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A Brief History of Blues Music Blues music, with its deep roots in African-American history, originated in the Deep South of the United States around the late 19th century. Emerging from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, and chants, blues music became a powerful voice for the African-American experience, expressing the pain, struggles, and hopes of its people. The early 20th century saw blues evolve into a distinct genre with pioneers l… Read more

Soulful, passionate, raw, and vulnerable, the best voices in blues can drop you to your knees with heartache or envelop you in warmth. At its best, blues is a solidarity of pain and pleasure.  “The blues style represents . . . a saying of things that are very painful, deep and poignant, with a feeling of ease. In the very best blues the pain changes, because of the music, into something light.”-Eli Siegel Here at Rockaway we are partia… Read more