Students learn history of blue in Blues in School program

OZARK, Ala. (AP) - Students took part in a program that teaches the history of the blues in Alabama.

Mixon Elementary School students jammed with members of the Alabama Blues Project to learn more about the genre’s history through the Blues in the Schools program, the Dothan Eagle (https://bit.ly/23av2Ty) reported. The band performed for students at the school for about an hour Thursday, interjecting lessons about the blues and its roots in the Wiregrass between songs.

Debbie Bond is the co-founder of the project. Her and members of the Blues in Schools Project demonstrated classic blues instruments and told students about the history of the blues - including information about local blues legends.

“This gives students a chance to see a style of music that they don’t often get to see,” Ozark City Schools Superintendent Rick McInturf said.

Bond said she enjoys the opportunity to provide some musical enrichment at Mixon, which does not have a formal music education program.

“They are completely wide open,” Bond said about Mixon students. “They are very receptive. With older students you have more peer pressure.”

Bond said she hopes her program exposed students to music they may not have experienced before and encouraged some of them to learn more about the blues.

Thursday’s performance was part of the Wiregrass Blues Fest, which finished Saturday.

According to the university, Little Jimmy Reed, an Enterprise resident, has played the blues professionally for 50 years. Reed can often be seen playing at festivals and events in the area, and his music career has taken him overseas to Europe, Israel and Lebanon.