BEN MEZRICH, BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF "BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE: THE INSIDE STORY OF SIX M.I.T. STUDENTS WHO TOOK VEGAS FOR MILLIONS" & M.I.T. TEAM MEMBER JEFF MA TO SPEAK AT SIP HAPPENS

MAY 19 EVENT HOSTED BY RED SOX'S CRAIG BRESLOW & WITH MEMBERS OF RED SOX AT BOSTON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OPEN TO PUBLIC VIA ADVANCE TICKET SALES

Best-selling author Ben Mezrich, author of Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions, and M.I.T. blackjack team member Jeffrey Ma will speak at the special event Sip Happens, hosted by Red Sox pitcher Craig Breslow.

Bringing Down the House spent sixty-three weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List, and sold over two million copies and was adapted into Sony Pictures' "21," starring Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburn, and Kate Bosworth, which was filmed largely in Boston. Ma's first book, The House Advantage: Playing the Odds to Win Big In Business, was published in July, 2010 by Palgrave Macmillan.

The Strike 3 Foundation will host its second annual Sip Happens food tasting and wine pairing on May 19 at the Boston Children's Museum, 308 Congress St, Boston, MA.   Proceeds will benefit the organization founded by Breslow that heightens awareness, mobilizes support, and raises funding for pediatric cancer research and treatment. It is open to the public via advance ticket sales only. Other members of the Boston Red Sox will be in attendance.

For individual ticket purchases, please go to siphappens2014.org.

Media info and photos on Strike 3 Foundation.

Video of Craig Breslow on MLB.com speaking about Sip Happens and Strike 3.

Mezrich's book, The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal – debuted at #4 on the NY Times Bestseller list and spent 18 weeks on the list in hard and soft, and made bestseller lists in over a dozen countries. The book was adapted into the movie The Social Network- written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher- and was #1 at the box office for two weeks, won Golden Globes for best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay, best score, and was nominated for 8 Oscars, winning 3 including best Adapted Screenplay for Aaron Sorkin. Mezrich and Aaron Sorkin shared a prestigious Scripter Award for best adapted screenplay as well.

A Bostonian, Mezrich has appeared often on TV, including a stint on Court TV with a series titled 'High Stakes with Ben Mezrich.' The show utilized his unique contacts to explore the culture of young, highly educated millionaires and their clandestine hobbies. Mezrich also hosted the 'World Series of Blackjack' for GSN and has several scripted and non-scripted TV projects in the works.

About Strike 3 Foundation

The Strike 3 Foundation is a charitable agency recognized by the IRS under 501 (c)(3) that heightens awareness, mobilizes support, and raises funding for pediatric cancer research.  Founded in 2008 by current Major League Pitcher and Yale graduate Craig Breslow, Strike 3 has donated over $500,000 to Yale University Children's Hospital as a founding sponsor of Connecticut's only Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplantation Program.  Additionally, the organization has supported deserving research and treatment centers across the country including the Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, and the Conquer Cancer Foundation.  Strike 3 also funds a Boston based research project annually.  Offices are located in Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, and California, and is headquartered in Connecticut.

DOM FLEMONS LEARNS RARE AFRICAN-AMERICAN FOLK INSTRUMENT FROM MIKE SEEGER, IS LAST LIVING PLAYER IN QUILLS TRADITION

NEW SOLO ALBUM 'PROSPECT HILL' OUT JULY 22

Dom Flemons – the American songster whose new album 'Prospect Hill' comes out July 22 on Music Maker Relief Foundation – carries on a traditional instrument he learned from Mike Seeger. Flemons demonstrates and talks about the panpipe-like instrument in this video.

Flemons told me, "Most audiences, they've never seen anything like that. Whoa!" He first picked it up from Mike Seeger at a Black Banjo Gathering. Flemons said, "He was a revelation, making new music out of traditional music elements. He was the only guy I heard playing the quills. I met him and asked him where I could get quills. He showed me a couple of things. I'm the last living black quills player in the country."

Another inspiration was the 1920s recordings by songster Henry Thomas, who has been covered by Bob Dylan and Canned Heat, and 1960s recordings by Joe Patterson. Hear Henry Thomas' "Old Country Stomp" here.

