The Blues Underground is a workshop and Jam space located at 10 Lois Lane off China Steps behind the Queens Hotel - it's directly underneath Clifford's Wake, the coffee shop and bookstore.

The Blues Underground began as the Nanaimo Blues Society's Community Outreach project and thanks to the sweat equity of many of our members, 10 Lois Lane was transformed from a grubby, graffiti covered basement full of trash into a funky Blues Can which opened on June 23, 2007. Since that time, the venue has blossomed and grown with weekly jams, numerous live recording sessions, band rehearsals and events. This past summer, the Blues Society partnered with Tom Dodge and Manda Chelmak of Sky High Productions to recruit, audition, and train the Sidewalk All Stars. These talented young musicians learned from many of Nanaimo's best and formed the youth Showcase bands that we enjoyed so much at Summertime Blues! 2008. The second session of the ultimate "Rock 'n Blues" school managed by Sky High productions and with 30 enthusiastic participants is now underway at the Blues Underground.

 As a result of this success, the Blues Underground has taken on a life of its own and has evolved into something bigger than the Nanaimo Blues Society is able to be responsible for ... we are all volunteers and the annual Summertime Blues! festival takes the lion's share of our energy. Sky High Productions has now taken over responsibility for the space creating a win-win situation where the Blues Underground is used to its best advantage and the Nanaimo Blues Society can concentrate on making Summertime Blues! the most awesome it can be.

The Blues Underground continues to host two weekly open Jams - an Acoustic one on Tuesday nights at 7:00 PM and an Electric one on Thursdays at 7:00 PM. They are drug and alcohol free events and everyone is welcome to either night. The jams are organized and led by Tom Dodge and you can reach him at 751-1516 if you want to know more. You can also contact Tom and Manda by email at: skyhighproductions@live.ca

Picture by François Jomphe

Thanks to Bastion Security for their support of the Blues Underground