Blues Fest 2011 @ Gwampa's

Each year the Blues Fest anchors the Blues for Autism (BFA)fundraising events. And each year Blues Fest has also brought in the largest amount of donations, but that would be hard to beat this year due to the great success of the BFA auction.

Blues Fest is by far the longest event on the BFA schedule and usually brings in crowds that ebb and flow all day, sometimes maxing out any single sim. This year Gwampa Lomu stepped up and offered a two-sim area at his Gwampa's Dance Kamp, enabling twice as many concert attendees to find space to enjoy the show.

Then there are the performers. Each hour of the concert a new performer takes the stage and this year's lineup included wonderful friends from the past and some amazing new ones, both live performers and DJs. Here are the names of the performers: DJ Bard Wasp, DJ JC Landau, DJ Moonmaiden "Moonie" Horner, Strummer Vultee (live), DJ Pronvelle Cristole, JavaJoe MacIntyre (live), Beamer Lowtide (live), Jimmy49T Dukes (live), DJ Jaco Fitzpatrick, Von Johin (live), DJ Voodoo Cooperstone, Ichie Kamachi (live) and DJ Lucinda Bergbahn.

So it was that at 8:00am on Saturday morning, twelve+ hours of music began and the donations started rolling in. Following is a photo story of the concert.

Kicking off the concert was ever easy DJ Bard Wasp broadcasting from Bard's Blues with a great mixture of tunes.

Next up was bluesy favorite for a Saturday morning, DJ JC Landau, and nearby was his lovely partner Astarte.

Another newcomer was DJ Moonmaiden "Moonie" Horner with her captivating voice and gorgeous looks, broadcasting from her radio station.

Making his first appearance at Blues Fest, Singer/musician Strummer Vultee performed live.

'The Wharf' owner and also great DJ, Pronvelle Cristole brought his hot looks and great tunes.

Next was another live performer, JavaJoe MacIntyre. JavaJoe say, "Blues Mashups of popular songs" and yes, we heard wonderful, transformative music.

Each event of the Blues for Autism fundraiser features great Second Life performers. And each performer brings their talent and time, contributing it to the campaign for Autism Awareness and support. But each performer makes a special effort to inform concert goes of the facts about autism and of how important it is to recognize the condition early and build support.

Check our BFA "Facts" tab to learn important information about Autism and how it impacts lives. If you don't know someone with autism or a family with an autistic child, you won't have to ask too many friends to find someone narrowly separated from you who does.

Another return performer from 2010, was live performer, Beamer Lowtide who brought back his sweet acoustic guitar and bluesy-country sounds.

And still another returnee, from the 2009 BFA fundraiser was the great Jimmy49T Dukes, with his great voice and guitar. Checkout his bio.

This year, The Crossroads owner Jaco Fitzpatrick has hosted BFA Mardi Gras, BFA Market Place and auctioned himself off at the BFA Dance Auction. And he also DJ'd for the first time at Blues Fest!

Four time Blues Fest live performer Von Johin and his daughter Kelly brought Von's love of music, commitment to Autism Awareness, and love of his autistic daughter all together. Magi McBride said this about their moving performance, "There were many teary eyes."

Next up was Professional Wrestler, DJ Voodoo Cooperstone. Voodoo was new to Blues Fest but he is a very outgoing and entertaining performer.

In 2010, Ichie Kamachi made her first live Blues Fest performance and she introduced many bluesy music fans to her mellow, seductive jazz and blues stylings. Again this year, she delivered a great mix of naughty and nice.

DJ "Miss Luci" Bergbahn was one of the original organizers of Blues for Autism and each year she's found a way to bring her emotional commitment to this cause. In the past two years, she has anchored both Blues Fests with an emotional climax that brings many to tears, and this year she did it again.

Blues Fests are marathon efforts to raise money for Autism Awareness, but anyone who has ever participated in them knows that these are emotion filled events that build throughout the day. When you attend a blues fest you learn about wonderful performers who've made commitments to helping and you learn facts about autism. But there's one other thing, you learn about this community of music lovers.

In the beginning it was all about blues but now we have jazz, rock, country and really we are opening the doors to all music lovers. Blues fest is a bonding experience for many of us and when the evening is done, we all feel like we've accomplished something and know each other much better. Of course, Blues Fest is also about donations and this year our music loving friends came through again.

Total donations for Blues Fest 2011 were L$415,051!