Playing the Newport Folk Fest, Flemons befriended Bob Jones and Murray Lerner, who led him to footage of Alabama's Joe Patterson, the only known historical footage of a quills player. Flemons says, "With Mike included, there are four quills players whose recordings are readily available. You blow over it like you're blowing over a bottle. It's a goofy instrument!"

Flemons' new solo album 'Prospect Hill' comes out July 22 on Music Maker Relief Foundation.

Dom Flemons photos

Credit: Tim Duffy

 Credit: Michael Weintrob

 Credit: Michael Weintrob

 Credit: Michael Weintrob

Credit: Tim Duffy

Credit: Tim Duffy

Credit: Tim Duffy and Aaron Greenhood

Credit: Tim Duffy

Credit: Tim Duffy

Music Maker Relief Foundation publicity photos

Tim Duffy, credit: Tim Duffy

 Precious Bryant with Lucas Duffy

 MMRF founders Tim and Denise Duffy

 Mother Pauline and Elder James Goins

 Algia Mae Hinton

 Dr. G. B. Burt

 Essie Mae Brooks

Ironing Board Sam

Music Maker Relief Foundation Receives National Endowment for the Arts Grant

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa announced that Music Maker Relief Foundation received an NEA Art Works grant to support their upcoming museum exhibit We Are The Music Makers.

The exhibit will feature photo and audio documentation of Southern Roots musicians active in the past 20 years, all photographed and recorded by Tim Duffy in his quest to preserve Southern traditional music by partnering with the artists who make it. The multi-media materials will highlight musicians performing music passed down by families and community members throughout the centuries. The exhibit seeks to shine a light on these artists who are frequently hidden by poverty and geography, leading some to believe the traditional music they perform has “died out.”

The Art Works grant from the NEA will assist Music Maker in the creation of the exhibit and the events surrounding the official launch of We Are the Music Makers at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro, NC on October 3rd. Associated with the exhibit’s official debut, a panel discussion will be held featuring Roots musicians, moderated by folklorist William Ferris, Ph.D., and open to the public. A Blues Revue performance will follow the afternoon panel discussion in the evening on October 3rd.

NEA Acting Chairman Shigekawa said, "The NEA is pleased to announce that Music Maker Relief Foundation is recommended for an NEA Art Works grant. These NEA-supported projects will not only have a positive impact on local economies, but will also provide opportunities for people of all ages to participate in the arts, help our communities to become more vibrant, and support our nation's artists as they contribute to our cultural landscape."

“We Are The Music Makers is the culmination of twenty years of work photographing and recording the Roots musicians of the American South. Music Maker Relief Foundation began in 1994 to assist musicians living in poverty while sharing their music with the world. Since then, I have worked with so many amazing musicians, and this exhibit allows us to share their stories, images and music with new audiences. We are so grateful to the NEA and all our supporters for helping us make this happen,” said Tim Duffy, Music Maker’s founder.

This project is also made possible in part by support from the North Carolina Humanities Council and the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation. The exhibit officially launches on October 3rd and will be up for one month at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro, NC. After that We Are the Music Makers will travel to various venues through the country for the next five to seven years.

About Music Maker Relief Foundation

Music Maker Relief Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit, preserves and promotes the musical traditions of the American South. Since 1994 we have partnered with traditional artists over 55 years old who survive on a yearly income of less than $18,000, sustaining their day-to-day needs while building their careers. Through Music Maker, our rich heritage of folk music will not be lost with the passing of time.

About NEA Art Works Grants

Art Works grants support the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and enhancement of the livability of communities through the arts.  The NEA received 1,515 eligible applications under the Art Works category, requesting more than $76 million in funding. Of those applications, 886 are recommended for grants for a total of $25.8 million.

FOR PRODUCER COLIN LINDEN, WORKING WITH EDEN BRENT "AN HONOR" & "LIKE GOING TO THE CARNIVAL"

NEW AMERICANA ALBUM 'JIGSAW HEART' OUT MAY 6 ON YELLOW DOG RECORDS

Producer Colin Linden has worked on sessions with Lucinda Williams, Lindi Ortega, T Bone Burnett, Keb Mo, and Diana Krall and backed Bob Dylan on stage, but he's never seen anyone quite like Eden Brent. The acclaimed performer and producer exclaims, "Working with Eden is sort of like going to the carnival because you never know exactly what you're going to get, but you're going to have a really good time. I always feel with Eden that she's giving the real genuine article; she's herself at all times." As a result, there was never a moment in the studio when the tape wasn't rolling. "I think Eden is one of the real greats," he adds.

