On May 5, 2025, students at Stratton Elementary school in grades 3-5 were educated in a rap-inspired "History of the Blues" performance by Bishop Lawton, a graduate student at UIUC. Lawton wrote the original historical narrative and the students were then treated to an age-specific concert of participatory blues genres by Aaron Wilson, Billy Galt, and Jim Pryor.

On November 18, 2024, Bishop Lawton presented his unique slide presentation of Blues History at Robeson Elementary school as part of our continuing effort to provide all school assemblies in Champaign and Urbana with edcational content. After the presentation, Andrew Duncanson, Billy Galt, Aaron Wilson and Josh Rasner Stimmel shared music representing the different variations of the Blues. Students participated in call-and-response songs geared to their school activities, such as turning in homework. A special on-stage dance was performed by Josh’s son, a student at Robeson.

Our BITS folks visited Yankee Ridge School on Tuesday February 27 and Thomas Paine School on Thursday March 7, 2024. Thanks again to our awesome group, Aaron "aTrain" Wilson, Andrew Duncanson, Billy Galt and Bishop Lawton. Thanks to our hard working Education Committee, and also to the Urbana Arts Grant Program.

Here's some photos from the Blues In The Schools assemply at Thomas Paine School on March 7, 2024. Thanks again to our instructors, Bishop Lawton, Aaron Wilson, Billy Galt and Andrew Duncanson. Thanks again to the Urbana Public Arts Program.

Thanks to the Urbana Arts & Culture Program, PCBS has received a grant to hold several all-school assemblies during the 2023/2024 school year. PCBS will bring several Blues Musicians and a Blues History instructor to three Urbana Elementary Schools; Thomas Paine, Yankee Ridge and Dr. Preston Williams.

On Friday, October 13 Prairie Crossroads Blues Society presented an all-school assembly at Dr. Preston Williams School in Urbana. Blues History Instructor Bishop Lawton taught the kids some of the basics of this great American Roots Music we call the Blues. Here Bishop is teaching about a Blues technique named "Call and Response". Musicians Joe Asselin, Aaron "aTrain" Wilson and Andrew Duncanson performed several songs for the students. This is the first in a series of PCBS Blues In The Schools programs supported in part by the Urbana Arts Grants Program.

A thank You from the students:

Prairie Crossroads Blues Society is delighted to announce that Blues in the Schools is starting again! On Friday, September 30 the six-week after-school program began at Martin Luther King School. Thanks to music teacher Cara Maurizi for helping us make it come together. We planned for a group of up to 30 students from grades 4 and 5.

We have two awesome instructors for the program. Bishop Lawton, PhD student in African American History, teaches the roots and history of Blues. Joe Asselin, well-known outstanding local Blues musician, teaches the Blues harmonica section. Each student receives a Blues harmonica of their own. We are excited!

On December 13 2022, at the conclusion of the Martin Luther King School BITS program, Joe Asselin and Andrew Duncanson put on a concert for the entire school. Here's a few comments; "The concert yesterday at King School was great! Joe and Andy really got the kids into the music! They were a terrific audience, and clapped and sang along."

Another comment: "Was an incredible experience. Fantastic time."

In conjunction with the 2nd Annual Prairie Crossroads Blues Fest we brought Lucious Spiller to the Champaign-Urbana area from Clarksdale, MS. On Friday afternoon August 9, Lucious did a Blues In The School (BITS) at Kenwood School in Champaign. Lucious spent a half hour with kindergarten through 2nd grade, and 45 minutes with 3rd through 5th grades.

Lucious was born in St. Louis. He attended Philander Smith College in Little Rock and graduated with a degree in Elementary Art. In classes, symposiums, his teaching position at Griot Arts Youth Program, and his live shows around the country, Lucious teaches all ages about the roots of the blues and shares his gift for bringing music to life and making it relevant to all ages. His grandfather and great uncles, “The Salt and Pepper Shakers” are founders of “Black Prairie Blues” and have a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Macon, MS. Blues Trail. His early memories include watching his father Lucious Spiller Sr, and his uncle "Magic Sam" playing at his home.

Thanks to Principal Trevor Nadrozny and the entire staff at Kenwood Elementary School. Thanks to PCBS Education Chair Sandy Hannum for making the arrangments and to Marianne Whitacre for the picture.