And this morning, Magi McBride reported the grand total of Blues for Autism donations:

Blues for Autism 2011 donations are an all time record L$1,567,537!!

There are many thank yous to be given. First, to all who donated. Thank you to the performers. Thank you to Gwampa Lomu for the large, stable venue. Thank you to the BFA Organizing Committee especially event organizers Dillon Janus, Kitten Lytton and of course, Magi McBride.

It's hard to believe, but this is the final fundraising event for Blues for Autism 2011.

by Yordie Sands

(note: This is a reminder that all funds donated will be donated to the Autism Society.org.)

Angels on Ice @ Coral Tropics

On Saturday, April 23rd, the organizers of "Angles on Ice" created a winter wonderland to their tropical paradise for a Blues for Autism fundraiser. The event was organized by Chantalelisa Jewell, Cienna Rossini, Cindi Shippe and held at Coral Tropics, owned by DJ Konrad.

"Angels on Ice" was a three-hour event which featured both DJs and live entertainers. Performers included DJ Konrad, singer Savannah Coronet and singer/songwriter Paul Nowles.

"Angles on Ice" was held in the beautiful snow globe at Coral Tropics.

The show opened with DJ Konrad acting in his role of master of ceremonies and performing as DJ. Even before DJ Konrad began, guests had begun contributing to Blues for Autism kiosks.

Next was a live performance by the lovely Savannah Coronet who sang her special blend of "Rockin', Country-fied, Gaga'd, Jazzed & Blued" songbook.

Later in the program was BFA 2010 Blues Fest performer, Paul Kowles. Paul sang and played a great set including Chasing Cars.

Throughout the event, auctions were held and as each item sold it seemed to drive the bidders to bid higher and higher. Here's Cindi Scaggs conducting one of the auctions.

There was a large crowd throughout the three hour event. Many guests danced while others ice skated, but all were very generous.

In addition to entertainment, an auction was held to auction off donations from the following contributing sponsors: Alphamale, Boutique Lovely, Coral Tropics, Caelum Beach, Emotions by Purple Moon, Hope's dream, Kidd Grass Garden, and Jewellery by Zuri.

This was a well coordinated event with wonderful acts and fun activities. Donations to the kiosk throughout the evening totalled L$48,188, and the auction brought in another L$31,812.

The grand total for the evening was L$80,000.

And Blues for Autism grand total is now L$787,486.

Thanks go to the people who donated to kiosks and participated in the auction. Thanks to the vendors who provided items for the auction. And special thanks to the performers who contributed their talents.

by Yordie Sands

4th Annual Fundaiser @ Junkyard Blues

From the first Blues for Autism fundraiser, Junkyard Blues has been a sponsor and committed supporter each year, staging a live music concerts and calling on it's large group of Dawgs & Dawgettes, and it's core of volunteers, the REAL Junkyard Blues Dreamgirls.

This year Kiff Clutterbuck & Dina Petty continued their tradition with a Saturday night concert starring English Jazz & Blues singer Gina Gracemount. Naturally, the Blues for Autism team was there with founder Magi McBride and event organizer Dillon Janus.

The concert and fundraiser all came together beautifully with people counts running above 70 all night. At one point the count went up to 80, spread across the Junkyard's two sim club area.

Before the fundraiser began, DJ Luci Bergbahn mixed heart felt remarks about autism and Blues for Autism with her fantastic Saturday night set.

This year's fundraiser concert was a little later in the evening than in the past, and among the people who gathered early where Dina, Magi (back row, blue dress) and Kiff. Far right in tux is organizer Dillon Janus.

Lively Gina Gracemount opened the show, bringing her English charm and specially blended set of songs to the Junkyard.

I counted 78 people in the Yard as Gina sang a deep, slow, sexy rendition of "The Beat Goes On". Gina who was new to the Junkyard showed remarkable talent.

Dina kept an eye on the BFA Kiosk as it swelled with donations, due in large measure to Reno Troncon who rarely chats in open chat, but on this night was the champion leading the call for donations. Bravo Reno!

Gina not only brought her talent to the Junkyard, she helped drive the donations. The largest donation of the night was L$30,000. Bravo!

Each year as the Junkyard Blues fundraiser draws near, everyone involve becomes nervous, nervous about how the economy will impact donations and if our bluesy family will continue to give as generously has they have in the past. And each year we are amazed when the fundraiser beats the previous year. However, beating last year's total, which smashed the previous year would be hard. Last year, Aurora Chadborne led the effort which reached L$105,000. At the time, everyone felt this might be an all time record.

