Toot Blues Film To Premiere In New Orleans

Blues fans in the New Orleans area, mark your calendars for next Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 because the documentary film Toot Blues will be receiving its premiere screening at the New Orleans Film Festival.

Toot Blues is the story of Tim Duffy and the Music Maker Relief Foundation (MMRF). For those who don't know, Duffy and the MMRF have done wonderful things since the organization's founding in 1994, helping promote blues music by supporting forgotten blues artists with necessary living and medical expenses. MMRF has also brought many Piedmont-area blues musicians into the studio to record, often for the first time, capturing their songs on tape before they're lost to history.

Toots Blues includes footage of early Music Maker artists like Guitar Gabriel, Cootie Stark, and Willa Mae "The Snake Lady" Buckner, as well as current performers like Captain Luke and Macavine Hayes, who are shown touring Europe and South America. Woven throughout the film is the story of the Music Maker Relief Foundation which, for my money, has done more for blues musicians than any other organization.

The film will screen at 5:15 PM on Wednesday evening at the Prytania Theatre. An after-show party will be held at Checkpoint Charlie's at 10:00 PM and will feature performances from Little Freddie King, Alabama Slim, and Slewfoot; best of all, admission to the after-show blow-out is FREE! For more information on the Music Maker Relief Foundation, check out the organization's website.

Photo courtesy Music Maker Relief Foundation