Natchel Blues Network

Keepin' the Blues Alive in Hampton Roads since 1984

The Natchel' Blues Network (NBN) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to promoting the Blues as a true American art form. Recipient of The Blues Foundation's Keeping The Blues Alive (KBA) award for Blues Organization of the Year in 1998.

The NBN produces the following annual events with the help of our sponsors.

Hampton Acoustic Blues Revival - April Spotlighting local and regional acts and workshops at the Thomas Nelson Community College, Hampton, VA. Including a Silent Auction.	Blue Mondays (fornerly Blues on Boardwalk) featuring local blues bands. Every Monday night in July & August. FREE Blues Concerts on the boardwalk in Virginia Beach at 17th Stree Stage.
Blues at the Beach - Sept 12-14 Free Blues Concerts! This festival f eatures local, national acts and workshops held outdoors at the oceanfront in Virginia Beach at the 17th Street Stage.	Blues House Jam Home Invasions Held a few times a year. These extreme fun events are open to all current NBN members.

History of Natchel' Blues Network

The Natchel' Blues Network (NBN) has been promoting the blues in southeastern Virginia as a 501(C)(3) organization since 1984. Chase Jackson, Ernie Williams, and other musicians wanted to increase the awareness of the blues in Hampton Roads, so they formed the NBN. Our first "Elizabeth River Blues Festival" was presented in Norfolk, VA in 1985 with headliner John Lee Hooker. Over the next ten years, the headliners included Albert King, Katie Webster, Big Twist, Lonnie Brooks, Gatemouth Brown, The Holmes Brothers, Marcia Ball, Denise LaSalle, and Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials.

Due to cuts in grants, this festival has not been presented since 1994. In 1996, Festevents (promoters of the Town Point Jazz Festival for 13 years) and the Natchel' Blues Network joined together to present the Town Point Jazz & Blues Festival. This festival has been very successful. In 1994, we had an opportunity to try a new venue - the oceanfront in Virginia Beach, for Blues At The Beach. The first festival was a low-budget, one-day affair, that presented some of the best of the local blues scene. Since then, Blues At The Beach has included Roomful of Blues, Robert Lockwood, Jr., Bob Margolin with Pinetop Perkins, Lucky Peterson, Smokin' Joe Kubek, Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers, Long John Hunter, R.L. Burnside, Shemekia Copeland, the Nighthawks, and a host of talented local bands. Our organization has always stressed having local bands participate in our festivals.

The NBN has presented workshops by Koko Taylor, Saffire -The Uppity Blues Women, Cephas & Wiggins, John Jackson, and Taj Mahal. These presentations were in conjunction with Norfolk State University and Old Dominion University. In October, 1997, Tim Morgan (one of our directors) started presenting a Blues In The School program and has done several more since that time. We also run Blues Revues throughout the year, present local workshops, publish a monthly calendar, and publish the bi-monthly Blues News newspaper. We have a 24-hour blues hotline, and we hold quarterly membership meetings with educational workshops and performances by local musicians. Our members also presented three benefits for the Johnny Copeland Heart Fund. In 1998, the NBN won the Blues Foundation's Keeping The Blues Alive (KBA) award for Blues Organization of the Year.