Upcoming meetings

May Meeting

6:00pm Wednesday May 15
Louie's Dixie Kitchen & BBQ
1104 N. Cunningham Ave., Urbana, IL

We've got some exciting entertainment and educational events in the planning stages. Come out to our next meeting to add your knowledge and talents to our group.

Past Meetings

April Meeting Notes

We had a productive meeting at Destihl on Wednesday April 17. Jeff Grant and Mike Galloway of Fluid Events presented us with some options for our role at the upcoming Champaign Blues, Brews & BBQ Fest in June. We're excited to take an expanded role at the Fest and further our Educational and Entertainment mission. Phil Hult and Sherry Cibelli won the CD givaways.

March Meeting Notes

The No Meeting Meeting
We enjoyed Keith & Kathy Harden as they played at The Clark Bar on Wednesday March 20. It was a great way to combine a little bit of a meeting with a fun night of socializing. The room was packed full of friends and fans enjoying the outstanding entertainment. Most of the business conducted revolved around the discussion of our role at the upcoming Champaign Blues, Brews & BBQ Fest in June. Phil Hult, Sandy Hannum and Sherry Cibelli won the CD givaways.

February Meeting Notes

We had a great meeting in February when we met at Crane Alley in Urbana. Lots of excitement about our education efforts. We received updates on both our BITS after school program at Garden Hills School, and our upcoming youth harmonica workshop at the Urbana Free Library on Saturday March 30th. Our library workshops feature a short lesson on blues history and harmonica instruction. Phil Hult and Jim Hannum won the CD giveaways.

January Meeting Notes

We had a productive meeting in January when we met at Jupiter's at the Crossing in Champaign. A major focus of the meeting was on our upcoming educational programs. Among our various efforts are a BITS after school program at Garden Hills School. We'll also have an educational workshop for grade school kids at the Champaign Public Library on Saturday February 9th. It will feature a short lesson on blues history and harmonica instruction. Sherry Cibelli won the CD giveaway.

December Meeting Notes

Our December meeting took place Saturday the 8th at The Iron Post in Urbana. We had fun with all the members and fans who showed up to see The Painkillers entertain the crowd. As at most of our meetings we gave away a few CD's in a drawing. We've had a great year and look forward to even more success in 2013.

November Meeting Notes

Our November meeting took place on Thursday the 8th at Dublin O'Neil's in Champaign. We looked back on our recent, highly succesful, 2nd Annual IBC. Updates from Committee chairs showed increases in members, bands and corporate sponsors. Our Education Committe also reported we'd received a grant from the Orange Krush Foundation for a series of workshops this winter at local libraries, and that we will be involved in an After-School Program at Garden Hills School in Champaign. The Entertainment Committee gave updates on three upcoming shows. It was an excellent meeting with lot's of good news and good food. Phil won the CD giveaway and selected an Anders Osborne CD.

October Meeting Notes

Committee chairs gave updates on Membership, Finanace and Education. Most of the meeting focused on planning for our upcoming 2nd Annual IBC Challenge which takes place Saturday October 20th at Memphis on Main. Rich Cibelli won the monthly CD giveaway and gave it to Phil Hult who walked away with a copy of the recent Little Ed & The Blues Imperials CD.

September Meeting Notes

We talked about progress recruiting bands for our 2nd Annual IBC, October 20 at Memphis on Main. Posters were available for distribution around town, noting that the deadline for bands to sign up, September 25, is rapidly approaching. We discussed our involvement with CU Folk & Roots Fest. We also heard about plans for some upcoming PCBS Friday night blues shows and plans for continuing our successful Blues In The Schools program. Phil Hult won the monthly CD giveaway and walked away with a copy of the new Michael "Iron Man" Burks CD - "Show of Strength".

