Celebrating the Father of the Blues: W. C. Handy

Blues history takes center stage in a concert honoring W.C. Handy and the Black musical traditions that helped shape American music. Presented as part of the Joseph Caleb Auditorium’s Caleb Around Town series, the performance takes place Saturday, November 14 at 7 p.m. at Sandrell Rivers Theater. The event is part of America250 programming recognizing the nation’s 250th anniversary.

The Black Birth of Music Series marks Handy’s birthday with a program connected to his role in bringing the blues to wider public attention, including “Memphis Blues,” the 1908 publication of “I Got the Blues” and other notable songs from the blues tradition. Known as the “Father of the Blues,” Handy helped document and popularize a musical form rooted in Black experience, Southern culture and early 20th-century American life.

The concert features South Florida blues musicians Val and Mojo Ike Woods, who will perform selections connected to Handy’s legacy and the broader history of the blues. The evening offers a cultural look at one of America’s foundational musical languages through live performance and historical reflection.