Brucemore perfect venue for Bluesmore

When I was in the Air Force, I made it a priority to visit Cedar Rapids in August to see Bluesmore.

The crowds came to see national touring groups, many of their performances covered by publications such as Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone.

Brucemore's elitist attitude toward the annual Bluesmore event pulled the rug out from under the Linn County Blues Society and they have my sympathy.

I've seen the painstaking work that volunteers put into the event, beginning the next day after the stage has been torn down. Acts to book, logos to design, monthly 'Bluespapers” to be written and distributed.

The one guarantee the LCBS has been able to count on for the last 20 years? The Brucemore staff to generously provide the venue. Now, they don't even have that.

I want to thank Brucemore for breaking the spirits of thousands of fans, rerouting us to a new blues event; it certainly has big shoes to fill.

Hot Iowa days that melted into warm nights filled with dancing, Cajun vendors spooning out crawfish 'étouffée” and the booze tents emptying their stock and let's not forget the music, the music that I remember from my childhood.

The music that crossed generations, the music of the southland and the bayous, the music that could, at the same time, project such passion as it could sadness and heartbreak.

'Blues at the Big House” is over. Goodbye to the memories we had; it's time to make new ones.

Lindsey Lambert

Airway Heights, Wash.

Formerly of

Cedar Rapids