Welcome
to the official website of the W.C. Handy Music Festival. Sponsored by
the Music Preservation Society, this event is held annually in the Shoals
area of Florence, Alabama. Previous festivals have featured jazz and blues legends
including Jimmy Smith, Ramsey Lewis, Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby Blue Bland, Diane
Schuur, Billy Taylor, Dianne Reeves and Charlie Byrd.
W.C. Handy,
known as the “Father of the Blues”, was born in a simple
log cabin in Florence, AL on Nov. 16, 1873 and lived there until he was nineteen
years old. Handy composed the famous tunes “St. Louis Blues,” “Memphis Blues,”
“Yellow Dog Blues,” and “Beale Street Blues”. Click here to read a biography
of W.C. Handy written by Terry Pace, educator and Muscle Shoals music historian.
W.C.
Handy Design Entry Calling all creative talent! The winning
design will publicize the W.C. Handy Music Festival and reflect the
theme of the festival. Click here to
view the 2009 design entry details. (Includes entry forms)
New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music
The Tennessee Valley Museum of Art is the first of six venues for an
Alabama tour of the Smithsonian Institution’s exhibition, New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music.
The exhibition is touring the U.S. It identifies the cultural exchange
that reshaped musical traditions of many peoples into the sounds of one
people: Americans. In conjunction with the Smithsonian exhibition, the
Tennessee Valley Museum of Art, Alabama Music Hall of Fame, the Muscle
Shoals Music Association and Music Preservation Society have
collaborated to develop additional exhibitions and educational programs
that identify the cultural exchange that reshaped the musical
traditions of our own community: traditions that produced artists whose
“new harmonies” impacted music around the world including “The Muscle
Shoals Sound” and W. C. Handy. Click here for full details...
The
4th Annual Sam Phillips Music Celebration! The Sam Phillips Music Celebration,
The City of Florence, The Marriott Shoals Hotel and Conference Center and Big
River Broadcasting are pleased to announce the dates and performances for the
4th Annual Celebration, January 5-10, 2009, honoring Florence, AL Native, Sun
Records Founder and the Father of Rock and Roll, Sam Phillips. Click here to visit
the official Sam Phillips
Music Celebration website.
W.C.
Handy Music Festival named Event of the Year for 2007 The
W.C. Handy Music Festival was named Alabama’s 2007 Event of the Year. The
award ceremony took place Tuesday night, September 18, during the Alabama Governor’s
Conference on Tourism at the Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach, Ala., with
approximately 275 state tourism leaders present for the occasion. Click
here to read the full story...
The W.C. Handy Music Festival was selected as a "Must
See" event on the Year of Arts Destination Roster for 2007. The
Year of Alabama Arts promotion is designed to highlight arts attractions and festivals
across the state beginning September and continuing through all of 2007. State
art museums and galleries have already planned special exhibits highlighting Alabama
art and artists for the year. All areas of visual and performing arts including
painting, sculpture, music, dance, and theatre will be featured in The Year of
Alabama Arts.
Homemade
Jamz Blues Band featured on CBS Sunday Morning
Dec 2, 2007
The Homemade Jamz Blues Band plays at the Riverside Jazz event in
McFarland Park, Florence, Alabama. The story may be viewed on the CBS
Sunday Morning website. Visit the band's website by clicking
here.
The
4th Annual Sam Phillips Music Celebration! The Sam Phillips Music Celebration,
The City of Florence, The Marriott Shoals Hotel and Conference Center and Big
River Broadcasting are pleased to announce the dates and performances for the
4th Annual Celebration, January 5-10, 2009, honoring Florence, AL Native, Sun
Records Founder and the Father of Rock and Roll, Sam Phillips. Click here to visit
the 