August Meeting Notes

We made plans for getting the word out to bands about our IBC challenge in October. We discussed our involvement with the C-U Folk & Roots Festival and the upcoming Donna Herula workshop and show. We also are investigating restarting a once a month Friday night blues show for November, December and January. And we're thinking about ways to reward our great volunteers.

July Meeting Notes

The new officers were introduced. We discussed our goals and directions as we begin our 3rd year in existence. Committee Chairs gave reports about their current status. The Entertainment Committee made a presentation on PCBS holding an IBC challenge to select a band to represent us in the Blues Foundation's 2013 IBC in Memphis. The vote was unanimous in favor of holding our local challenge on Saturday, Oct. 20 at Memphis on Main in Champaign.

June Meeting Notes

Wow what an exciting meeting, there's lot's going on at Prairie Crossroads Blues Society. Stay tuned for all the details! PCBS is hosting a an educational stage inside the Orpheum Children's Museum on Friday evening from 5:00 to 8:00pm, and Saturday from noon to 8:00 June 29th and 30th, as part of the Champaign Blues Brews & BBQ's Fest. Our focus will be a series of seminars and workshops on instruments and their creation, blues history, blues dancing and songwriting.

May Meeting Notes

Our meeting included a rundown of our upcoming participation at the Champaign Blues, Brews & BBQ's Fest on Friday and Saturday June 29th and 30th. Prairie Crossroads Blues Society will be hosting education events at the Orpheum Children's Museum on Friday evening from 5:00 to 8:00pm, and Saturday from noon to 8:00. Our focus will be a series of seminars and workshops on instruments and their creation, blues history, blues dancing and songwriting. T-Shirt #2 was chosen as the winning design in our T-Shirt redesign contest. Our Entertainment Committee announced the suspension of our First Friday series of shows at least through the summer, and an increased focus on preparing for our IBC competition.

April Meeting Notes

Another informative meeting as we've got a lot of great things going on these days! Our Membership Chair reported that we continue to grow, adding two new bands and having additional families and individuals signing up. Our Education Committee brought us up to date on the 6 week after school Blues In The Schools (BITS) program currently underway at Wiley School, which features blues history lessons and basic harmonica instruction. There was also discussion on our increased involvement and educational efforts associated with the Champaign Blues, Brews & BBQ's Fest coming up on June 29th and 30th. The Entertainment Committee gave an update on our First Friday events, and also discussed plans for additional shows and events in the coming weeks and months.

March Meeting Notes

What a great meeting! Our Education Committee announced that Prairie Crossroads Blues Society had received an Urbana Arts Council Grant to assist us with our Blues In The Schools (BITS) program. This will kick off with a concert by one of our member bands, The Painkillers, and includes a 6 week after school program at Wiley School, which will feature instruction on blues history and basic harmonica. The Entertainment Committee announced the lineups of our next two First Friday events. We also learned about many of the great shows and festivals in the upcoming weeks and months.

February 2012 Meeting Notes

We had a productive meeting, with wrap ups from our President and Membership Chair. Our Education Committee announced an assembly at Wiley School on March 30th as part of our Blues In The Schools (BITS) program. This will feature a performance by The Painkillers, one of our member bands, and a short program on Blues history. The Entertainment Committee announced the lineups of our next two First Friday events.

January 2012 Meeting Notes

We had a productive meeting, with wrap ups from our President and Membership Chair. Our Education Committee gave us more details of their proposal for our upcoming Blues In The Schools (BITS) program. We are looking at both a school assembly with a performance by guest artists and an after school program that will include instruction on blues history, harmonica and music composition. The Entertainment Committee gave a wrap up of our recent First Friday events and several upcoming events and fundraisers.

December 2011 Meeting Notes

We had a Holiday Party Dinner Meeting at The Esquire in Champaign. We focused on having a bite to eat and a good time. No official business was conducted but we did discuss a few current First Friday events. We talked about our recent show that featured BMA winner Matt Hill on WEFT 90.1 FM and at Memphis on Main, Dec. 2nd. We also looked ahead to our upcoming event that will have our local IBC challenge winning band Hurricane Ruth playing on WEFT and at Memphis on Main on January 6.