This year's Junkyard Blues fundraiser raised an awesome L$117,431.

Thank you to Kiff & Dina and the bluesy community at Junkyard Blues! Special thanks to Gina Gracemount for giving of her time and talent to make this yet another record breaking year for Blues for Autism.

Blues for Autism grand total thus far: L$259,446

Next event is Tuesday, April 12th with ZZ Top and a Beach Babe contest, please check the Event Schedule for full details.

The Appreciation Ball

On Saturday, May 29th, Magi McBride and Bella Orsini arranged an appreciation ball for the people who helped make Blues for Autism 2010 a success. The site they chose was Pandora Moon, home of the Na'vi people in Second Life. It was a fitting tribute to all the hard work and contributions by the performers, sponsors, BFA organizing committee and the many people who participated in BFA events and helped create those events.

Magi and Bella (back) greeted guest arriving at Pandora Moon

The ballroom filled quickly.

Jimmy T Dukes in dark leather, began his live performance.

Humans were everywhere on Pandora Moon, but even a couple Na'vi in formal attire.

Bella Orsini watches proudly as guests enjoy the evening.

Guests danced and enjoyed the Appreciation Ball into the evening. It was a fitting end to another great year for the BFA initiative. For those who aren't familiar with the history, Magi McBride founded the Blues for Autism fundraiser in 2008. Over the past three years she has worked tirelessly confronting all the organizational issues that arise in conducting events over two months. Magi has helped of a varied group of bluesy supporters and sponsors coordinate their efforts for autism awareness and support.

In total over three years, the BFA fundraising activities have raised more than $15,000.00 in donations to the Autism Society of America.

Thank you to all the supporters and contributors. Special thanks to the performers sponsors and the organizing team. And many hugs to our leader, Magi McBride.

story & photos by Yordie Sands

The Amazing Blues Fest

The Blues Fest concert is another tradition of the Blues for Autism fundraiser. In fact, Blues Fest has been the event where the bluesy community really shows its' greatest generosity. It is also the event that brings together the most diverse group of bluesy folks and people who's lives have been impacted by autism. And one last thing, it has also been a forum for our friends to express their personal feelings about autism. That is how Blues Fest has been for the past two years and that is how it was last night.

Before the concert started the BFA committee began rolling into the event site at Maginolia. Everyone was nervous because it takes a great deal of planning and coordinating to setup these events and as all Second Life residents know, SL exists on a web of computers all over the world. The first performer was Beamer Lowtide and by time of Beamer's show the crowd had begin to swell. Following is a pictorial story of an amazing day and amazing night.

Over 30 people had arrived for the opening show at 10am.

Singer, songwriter, musician Beamer Lowtide, streaming in from Tulsa, Oklahoma opened the show with "Banana Pancakes". Beamer stummed his sweet acoustic guitar, and while he sang with his distinct bluesy-country sounds, the crowd began contributing generously. Beamer closed with a gentle "Sweet Malissa".

Beamer Lowtide singing "Sweet Malissa"

Next up was self-professed "joker/teaser/flirt" DJ Ben Shutt. Ben began his show with a blend of rock n' blues, but shortly after he started he threw out a challenge. Ben said he'd match all the donations received during his performance and almost at once the donations started pouring in. While Ben played songs form Seger to SRV to Eric Clapton, the donations kept pouring in. By the end of Ben's set contributions exceeded L$100,000 and with Ben's matching amount the total raised was L$214,140. At this point there was a feeling that Blues Fest was going to be a success.

Handsome and charming Ben Shutt performing and making his generous challenge.

When technical problems prevented the next performer from streaming, Ben stepped in and spun more tunes until the fabulous DJ Lucinda Bergbahn was up.

Lucinda "Miss Luci" Bergbahn has been a supporter of Blues for Autism from the first and while she spun one of her patented sets of bluesy tunes, she talked passionately about the history of BFA. Luci also explained how autism is a developmental disability, and a problem with the nervous system with no "cure". When she played "Through the eyes of a child", there wasn't a dry eye in the house, and by the end of her show donations totaled L$1,112,667.

Miss Luci showed her great compassion for people with autism.

Again, technical problems kept the next performer from streaming and like Ben earlier, Miss Luci continued her show until the incomparable Allister Westland took the stage.

