Program / Event Details

The Origin of Blues

With a fusion of history and performance, Carly engages audiences to explore the origin of blues, which is the root of all American music. Beginning with Native American melodies we embark on a journey of how blues was created from the African American Experience pre- and post-civil war, how it has evolved over the years and how it influences modern day music.

Fees are for daytime school programs in Maryland, Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia only.

Evening, weekend, workshop, and non-school fees differ – please contact us.

Additional travel fees may apply.

About Carly Harvey

Based out of Washington, DC, Carly Harvey combines blues, jazz, soul, and Indigenous American styles to produce a unique sound. She is the originator of the “Native Scat”—an improvisational fusion of a traditional Jazz scat with Native vocables. In addition to performing as a solo act, Carly is an entertaining and dynamic band leader. According to DC Music Review, “Carly is grace, confidence, originality, and the right amount of sexy swagger all at once. She commands the stage with her voice and presence and draws you in intensely. Then she seems to end each song with an infectious smile of pure gratitude that beams so brightly into the audience.” In July 2018, Carly was featured in Big City Blues Magazine as one of the youngest blues artists to watch.

Carly is a three-time DC Blues Society Battle of the Bands Winner and was proclaimed DC’s Queen of the Blues in 2016 by Dr. Nick Johnson of WPFW Radio. In 2021, Carly was nominated 7 times and won the WAMMIE award for Best Blues Artist/Band.

Carly is a Tsalagi and Tuscarora descendant and it is her belief that Blues not only comes from the African American experience but is actually directly influenced by Indigenous American minor pentatonic melodies and stomp dance songs. She occasionally offers classes and workshops to educate people about the music that gives her so much pride in her Afro-Indigenous heritage.