November 2011 Meeting Notes

Our President, Rich Cibelli announced that due to increasing scheduling conflicts Josh Spence has resigned as an At-Large member of the PCBS Board of Directors. We are accepting nominations for a replacement. The Treasurer and Membership Chair gave reports on our current status. A member of the Education Committee updated us on their exciting proposal for an after school program. We also had a report from the Entertainment Committee about our successful local IBC challenge, and Hurricane Ruth's progress registering for the international competition in Memphis. We also had updates on our two upcoming events, the Kilborn Alley CD Release Party at The Iron Post, November 29 and BMA winner Matt Hill on WEFT and at Memphis on Main, Dec. 2nd.

October 2011 Meeting Notes

We met at Memphis on Main to preview the venue for the IBC Challenge scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011. We had reports from the Entertainment committee about logistics of the event, times, and volunteers. We also had a report from the Education committee with a draft of a proposal for an after school pilot program.

September 2011 Meeting Notes

We had reports from the Treasurer and the membership, marketing and entertainment committees.
We discussed the upcoming IBC challenge event to be held at Memphis on Main on October 22. We're completing the band sign-ups and will have a schedule of participating bands soon. We discussed details including judges, food, advertising and logistics.
The Entertainment committee also announced a partnership with WEFT and Memphis on Main to bring a performer into town monthly for a First Friday event to start in December.
We also discussed the upcoming C-U Folk & Roots festival and our involvement.

August 2011 Meeting Notes

Our President welcomed members, the Membership Chair gave a report of new members and renewals, and the Treasurer gave an accounting of our current financial affairs. The Entertainment Committee gave a report on the recruitment of bands for our IBC Challenge on October 22 at Memphis on Main. It was noted that Skins-n-Tins Drum Shop was donating use of a drum kit to the event, and the members voted Skins-n-Tins a Corporate Sponsorship.
We discussed plans for a Membership recruitment table at the B.B. King show at the Virginia Theater August 23, and plans for our involvement with the C-U Folk and Roots Festival.

July 2011 Meeting Notes

The Entertainment Committee presented a proposal for hosting an International Blues Challenge event (judged band competition) Oct. 22, 2001 at Memphis on Main. The winning band will represent PCBS at the international competition in Memphis, TN, Jan. 31-Feb. 4, 2012. The proposal was unanimously approved.
Upcoming events were discussed including shows at Memphis on Main, the B.B. King show at the Virginia Theater and C-U Folk and Roots Festival.

June 2011 Meeting Notes

We discussed the changes to the web site that allow members to renew online via PayPal. We welcomed a new corporate member, Fluid Events. Planning for our tent at the Urbana Blues, Brews and BBQ's Festival was the main focus of tonight's meeting. We will have raffle items, CDs from local bands, shirts, and hats for sale along with a thank you gift for new members. We discussed a fundraiser set for July 23rd at Memphis on Main. Soul Creek and Sugar Prophets will play and there will be a pair of B.B. King tickets raffled off.

May 2011 Meeting Notes

We welcomed several new members at the meeting. As we approach our one year anniversary we discussed several methods to reach out to our members to renew their memberships. We talked about several ways to participate in the upcoming B.B. King show at the Virginia Theatre, Aug. 23 including ticket raffles. Attention then turned to planning and volunteer recruitment for a couple upccoming events, the Memphis on Main Blues Show June 12th featuring Eli Cook, the Terry Quiett Band and Kilborn Alley, and the Urbana Blues Brews and BBQ's Festival June 24th and 25th.

April 2011 Meeting Notes

The Membership Chair informed us of several new members including a new band, Alex Jenkins and the Bombers, she also let us know about several new corporate donations we've received. We had open discussion about guidelines for new corporates sponsors and the possible formation of a Corporate Committee. The President said we were invited by the Decatur Blues Society to participate in an upcoming event at Longcreek Vineyards.