PCBS presented a couple more in our series of educational programs in area public schools. We hosted a 6-week program at Wiley School in Urbana on Mondays from April 1 through May 6. There were also blues assemblies in Champaign at South Side School on Tuesday May 14 and at Bottenfield School on Wednesday May 15. Thanks to our instructors, Gus Wood, David Adcock and Andrew Duncanson. Thanks to Karinsa Moline at South Side and Dana Gawels at Bottenfield. Also thanks goes to the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts and Hohner Harmonica for their support. Thanks to the News-Gazette for the picture and publicity about our programs.

March 10, 2018, Prairie Crossroads Blues Society conducted another of our Blues In The Schools programs, this one at the Urbana Free Library. Our BITS instructors, Bob Paleczny for blues history, and Doug Schroer for blues harmonica taught the class. PCBS Education Chair Sandy Hannum arranged all the details with Library. Thanks in part to a grant from the Urbana Arts Program. 35 Hohner Harmonicas were distrbuted to kids of all ages.

In the fall of 2017, David Adcock taught a 6-week course on The Blues through Urbana Adult Education. Students learned a history of the blues and received a Hohner Harmonica and instruction on the instrument. Prairie Crossroads Blues Society provided the funds to purchase the harps.

Prairie Crossroads Blues Society was excited to bring another in our series of educational blues programs to the community. At 2:00 pm on Saturday November 14 our instructors, Gus Wood, for blues history and Josh Spence on harmonica presented a 90 minute program at the Champaign Public Library. The program was geared to school children grades 4 through 6, but kids of all ages are invited. Thanks to a discount from Hohner harmonica, school children were provided with their own harmonica to learn on and take home with them.

This spring, Prairie Crossroads Blues Society conducted another of our Blues In The Schools programs, this one at South Side Elementary School in Champaign. Classes were presented March 11 & 12 and April 8 & 9 with grades 3, 4 and 5 participating. Our BITS instructors, Gus Wood for blues history, and Josh Spence for blues harmonica taught the series of classes. The program includes a performance by a local blues band for the kids.

Huge thanks goes to South Side Elementary teacher, Karinsa Moline, for her part in arranging the BITS program. We also appreciate the support of Krannert Center for the Performing Arts for help with some of the funding, and we also receive a discount on the harps from Hohner Harmonica. Check out the awesome Thank You notes from the South Side Elementary School students after the PCBS Spring 2015 BITS program. PCBS Education Chair, Sandy Hannum helped arrange a blues concert for the students at Westview School. Jiggy & The Source performed at the school on Wednesday March 18.

PCBS continued our Blues in The Schools programs with a 90 minute workshop for grade school kids Saturday May 31 at the Urbana Free Library. Gus Wood was our blues history instructor and Josh Spence taught basic harmonica instrcution. Each student received a Hohner harmonica to keep at the end of the program. The kids and parents loved it and the library wants us to come back and do it again. We'd be happy to.

Thanks in part to a grant from the Orange Krush Foundation and help from Hohner USA and of course a huge thanks goes to our excellent instructors. We're excited to reach out to the youth of our community and share our love of the great American tradition known as the Blues.

Prairie Crossroads Blues Society put on a six-week after school program at Thomas Paine School in the fall of 2013. With the help of Krannert Center for the Performing Arts we taught the students a bit of blues history, harmonica playing and song composition. The program included an all school assembly on Friday Sept 27 with a performance by local blues band The Sugar Prophets. The after school program started Wednesday Oct. 2.

Also thanks to everyone who turned out for our BITS Fundraiser at Louie's Dixie Kitchen & BBQ on Monday September 23. It was a fun chance to meet new people interested in helping spread the value of music to grade school children. We raised a nice amount of money for our Education Fund. Thanks to the entire staff at Louie's for their hard work and delicous food, and Josh Spence and Andy Duncanson for the superb music. We appreciate your support for a great cause.

Thanks to all the schools and educators who contributed to the FE Moran/PCBS Future Stars Stage at the Champaign Blues Brews & BBQ Fest in 2013. The folks at C4-A, Wiley School and Garden Hills School assembled bands that performed to enthusiastic fans at the fest. Thanks to Joe Asselin, Josh Spence and Aaron "A-Train" Wilson for conducting workshops for PCBS.

