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For my part, I am very proud to have spearheaded the move to an all-digital platform for The Blues

Music Awards which has proved to be very successful and
welcomed by the blues community. The cost savings for
entrants and the foundation have been applauded and the
accessibility for voters and entrants has proved to be
invaluable.

I am also very proud of an initiative at The Recording

Academy that I undertook to bring about the two Blues
categories, Traditional and Contemporary, to be recognized
once again in their awards system. Blues had been
consolidated to one best of category due to dwindling
submission levels. I wrote and presented, with the help of
Ken Shepherd, Kenny Wayne’s father who was a Trustee at
the time, a proposal to reinstate the two categories. This

passed the trustees unanimously. I have also arranged a
Grammy luncheon at the Blues Music Awards for the past 4-5 years which has allowed a greater
engagement for blues artists with the Grammy process and thus their visibility nationally and for
the Grammys to understand so much more about our genre and engage with the blues community
on many other levels.

LL: Recently the Blues Foundation board was tasked with hiring a new President and CEO to

replace retiring president Barbara Balin-Newman. Would you talk about that process, and new
president Patty Wilson Aden?

MF: A changing of the guard at any organization is a challenging prospect and especially when the
outgoing executive has made such meaningful changes and growth possible. Barbara left us with an
extraordinary list of accomplishments and growth during her tenure. We are certainly in her debt.

That said, our task at hand was to find her replacement and an individual who we felt could take
the organization to the next level.

A search firm was engaged, and many candidates were presented to a search committee and the
executive committee and Patty Aden stood out above all the other candidates.

Patty comes from an extensive background in the Not-For-Profit sector; organizations that are
closely tied to the music industry and in particular, American Roots organizations. She understands
our blues world and has embraced her new executive position wholeheartedly and we are delighted
to have her on board.

LL: Last year was a big year for launching the Black Lives Matter movement in the States and
around the world. Has this movement affected the Blues Foundation?

MF: The Blues Foundation made its position clear about Black Lives Matter. Please refer to its
communication.

LL: What does The Blues Foundation have planned for this year’s BMA awards?

MF: We are currently in discussions with a production company and plan to present a virtual BMAs
in early June. Please watch the website for further details.