Allister Westland is a singer/songwriter/musician, and he sings a blend of new and classic rock. He is also an electrifying musician on both acoustic and electric guitar. If you've never heard Allister sing, imagine a deep resonate voice that is both masculine but with a gentleness that reaches out and touches you. Al sang a selection of songs including "Love is Overrated", "Electric Soul" and others.

Allister on stage, generating his magic.

DJFiery Otaared is one of the pillars of the SL bluesy community and Fiery has a clear intellect and is gifted with an ability to communicate and move people with her ideas. This year, as last year, Fiery delivered her "I Am Autism" soliloquy and when coupled with her extraordinary music selection, she once again touched the audience deeply. After the first part of her speech, she played Billy Holiday's "God Bless The Child" and despite the pixels that separate us, the emotions created by the music could be felt. Throughout her performance Fiery spoke of the destruction that autism causes, and thru her music she delivered one of the powerful autism messages of the Blues for Autism fundraiser.

Fiery delivering her passionate message about autism. Bravo "Mama Fi!"

As 5pm turned on the clock, Von Johin took the stage and as in past years he brought his daughter Kelly to sing with him. Kelly has autism and she is a reminder of the human beings behind the word, autism. Before beginning his performance, Kelly sang rock classic "White Rabbit". Then Von began strumming his guitar and singing in his deep, friendly country voice. Von has a powerful, driving style swinging from warm country to hard driving and accented with his spectacular command of the guitar.

Von Johin and his fantastic guitar!

Then came the sassy sounds of The Choo Choo Chicks out of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Chicks are lead singer Angua Ashbourne, Lotus Melodie on guitar, and Mishkamenges Collazo on keyboard. This is a group that knows who it is and delivers the goods with, "Tight harmonies and a kickin' rhythm section." During their performance they performed classics including "Woman's World", "The Thrill is Gone" and music written by Angua Ashbourne.

The Chicks are great to see and a total delight to hear.

Do you think you know where the bluesy community lives? Next up from Manila in the Philippine Islands was musician/singer, Dakila "Dak" Lacava. As with Von Johin, Dak is a parent of a child, a son with autism. So, for Dak, this was both a performance and a chance to express some of his feelings about autism. When you listen to Dak perform you are at once taken with his command of the piano which he plays with elegance and strength. Dak sang several songs, but his rendition of "What a wonderful world" was powerful and moving.

The engaging Dakila Lacava on stage at Blues for Autism.

By the time the gorgeous Ichie Kamachi (pronounced EE-ChEE-AY) arrived, the night had settled in. And what better way to spend and evening than with the enchanting sounds of Ichie. Ichie sings jazz and blues, and her lovely voice is pure, mellow and seductive. During her performance she sang "Cry me a River", "Ain't No Sunshine When he's Gone" and the very sexy "The Naughty Song". While performing, other musicians joined her on stage with Matt Renfew on drums, Jill Easterman on keys, Dakila Lacava on bass.

The gorgeous Ichie singing her naughty and nice songs.

The final show of the evening was Paul Nowles. Paul is a musician, songwriter, singer with a great sound and a great look. Paul sings mostly classic rock and his style is . Paul opened up with an wonderful, romantic version of "Chasing Cars". Then he demonstrated his range with "Let it Be", "Purple Rain" and even Seger's "Night Moves".

He's good looking and he sings beautifully, he's Paul Knowles

Finally, Miss Luci took the stage for the 2nd time that day, it had been a long day so she drug friends Gracee Beaumont and Destinova Ducatillon to dance with her. Luci continued to enlighten us with Autism facts and statistics. The event total was at 460K+ when she started the hour and challenged everyone to push it over the top to 500k!

It was another spectacular in the Blues Fest concerts. It was a resounding success. At the end of the evening the concert brought in L$500,053 in donations. Thank you to the truly wonderful performers who came, performed and contributed, and a special thanks to those that performers stepped in at the last minute. Thank you to all of the people who came and enjoyed the concert and contributed!!

In addition to the perfomers, we'd like to acknowledge a couple other contributors to this event. First, The stage was the creation of Bluto Brando and his Brando Construction company, way to go Blu! And the entire concert was also streamed into the Junkyard Blues club, thank you Junkyard Blues for extending our reach.

The Final Results
This was the last of the Blues for Autsim 2010 fundraiser events. When Magi McBride, Founder, got the final accounting, BFA had raised a whopping L$1,372,777!!

On behalf of my fellow BFA Organizing Committee Team members, we want to say thank you to Magi McBride for her steadfastness in making this year's fundraiser an outstanding success!!