Friday June 28th

• 4:00 - C4A Blues Camp
• 4:30 - Bow-Dacious String Band
• 5:00 - Joe Asselin Harmonica Workshop
• 6:00 - Zack Fedor

Saturday June 29th

• 12:00 - Wiley Blues Singers
• 12:30 - Josh Spence Harmonica Workshop
• 1:00 - GH Strummers
• 1:30 - Aaron Wilson Drums/Rhythm Workshop

In the spring of 2013 we received a grant from the Orange Krush Foundation and put together several one-hour programs to introduce children to blues history and the harmonica.

We did two one-hour events. The first was Saturday, Feb. 9, at the Champign Public Library at 200 W. Green Street in Champaign. Then on Saturday March 30, we were at the Urbana Free Library.

This program was aimed at school children grades 3 through 5, but kids of all ages and parents were welcomed. Courtney Cain, graduate student at the U. of I. in African-American History presented the short history lesson. Doug Schroer, a local musican and educator gave the harmonica instruction. Thanks to the grant and a donation and discounted pricing from Samuel Music we gave each of the kids their own harmonica.

Courtney Cain has graciously made her PowerPoint slides available to all. These slides guide viewers through some of the key moments and performers in blues history. The slides are set to a mash up of classic blues songs. Click on the link in the slide to the left or the link below to view the short presentation.

We worked with Abby Heras, a teacher at Garden Hills School, to present a Blues In The School program. The Sugar Prophets played at the school on Jan. 18th to kick off the eight week program. Each class included a blues history lesson presented by Courtney Cain, a graduate student in African-American History, and music instruction. Students were able to choose either harmonica or drum lessons. The school already has a guitar ensemble taught by Ms. Heras, you may have caught their performance during the 2012 Champaign Blues, Brews and BBQs Festival, and those students will also learn some blues songs. At the end of the eight week program there might be more performances in the making. Here's the Garden Hills School children enjoying The Sugar Prophets during the kick off concert on Jan.18, 2013:

Thanks to all the fans, musicians, and volunteers who made our PCBS "Blues In The Schools" (BITS) Stage at the Champaign Blues, Brews & BBQ's Fest such a great event. Thanks to Fluid Events and the Orpheum Chilren's Museum for giving us the opportunity to present our series of workshops. It was a pleasure to be a part of the 2012 fest.

Here's the series of workshops we presented inside the Orpheum Children's Museum.

Friday June 29th

• Blues History presentation Blues Dancing Lessons
• Interactive Displays - Build your own instrument, etc.
• Blues Dancing Lessons by bluesCentral
• Garden Hills Strummers

Saturday June 30th

• "Blues In The Schools" Highlights (Doug Schroer/David Adcock)
• Guitar Workshop (Bruce "Bruiser" Rummenie)
• Percussion Workshop (Michael Powers)
• Piano and Vocals Workshop (Chrissy Sparks Rigsby)
• Songwriting Workshop (Brandon T. Washington)
• Blues Dancing Workshop (bluesCentral)
• Slide Guitar Workshop (Matt Stewart)

We're very happy to have started our Blues In The Schools (BITS) program at Wiley School in Urbana with help from the Urbana Arts Grants program.

Our initial BITS program, started with an all-school assembly attended by more than 330 Wiley School students and adults. This special event included a Blues history presentation by Cara Maurizi, Wiley School Fine Arts Teacher, followed by a performance by local blues band, The Painkillers.

The next phase of the six-week, after-school BITS program began on April 4. Each session included Blues history, presented by Ashley Howard, and harmonica instruction, from Doug Schroer. Each participating student received a Hohner harmonica, generously donated by Samuel Music, to keep.

Doug Schroer has taught harmonica at C4A as well as the PCBS BITS program and is a talented harmonica player who sits in with many local blues bands including The Martini Brothers. Ashley Howard graduated from the U. of I. with a Masters degree in African-American studies with a particular interest in Blues history.

Thanks to ciLiving for featuring PCBS and our BITS program. Wiley Elementary also featured our program on their website. This was the first step in being able to bring BITS to the students in Champaign-Urbana.