Curtis “Mr. Blues” Mailloux

Multi-Instrumentalist | Blues Singer/ Songwriter | Educator

Curtis Blues Music

Multi-instrumentalist and roots musician Curtis Blues is a talented musician and educator. His performances teach the Growth Mindset and lifelong learning using music. His shows keep the tradition of acoustic American roots music alive and demonstrate for students the origins of modern rock and hip-hop from its multicultural sources. Curtis has been playing Delta Blues since he was fourteen years old, when he was exposed to some of the last living Delta Blues masters at folk festivals. He has recorded two critically acclaimed CDs and performs at Blues festivals and schools in an effort to pass this precious music down to the next generation.

Curtis “Mr. Blues” Mailloux

CLIN# – 0001 STEAM & 0002 Music & 0003 Dance

Up-cycling: Making Musical Instruments Out of Junk from Around the World

Science – STEM – Show
Using the STEM engineering model as a guide, Curtis performs on a variety of instruments made of up-cycled materials. Students discuss responsible green practices and how they can use discarded items to create musical instruments. This assembly program touches on many curriculum connections from science, social studies, and history. It inspires students to be flexible and creative when thinking about how people throughout history have made their own instruments to express their feelings.

Reasons to book this show:

  • Students are engaged in learning from the first minute thanks to the unusual instruments.
  • Students learn how a creative person can use any material to make music.
  • Students learn about other cultures and how they created instruments out of what they had—a lesson in resilience and multicultural appreciation.

The Multicultural Roots of American Popular Music

Music Show
Multi-instrumentalist Curtis Blues performs with fascinating instruments from Africa and North and South America to demonstrate the multicultural American musical history that created popular music today. This assembly focuses on the poetic, figurative language found in American Blues songs and popular music. This helps students understand how they can make their writing compelling with sensory images and figurative language. It is targeted to specific grade levels to connect with age-appropriate curricula. This assembly program touches on many 21st-century skills and connections, as well as celebrating the lives of specific African Americans who changed musical history. A highlight of the show for students is when the group writes a short blues song together using student-generated sensory-based prompts.

Reasons to book this show:

  • Students are engaged in learning from the first minute and stay engaged by lively music and questions about songwriting.
  • Students learn how metaphorical language allows us to express complex feelings and ideas in simple images.
  • Children learn about other cultures and people from different time periods who share their modern concerns.

Wild Animal Dance Party Early Childhood Show

Music and Dancing
What happens when young minds put on the imaginary costumes of animals from a picture book?

  • Their imaginations grow.
  • They learn scientific differences between animals.
  • They learn how to enter books through their imaginations.

Reasons to book this show:

  • Students are engaged in learning from the first minute and stay engaged by lively music and dancing.
  • Students become different animals and think about what makes one animal different from another.
  • There is great joy in dancing in their imaginary costumes.

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