www.barrelhousebonni.com

“barrelhouse bonni” mckeown’s blues piano, singing and songwriting style echoes back to the upright pianos in the juke joints and barrelhouses of the south, and the bessie smith era of vintage 1930s blues. from chicago to her home state of west virginia she takes the blues to concerts, classes, parties, senior homes, and festivals in a solo, teaching team, piano-horn duo, or band. true to the tradition of this community music, bonni involves the audience. for seniors, she leads a campfire-style sing-along of early 20th century favorites. she has led grade-school workshops on blues history and music in chicago, in charleston wv and chicago, and in morgan county, wv with lady d,” doris fields. in chicago she has brought veteran bluesmen back to the community for class workshops and school assemblies in the band chicago school of blues. also a journalist, she co-authored stepson of the blues, autobiography of chicago bluesman larry hill taylor. she presented a humanities lecture by wvu ja