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PINETOP PERKINS FOUNDATION

  • HOME
  • WORKSHOP
    • 2019 Workshop Payment
  • HOMECOMING
    • 2018 Homecoming Photos
    • 2017 Homecoming Photos
    • 2019 Homecoming Photos
  • FRIENDS OF PINETOP
  • PINETOP ASSISTANCE LEAGUE
  • BOARD OF DIRECTORS
  • ADVISORY COMM
  • ABOUT PINETOP
    • Pinetop Perkins Photos
  • ALUMNI
  • CLASS PHOTOS
    • 2019 Pinetop Perkins Workshop Experience Photos
    • 2018 Pinetop Perkins Workshop Experience Photos
    • 2017 Pinetop Perkins Workshop Experience Photos
    • 2016 Pinetop Perkins Workshop Experience Photos
    • 2015 Pinetop Perkins Workshop Experience Photos
  • STORE
  • CONTACT
 
The Pinetop Perkins Foundation
Eleventh Annual Workshop Experience 2020

June 09, 2020 - June 12, 2020

Masterclasses in Piano, Guitar, Harmonica, Bass and Drums
Hopson Plantation and Shack Up Inn - Clarksdale, MS

For piano, guitar, bass, drums and harmonica, professional Blues musicians will present the music and techniques for playing it. Sorry, no beginning students allowed. Everyone needs to already have a basic knowledge of their instrument. We won't be starting from scratch. Any musician who has been playing seriously for a year or so should be able to make a lot of progress in his or her Blues playing.  We require at least two years experience for piano workshop participants.

Workshops are open to the young and young at heart - adults welcome!

Scholarships are available for youth ages 12 to 21.

Registration Begins January 01, 2020


2020 Workshop Interns

Radka Kasparcova

Radka Kasparcova

Matt Henderson

Matt Henderson

Ben Levin

Ben Levin

Jaymes Brass

Jaymes Brass

Musical Director - Bob Margolin

Born in 1949, I was just the right age to learn from and play with the departed masters of Delta and Chicago Blues. Now I pay it forward to young musicians who create their own Blues music today and for the future. My experience playing guitar in Muddy Waters’ band in the 1970s, as a bandleader and recording artist since, and as the first instructor of the Pinetop Foundation’s guitar workshops all lead me to my new job as Musical Director.

I’ll ramble through the piano, harmonica, and guitar workshops and impart the how’s and why’s of “playing well with others.” I’ll tell personal stories, more than history, about the Blues legends who are my friends — from Muddy and Pinetop to Stevie Ray to today’s Blues stars. I’ll meet, jam, and socialize with the workshoppers to help them find their own Blues and get what they want from the classes and our real Blues Club concert at the famous Ground Zero Club in Clarksdale.
 
I will make “Music Director” more than being Principal not Professor.  I’m available to any workshoppers for a private lesson or discussion of any aspect of creating or performing Blues music that intrigues YOU. I’ve been on the road a long time and seen everything twice. When you get to a crossroads, I hope I can point toward…the direction that’s right for you.

It’s a thrill and honor for me to be teacher, collaborator, and friend with the workshoppers and their families. The Clarksdale Blues ghosts smile down on all of us.

Harmonica - Billy Branch

Blues giant Billy Branch is among today's greatest harmonica players. With his inventive, deeply rooted playing and gritty, soulful vocals, Branch carries on the Chicago blues tradition that he learned first-hand from icons including Big Walter Horton, James Cotton, Junior Wells, Carey Bell, Willie Dixon and many others. His famous teachers made it clear to anyone who would listen that Branch was the heir apparent to the Chicago blues harmonica throne.

With his instantly recognizable sound and his band, The Sons Of Blues, Branch has traveled the world, creating living, breathing and evolving Chicago blues for over four decades. In addition, he's dedicated years of work to the Blues In The Schools program, helping children—the next generation of blues artists and fans—develop a love for and understanding of the genre.

Piano -Victor Wainwright

Though his career began over a decade ago with genuine boogie-woogie rock n' roll honky-tonk, Wainwright has broadened his artistic scope over the years to include music representing virtually every corner of PIANO BLUES. His insatiable interest in music discovery and sheer love for entertaining and curiosity have led him all around the world. The resulting perspective is a reflection of his passion for entertaining and creating progressive roots music and blues in an effort to move the art-form forward. Composer, producer, vocalist, entertainer and award winning piano player; Victor Wainwright is a raucous high-octane, dynamic performer and crowd pleaser with soul to spare.

“For the past three years straight I have been nominated for the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year award by the Blues Music Foundation. For the last two years, I’ve won. I will gladly and eagerly share with you all of what I know regarding the deeper aspects of how to really play blues piano, especially understanding “the intent” behind the notes you play. Soloing and accompanying blues piano will become much easier when you understand how to approach the bigger picture, and how the piano fits you and/or a band. I’ll share with you rifts and licks, and most importantly, I will help you dig deeper in understanding what’s “behind the notes.”


2020 Workshop Schedule - (subject to change)


Payment/Deposit - Available January 01, 2020


Workshop Registration - Registration Begins January 01, 2020


Youth Scholarships - Apply January 01, 2020


Lodging


Contact


©Pinetop Perkins Foundation - PO Box 1916 - Clarksdale, MS 38614 - pinetopperkinsfoundation@gmail.com - All Rights Reserved