Wanted: South Fork Kids to Play The Blues

Sag Harbor resident Lyle Granger is the founder of The Legion of Blues, an organization he established a few years back in Georgia to help promote traditional blues musicians play live with a series of concerts and festivals.

Now, he wants to bring music to the East End with Operation Beat The Blues, an initiative to match South Fork kids between the ages of 13 and 18 who are interested in learning guitar or furthering their skill set with lessons from professional bluesman or bluesladies.

“Right now, I have three professional blues musicians stuck at home on board to mentor and teach kids the history and music of the blues through online sessions,” explained Granger last week. “This is an incredible opportunity for kids right now, especially being stuck at home with a desire to learn guitar and no way to get started.”

To that end, Granger is seeking local donations of 6-string, 12-string or bass acoustic guitars, electric guitars in playable condition as well as amps, strings, practice books, stands and other equipment. Donations to the teaching musicians are also encouraged. Each donation will be picked up by Granger, inspected, tuned and delivered to the student.

Donors will be notified by students receiving the equipment with a thank you card or call if requested to verify the donation with a picture of the instrument.

Donations over $500 will also receive a tax deductible receipt if requested.

“Once I get some donations, I will search for, match and vet students who are serious about learning guitar,” noted Granger. “I don't expect a huge response, but I feel like if it can help out a few kids, it's better than nothing. I know when I was 13 I was dying to learn guitar, so I feel like helping out local kids if I can.”

To contribute to the cause, call Lyle Granger at 631-603-7858 or email him at thelegionofblues@gmail.com.