Blues Foundation Pacts With SiriusXM On ‘B.B.King’s Bluesville’ Channel
The Foundation is to offer material from its broadcast archive to augment the channel’s programming.
The Blues Foundation has announced that it will provide content for SiriusXM’s channel, B.B. King’s Bluesville. The Foundation is to offer material from its broadcast archive to augment the channel’s programming, including from its key events such as the annual Blues Hall of Fame induction events.
It will also facilitate the broadcast premiere of its recent Blues Music Awards show, which was staged virtually for the first time this year, in a ceremony from Memphis in May. That broadcast, hosted by SiriusXM presenter Shemekia Copeland, is scheduled to air on B.B. King’s Bluesville, channel 74, on Friday (September 4) at 9pm ET. There will be four re-airings over the course of the Labor Day weekend.
Broadening the reach of the blues
Barbara Newman, president and CEO of the Blues Foundation, said: “The Blues Foundation is quite excited by this new partnership we are embarking upon with B.B. King’s Bluesville on SiriusXM. That channel will now be powered by the Blues Foundation, which means that we will be providing and helping develop content to broaden the reach of the blues while offering continuing educational information to the broad spectrum of listeners who subscribe to the SiriusXM network.
“We hope that more listeners will tune in,” Newman continued, “and that our continued collaborative efforts will help us fulfill the Blues Foundation’s mission to preserve, celebrate and expand awareness of the blues.”
“A deeply curated destination
Added Steve Blatter, Sirius XM’s senior VP and general manager for music programming: “We are excited to work with the Blues Foundation to create a deeply curated and unique music destination for our subscribers who love the blues.
“This collaboration will enhance the B.B. King’s Bluesville listener experience with a variety of archival content that only the Blues Foundation can provide. This is a great way to further celebrate and preserve the blues heritage in America.”
After its September 4 premiere, the Blues Music Awards show will air again on September 5 at 3am and 6pm ET, and on September 6 at 6am and 3pm ET.
Listen to the best of B.B.King on Apple Music and Spotify.