Describing his recording approach, Linden observes, "She's such a spontaneous artist and such a spontaneous person that for me, the really important thing is getting her when the moment strikes her. The records have a tremendous amount of drama just built into the circumstances but there's also a sense of candid performance just capturing something as it happens, as opposed to contriving a circumstance like a portrait. It's more like a candid shot."

Following their field trip to New Orleans to record her 2010 album 'Ain't Got No Troubles,' the three-time Blues Music Award winner Brent decided to mix in some Nashville flavor. "I trust Colin implicitly," she says, continuing, "I sort of wanted for this project to involve some folk or country instrumentation, and just see how maybe that could make my sound a little different and make me grow a little."

Linden brought in players with whom he's long had a rapport and who could hang with Eden, both musically and socially, giving the band instant chemistry with her. He attests, "She's such a cool person to hang out with. I wanted to just be able to bring other people who she would enjoy hanging out with to the party and I think that you hear that in the music. Part of what gives us the feeling that I think is important on the record is that we're all in pretty close physical proximity -- just a few feet away from one another.  If the arrangement changes, you can telegraph the other players by just looking over at them. There’s kind of a freedom to be spontaneous."

AMERICAN SONGSTER DOM FLEMONS HEADS OUT FROM GRAMMY-WINNING CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS FOR DYNAMIC NEW SOLO ALBUM 'PROSPECT HILL,' OUT JULY 22 ON MUSIC MAKER RELIEF FOUNDATION

Dom Flemons – founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and American Songster – will release his third solo album 'Prospect Hill' on July 22 on Music Maker Relief Foundation. 'Prospect Hill' finds Flemons digging deeply into ragtime, Piedmont blues, spirituals, southern folk music, string band music, jug band music, fife and drum music, and ballads idioms with showmanship and humor, reinterpreting the music to suite 21st century audiences.

Following a series of tour dates with a new generation of American roots musicians like Pokey LaFarge, Flemons will perform April 18 as part of the Brooklyn Folk Festival at the Bell House. He performed and spoke on WNYC Soundcheck in March to talk about his Oxford American essay on Gus Cannon.

Flemons has mastered a variety of instruments such as banjo, guitar, harmonica, fife, bones, bass drum, snare drum and quills. After a stint in New York City, Flemons has returned to his musical home of North Carolina.

Solo and with the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Flemons has played live for over one million people within the past three years. As part of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, which he co-founded with Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson in 2005, he has played at a variety of festivals Newport Folk Festival, Bonnaroo, and the Grand Ole Opry.

Of his set at Sydney Festival, The Daily Telegraph (Australia) said this year, "Dom Flemons knocks 'em dead… a showstopper."

The New York Times called the Carolina Chocolate Drops "an end-to-end display of excellence," continuing, "They dip into styles of southern black music from the 1920s and ’30s—string- band music, jug-band music, fife and drum, early jazz—and beam their curiosity outward. They make short work of their instructive mission and spend their energy on things that require it: flatfoot dancing, jug playing, shouting."

Rolling Stone observed, "The Carolina Chocolate Drops are...revisiting, with a joyful vengeance, black string-band and jug-band music of the Twenties and Thirties—the dirt-floor dance electricity of the Mississippi Sheiks and Cannon’s Jug Stompers."

The Guardian said, "An appealing grab-bag of antique country, blues, jug band hits and gospel hollers, all given an agreeably downhome production. The Carolina Chocolate Drops are still the most electrifying acoustic act around."

'Dom Flemons, American Songster, Presents: Prospect Hill' Track List

1. Til' the Seas Run Dry
2. Polly Put the Kettle On
3. But They Got it Fixed Right On
4. Have I Stayed Away Too Long?
5. Georgia Drumbeat
6. I Can't Do it Anymore
7. Sonoran Church Two-Step
8. Too Long I've Been Gone
9. Marching Up to Prospect Hill
10. It's a Good Thing
11. Grotto Beat
12. Hot Chicken
13. San Francisco Baby
14. My Money Never Runs Out