PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
May 20, 1999
The Blues On Stage website Honored by Award from The Blues Foundation
Eden Prairie, MN - Ray Stiles of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, has received official notification from the Blues Foundation that his website, Blues On Stage (www.mnblues.com), is the recipient of the 1999 "Keeping the Blues Alive" Award for Achievement in Blues on the Internet.
The Blues Foundation each year presents the "Keeping The Blues Alive" (KBA) Awards to individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to the growth and vitality of the Blues industry. Like the W.C. Handy Awards, which are bestowed on America's best Blues artists and recordings, the KBA Awards recognizes the outstanding accomplishments and contributions of non-performers in the Blues world. The KBA Award recipients are chosen strictly on the basis of merit through an intense selection process by a committee of professional Blues industry representatives.
The KBA Awards are held in conjunction with The Annual W. C. Handy Blues Awards. This year the Handys are on Thursday, May 27 with an all-blues weekend festival following the awards on Beale Street. The KBA Awards will be presented at a May 30th banquet as a highlight of the W.C. Handy Blues Award weekend. Ray will be receiving the award at the Sunday morning banquet at the Radisson Hotel Downtown Memphis.
Since its inception in 1997 the Blues On Stage website, created and maintained by Ray Stiles, has grown into one of the largest and most popular blues sites on the internet. With more than 5,000 site visits every month, Blues On Stage features more than a dozen different categories that can keep you busy for hours or allow you to make a quick stop to check out a Twin Cities calendar date or find a link to your favorite performer. In addition to hosting one of the largest collections of live reviews on the internet, the site also features CD reviews, calendars and tour schedules, a message board, a huge blues link section, photo gallery, an audio jukebox, blues profiles and much more. Originally designed as an internet blues guide to the Twin Cities, the site has broadened its scope and attracts a worldwide audience serving as a one-stop blues resource. During the past year the website has also become more of a cooperative effort, with contributions by many reviewers and photographers who have added to the success and appeal of the site. Photographer Tom Asp has worked with Ray from the beginning when they both contributed reviews and photography to the Twin Cities Blues News (a regional monthly blues magazine published by Kurt Koehler). The site also offers affordable web design and hosting services for the blues industry. Find out how you can get your own home on the web for just pennies a day and profit from the huge built in exposure Blues On Stage already enjoys.
For Further Information Contact:
Ray Stiles
612-941-0328
E-mail: mnblues@aol.com
Website: www.mnblues.com
The Blues Foundation:
Paul Wasserman/Brian O'Neal
The Wasserman Group (323) 651-0274 or
Pat Mitchell/The Blues Foundation (800) 861-8795
Website