As always, all funds raised by Blues for Autism are paid to the Autism Society of America in U.S. dollars.

Story & Photos by Yordie Sands

Arora Chadborne & Junkyard Blues

There aren't many real traditions in Second Life, but for the past three years Junkyard Blues has had a tradition of sponsoring and supporting the Blues for Autism fundraiser. And singer Arora Chadborne has given her amazing musical talent and financial support to make her benefit concert a huge success.

Arora Chadborne is the type of singer who makes you feel that she is singing to you personally. Last night, she performed as always, magnificently. She sang a wide range of songs from Faithfully by Journey to the Edda James classic At Last. For fun she threw in Going to Kansas City and for love she sang Love Me Tender. Arora's voice always strikes a cord with sweet resonant sound and flowing vibrato. As the concert hour ended and passed, despite a struggle with illness, Arora continued to rally and encourage the concert audience on to smash last year's tally of contributions.

Kiff & Dina were there as always and a huge crowd including so many of our Junkyard regulars, plus new friends as well. I counted nearly 60 people on the JY concert sim and another 25 on the JY club sim, and that Junkyard family was very generous.
(Photo of Kiff Clutterbuck, left)

According to Magi McBride, BFA founder, the final tally for the night was L$105,091. You just gotta love these Junkyard Dawgs! At the end of the day, the total contributions to Blues for Autism rose to L$793,272.
(Photo of Richardina Petty, left)

The audience was huge, nearly 85 people.

Arora Chadborne sang.

Arora spoke about the children and families affected by autism.

When the concert ended, Arora's goal of beating last year's total was achieved!

On behalf of the Blues for Autism organizing commitee, thank you Junkyard Dawgs!

by Yordie Sands

Blues Fest 2009

Saturday at 8:00am SLT started out like any open air concert on a nice day. A crowd of nearly 40 had gathered, and Irongut McCallister was first up on the list of performers. If you know Iron at all, you already know he got the crowd pumped up and donations were flowing in. And this is how the day went, performer after performer, people coming and going and coming back again but all day long the money kept coming in. As the night rolled in and then Iron took the stage one more time, the crowd could see the possiblity that Magi McBride's goal could be achieved and the money poured it, but as the final few minutes approached the goal was still out of reach by about L$65,000.

Irongut McCallister swore that he'd dance in a thong if we reached Magi's goal of L$1,500,000 and he was getting pretty sassy about not having to strip down and show his fanny, but at the last minute, Magi put an end to Iron's tauntings and released the lindens she'd been saving for this moment, and poof the goal was achieved. In minutes, the crowd was calling for Iron to drop his drawers and wear the pink thong that Stormy had picked out for him. The photos speak for themselves.

Very pretty Mr. Irongut! Very, very pretty! Good thing the kids were in bed, eh? hehe








There was an amazing lineup of talent which started with Iron and continued with Danny (Roth Kaffebaum) & Randy(Flarb Spieler), Joelle Luster, Jacan Slade, Jimmy49 Dukes, Allister Westland, Johnny99 Gumshoe, Lucinda Bergbahn, Detritus Rau, Srv4u "Da Blues Preacher" Conacher, Fiery Otaared, Tone Uriza, Von Johin & daughter Kelly, Angelica Lemieux, Jaeger Runo and then back to Irongut McCallister. The talent was outstanding and there are hundreds of photos to tell the story, but there isn't enough space for all the photos.

As the sun rose on the depo sim, the crowd gathered.




Detritus Rau put out some great music and a spectacular display.




One of the truly memorable performances was delivered by Fiery Otaared and her "I am autism" narrative.

The pressure to perform was especially great for Von Johin who is so deeply committed to fighting autism, but who also was looking like a meal.

BFA Organizer and DJ Angellica "Ange" Lemieux has worked hard on all the BFA events and delivered a wonderful show.

BFA organizer, Lucinda "Miss Luci" Bergbahn watches the performances. She also performed in the morning.

A very tired, very amazed, very overwhelmed group of avatars danced while Iron pranced.








In the end, a total of L$ 1,506,043 was raised! The BFA organizers staged a flawless 16-hour concert, and all who atteneded made this event a soulful experience. BFA founder, Magi McBride was deeply, deeply touched and we'll be talking a lot more about Magi in the next couple of days.

NOTE: While there wasn't enough space for all the photos, please be patient while I sort through the literally hundreds of photos and create a Flickr account to share all these wonderful memories. I am working on it.