Valentines day 1920 Mamie Smith stepped up to the microphone in The Okeh Company in New York and shouted out “That Thing Called Love”. Smith made the first recording of a black female vocalist and opened the door to a generation of “Classic Blues” vocalists, transforming the blues from local folk music into the art form it is today. Female blues singers brought black culture into the American mainstream significant contributionsto the development of jazz and blues in popular music. Ladies in the Bluespays homage to these women, telling the story of the progression of theblues through song with Ireland's leading blues divas and a band comprising Ireland's finest blues musicians. The singers are Flo McSweeney, Emma Nicolai, Gill Quinn & Clara Rose. Visit www.ladiesintheblues.com for more information.