Ida McBeth started her career as a teenager singing at the Playboy Club in downtown Kansas City. She went on to earn mayoral proclamations and a lifetime achievement award from the American Jazz Museum.
Kansas City has long held a reputation as a center of blues music and culture. But as elder musicians pass away, one Kansas blues festival appears to have reached its conclusion. Plus, Kansas City's first bicycle collective has transformed junk into reliable rides for 15 years.
The Kansas City, Kansas Street Blues Festival was created as a place for a small group of influential blues artists from northeast Kansas City, Kansas, to share their music with their community. Now, however, so many of these artists have died that the event organizer doesn’t believe he’ll be able to continue the festival.