On July 29^th in San Diego, CA, a very special concert and barbeque capped off an important week of music, education and fun. Headlining the Friday night event was an extremely rare musical pairing between Texas guitar legend Anson Funderburgh and the incomparable Kim Wilson. The opening act was pretty special as well.

Blues Lovers United of San Diego ("BLUSD") put on the Blues Music Summer Camp. Seventeen youngsters, in ages ranging from 9 to 16, participated in a Monday through Friday day camp where they learned a little about blues music and a lot about themselves. By Friday afternoon they were ready to put on their own concert, as the opening act for the evening’s headliners. Their principal instructor, Scottie Blinn, and other San Diego based pros joined the kids on stage for the grand finale. They did the song, Bo Diddley. One by one the pros left the stage. By the time the song was over, it was just the students entertaining family, friends and blues lovers who united at this community center in the Mira Mesa neighborhood of San Diego.

I caught up with Michael Kinsman who was serving up barbeque chicken and pulled pork during the concert. He is also the President of BLUSD, which is an all volunteer, nonprofit organization and we discussed the Blues Summer Camp and the Blues in the Schools program his organization makes possible.

David Mac (DM): How long has BLUSD been around?

Michael Kinsman (MK): We started in 1998.

DM: Tell about the name. Why not the San Diego Blues Society?

MK: There was already an organization by that name. It was more or less the providence of one person and it had a certain exclusivity associated with the small organization. We wanted to unite the San Diego blues community. We want to open our organization up to everyone. We don’t want to be snobs. There are many strains and styles of music which fit under the blues umbrella. We want to work towards more inclusion.

DM: Let’s talk a bit about the Blues in the Schools program.

MK: We have been involved in that for eight years now and have given presentations to some 45,000 kids.

DM: That’s great!

MK: We are just trying to plant some seeds and make them aware that there is something out there called blues music. Maybe later in life they will be exposed to it again and they will think to themselves, “That sounds familiar. I like that.” We give them a little history and a little sociology to go along with the musicology. They seem to love it. They don’t even know they are learning.

DM: Now it is summer and time for camp.

MK: We are in our second year. The camp runs from 9:00am -2:00pm Monday through Friday and culminates in the concert you saw last Friday. During the camp the kids grow by leaps and bounds.

DM: I think for a lot of young people interested in music, this probably gives them a chance to get out of their bedrooms where they practice and get with others, maybe even for the first time.

MK: Exactly. The kids feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves. They see how it fits together. They learn how to interact with others on the bandstand. We sometimes start off with just percussion and create a rhythm and then some kid will put down his maracas and pick up a bass and lay down a groove. It’s a wonderful thing to see. A band has to have teamwork, interaction and empathy towards other musicians. Those are real life skills not often found in other curriculums.

DM: It was terrific event. I am very impressed with your organization. It was great incorporating such tremendous talent like Anson and Kim into the program.

MK: It was great seeing Anson on stage again. I wish more guitar players would at least try and pick up on his stuff and what he is doing up there. Every note he plays, he plays it for a reason. Players at all levels can learn from that.

DM: What is on the horizon for BLUSD?

MK: We are involved in the upcoming San Diego Blues Festival. The San Diego Food Bank is putting on the event after an eight year hiatus. We have what we believe to be a very strong lineup with a lot of variety. James Cotton, Lil Ed and Blues Imperials, Café R & B, Tommy Castro and many others will be on the bill.

DM: I look forward to that. It sounds like a great show and it is for a good cause. We will have more on this in the September edition of BLUES JUNCTION.

MK: Thanks Dave…. Stay in touch.

DM: You are welcome and thanks for the BBQ Michael.