Main Blues

Building off the great success of the first two years, The Pinetop Perkins Foundation plans to expand their workshop offerings next year to include a harmonica master class, along with the piano and guitar workshops. The overall goal of the workshops is to preserve Pinetop's legacy by bringing support and encouragement to young musicians at the beginning of their careers.

The 2012 Workshops will be held from June 13 to 15 at the Shack Up Inn and Hopson's Commissary in Clarksdale, Mississippi. This will be followed by a performance and jam at the world famous Ground Zero blues club in Clarksdale. While the workshops will continue to be available to both "the young and the young at heart," scholarships will be available to youth ages 12-21 only.

The harmonica workshop will be led by Gary Allegretto. Winner of the 2011 Keeping the Blues Alive award for Blues Education from The Blues Foundation, Allegretto has decades of experience performing, recording and especially teaching harmonica to youth around the world. Since 1985, through his
nonprofit organization Harmonikids, he has provided music therapy and harmonicas to many thousands of children around the world with a wide range of physical, emotional, and/or economic disadvantages.

Bob Margolin returns to lead the guitar workshops. A Pinetop Perkins Foundation board member and recording artist Margolin, is widely recognized as one of the best blues guitar players in the country. A member of the Muddy Waters band for seven years, he has won numerous awards and active performance schedule. As an educator, he has taught blues guitar workshops, has an instructional video on Muddy Waters' guitar style, and has given workshops at Blues Festivals and events worldwide.

The piano workshop leader will be announced in the next few months. The cost remains at $395 which includes a meet and greet dinner and jam on the evening of June 12th, two and a half days of instruction, nightly jams, and lunch for two days. It does not include lodging.

"Bob Margolin's deep passion, knowledge and incredible ability to play Delta style blues guitar coupled with the accommodations in Clarksdale, make this workshop unlike any musical experience I have ever had," says past workshop attendee John Sillaman.

Dara Bigger, a parent of a previous attendee, adds: "The workshop was a great opportunity for my kids! They expanded their musical horizons, learned new ways to play the blues and gained a greater appreciation for the stories behind the blues."

Further information, or to register for the workshops; please visit the Pinetop Perkins Foundation website at www.pinetopperkinsfoundation.org/masterclass12.html.