hocks and beans".

Maxwell Street Coalition Vice President Steve Balkin says, "It is hoped that experiencing Blues, amongst the people and buildings where it was originally created, will encourage visitors to cry out against the injustice of the University of Illinois's and the City of Chicago's plan to destroy the city's most important Blues landmark. New Orleans saved the French Quarter and Memphis saved Beale Street. Why is Chicago going to annihilate the remainder of old Maxwell Street?" Blues historian Chuck Cowdery answers, "Maxwell Street's impending destruction is perpetrated by two of civilizations oldest and worst enemies, fear and ignorance."

There are 60 historic buildings, half with businesses still in them. You can still eat a Maxwell Street Polish Sausage from Original Jim's, get a Zoot Suit from Sandy's, purchase Blues records from Reverend Johnson's Blues Bus Music, and buy incense and perfume from the street vendors.

Says Jimmie Lee 'Lonely Traveler' Robinson, "This may be the last time to experience a Maxwell Street jam session. You can tell your grand children about it. The Chicago Blues Festival in lakefront Grant Park is a wonderful thing but there would be no Chicago Blues Festival without Maxwell Street. Maxwell Street was before the Blues Festivals came into existence and is the home of the blues for all of the worlds."

For more information, contact Steve Balkin <mar@openair.org> ph 312-341-3696; Frank 'Little Sonny' Scott Jr., ph 773-264-4746; or Mr. H, ph:312-813-1051, and visit the website of the Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition < http://www.openair.org/maxwell/preserve.html>.

DIRECTIONS: The Maxwell Street Juketown Community Bandstand is just a little south and west of Chicago's Loop. From Grant Park, go south on Michigan Avenue to Roosevelt Rd., then west on Roosevelt (past the New Market) to South Halsted. Then go south on Halsted three blocks. From Grant Park it is a long walk (about 2 miles) or a short cab drive.

You can also take an El (Orange Line) or subway ( Red Line) to Roosevelt Rd. and then a bus west to Halsted. Or, take the Congress Blues line subway to South Halsted (by UIC) and then a Halsted bus south to Maxwell Street.

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