Legacy Room and DJs

Back for its second year, Mile High Blues is excited to present the Legacy room. As a community, we continue to have discussion about our general understanding of Blues and Black culture: How do we develop a relationship with Black culture so our relationship with Blues is part of the legacy of Blues? One aspect we felt was an easy thing to address was knowledge of Black culture. We chose to do this through incorporating music that was influenced by the creation of Blues. American Blues music is one of the original styles of music to come out of the Americas. The creation of that music has greatly impacted the musical landscape of Black culture. By looking at other genres of music we can gain an understanding of Black culture as a whole and have another angle to look at Blues music with. And so the Legacy room was born. The focus of this room is going to be on music styles that are the legacy of Blues music. In addition to the Blues sounds you may hear in this room, there will be: Jazz, Soul, Funk, Hip Hop, Rap, R&B, Rhythm and Blues, Trap and so much more.

If you know other African diaspora dances that come out of the African American community, this is a great time to try them out and find their relationship to Blues. If you don’t, this is a great place to explore what happened to dance as the music changed over the years, and get in touch with more current Black musical expression. Join us!

Look here soon for more information on how the Legacy Room will be part of our 10 Year Anniversary at Mile High Blues 2019.

DJs

Kenneth Shipp - Legacy Room

Kenneth has been spinning tunes for well over a decade, creating breakdance mixes from his dad’s vinyl collection to DJing hip hop / break competitions in college. After falling in love with blues in 2014, he’s spent the past few years learning and diving into the wide variety of blues styles and history. Kenneth aims to get you grooving and moving every time you step out onto the dance floor. He loves playing with your faves while also showcasing the soul/blues legends from his hometown of Nashville and his new home of St. Louis.

Song that represents me: I Like To Live The Love by B.B. King and Bobby “Blue” Bland

Charlley Ward - Blues

Since growing up the Son of a Baptist Minister and singing in church choirs from childhood forward, Charlley Ward has been playing, singing and telling stories about the Blues for over four decades, and dancing and performing as a DJ for the last four years. As a musician he has competed in the International Blues Challenge four times, making the semi-finals of the competition twice. He studied Piedmont Blues with John Dee Holman, the last of the Durham Blues Guitarists, and Storytelling with Blues and Traditional Musician and Storyteller David Holt. As a Middle School Theatre Teacher he injected a unit of Blues history into each of his classes, exposing thousands of young people to the Music and the stories that surround it.

He has performed at RDU Blues in Durham NC where he is now an organizer on four occasions, including the last Tobacco Road Blues exchange, and as a DJ at RDU and at The Blues Experiment earlier this Spring. He is currently working on an album with his band, Bull City Blues Band that will be ready for release later this year. Earlier this year he was given a Rising Star award by BLUEShout! in Chicago.

He is passionate about bringing an eclectic mixture of classic and funky modern Blues to dancers, with both live performances and carefully crafted DJ sets. He is an outspoken advocate for both the preservation and advancement of the Blues in all its forms. He continues to work on his dancing, and has attended so many workshops and exchanges this spring that “The Teachers must think I’m stalking them.”

He sometimes makes Mojos, often carries a John the Conqueror Root, and has been known to build and work on guitars. He is owned by a grey and white Cat named Smokey who rightfully believes that he is King of the Universe.

Brandy Smith - Legacy Room

Brandy is excited to be a Legacy DJ at Mile High Blues! Soul music has a special place in her heart. She grew up dancing and singing to artists like Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Temptations and Diana Ross.This will be Brandy’s first time attending Mile High and she can’t wait to share some of her favorite tunes with you. Don’t forget to ask her to dance!

My song: “Nobody’s Baby” – Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

Callie Gieck - Blues

Based in Denver, CO, Callie has been dancing nonstop since February, 2015. She loves djaying locally as well as around the world as it allows her to spread her love and excitement of dance. Able to read the energy of the room, Callie plays the music that will keep you dancing all night!

Dan Miles - Blues

Dan Miles first fell in love with the blues at the 2012 Chicago Blues Festival, on a Sunday evening, overwhelmed by their tribute to Koko Taylor, the Queen of the Chicago Blues. With that as his starting point, he has been refining his understanding of blues and exploring the rich variety of the genre ever since. Dan happily accepts the label of “traditionalist” as a blues DJ, both in the typical sense of sticking to the genre and in the sense of recognizing and embracing the blues tradition as one that is diverse, inclusive, historically rooted, and still very much alive today. Expect his sets to ramble through a range of topics, eras, and regional styles, hitting both some vintage classics and some currently performing blues bands from around his home in Columbus, Ohio.

Song that speaks to me: https://open.spotify.com/track/3CSblUWnDlPWXin0awEcHE