March 2011 Meeting Notes

We ammended our bylaws to allow us to nominate and vote for three additional at-large members on the Board of Directors. Sandy Hannum, Tony Odendahl and Josh Spence were all voted onto the Board of Directors as at-large members. David Adcock gave details about a grant the Education Committee is working on. The Entertainment Committee's proposal to host an IBC Qualifier in June was voted down by the PCBS full membership.

February 2011 Meeting Notes

We congratulated The Sugar Prophets for their great showing of making the finals at the 2011 IBC in Memphis. We talked about our upcoming events, Chainsaw Dupont at Memphis on Main Feb. 25, Blues at the Crossroads with Honeyboy Edwards and Hubert Sumlin at Krannert on March 8, and the Kilborn Alley show with Eric McSpadden at Memphis on Main March 20th. At next month's meeting we will vote to modify our bylaws allowing us to nominate and vote for 3 additional at-large members on the Board of Directors.

January 2011 Meeting Notes

Due to the weather and other factors, we did not have a quorum of the Board of Directors and thus were unable to vote on any new items. We still had a productive meeting with constructive discussions on several issues. We talked about the upcoming Sugar Prophets CD Release Party at Memphis on Main Jan. 30th. We also had informative discussions on our Blues In The Schools program and also some upcoming grant proposals.

December 2010 Meeting Notes

The President gave a wrap up of our very successfull first 6 months. He also announced the great news that the Blues Foundation will recognize us as an affiliate as soon as they receive our completed form and check. We voted to order another batch of T-Shirts. A budget was authorized for the Entertainment Committee to start looking into putting on shows and bringing artists to the area.

November 2010 Meeting Notes

The Board of Directors and Committee Chairs gave quick wrap ups, Memphis on Main was announced as our first Corporate Sponsor. Our main focus was planning the upcoming "Kick Out The Blues Fall Festival" Nov. 21 at Memphis On Main featuring our three supporting bands, Kilborn Alley, The Sugar Prophets and The Painkillers.

October 2010 Meeting Notes

The President gave a quick state of the society, and our efforts to acheive tax-exempt status. It was announced that we will have a presence at the Blues @ the Crossroads event at Krannert in March of 2011. Committee Chairs gave their wrap ups, we again increased memberships and The Painkillers became the third band to join PCBS, we appreciate the support. A decision was made to order PCBS T-Shirts. We also had fun socializing after the meeting.

September 2010 Meeting Notes

The meeting started with a great wrap up of our current status, several new members had joined and our current financial account. Committee Chairs gave their wrap ups and we had plenty of good input on both Education and Entertainment ideas. The Sugar Prophets became the second band to join Prairie Crossroads Blues Society, we appreciate their support. We also had fun socializing after the meeting.

August 2010 Meeting Notes

We had another productive meeting, with reports from all the Committee Chairs either in person or by email. We had a brief discussion on amending our corporate purpose in our bylaws. There was also discussion about changing our meetings from the 3rd Tuesday of the month to the 3rd Wednesday. The most important news is that we continue to add new members and continue to reach out to additional artists, venues and blues fans.

July 2010 Meeting Notes

We had two special guests, Steven Bentz of 40 North | 88 West, and Andrew Duncanson of The Kilborn Alley Blues Band. Reports were given by heads of the Membership and Finance Committees, and by the Newsletter group. There were a few changes in Committee Chairs, as David Adcock decided to head the Education Committee, and Bob Paleczny now heads the Entertainment Committee.

June 2010 Meeting Notes

The second meeting was held on June 22 at the Champaign Library. We now have the following committee chairs: Membership, Sherry Cibelli; Marketing, Scott Harper; Entertainment, Dave Adcock; Newsletter Co-chairs, Dennis Wismer and Sandy Hannum..