Re: [Harp-L] Hippest Musician's Towns

[BostonMoeJo@xxxxxxx]

It's funny (serendipity?) that this subject has come up at this time.

I have been toying with the idea of promoting a "Harp Summit/Jam Camp/ 
Harmonica Workshop" kinda thing here in Boston. We really have a wealth of talent to 
draw from in town and, of course, we're only  a 4 1/2 hr. drive from NYC (and 
an hour to NH, ME, RI & VT)

Last night I was talking with the great bluesman Chris "Stoval" Brown about 
my idea and he was lamenting about the lack of  venues in Boston for live music 
in general and blues specifically. Boston/Cambridge used to be a great blues 
town with  loads of places to hear/play blues music. So much so that a number 
of renowned Artists have made their homes here. But, alas, we seem to be 
experiencing the same phenomenon that's apparently sweeping the globe (the DJ/Hip 
hop thang) that's reminiscent  of the disco craze of the 70's.

As a former booking agent I recall a number of cities that were "easy" to 
book [most notably San Francisco, Austin, New Orleans, Minneapolis, Montreal, 
Toronto, Vancouver, Chicago, Rochester, Buffalo, New Haven, NYC (which I find 
quite livable, not being a goat roper) and, of course, Boston/Cambridge] where 
the demand for talent seemed to exceed supply. I'm optimistic that live music 
will survive the current climate, as it has done in the past, but fear for the 
artists that are unable to survive financially until the pendulum swings back 
again.

I'd be interested to hear from  Harp-Llisters (off list, of course) who might 
be interested in attending such an event here in Boston. One goal would be to 
keep it as affordable as possible while making it the best possible learning 
experience. 

All said, Boston's a pretty hip town.