In early 1977, physician Laszlo Kiraly and disc jockey Greg Drust, devotees of the blues, launched the blues society to satisfy their craving for live blues music. Thus the SBBS was born, and to their pleasant surprise, the shows, initially called Blue Mondays, were a rousing success. A devoted following of blues lovers developed via word of mouth and a mailing list, providing support for monthly shows initially featuring primarily performers from the nearby Los Angeles area, then expanding to the west coast and within a year nationally to present such legends as Louis Myers and Fenton Robinson along with some then up-and-coming standouts like Robert Cray and Hollywood Fats.

From its inception to the present, the blues society has adhered to its mission of featuring only authentic, original, high quality, and artistically significant bluesmen and blueswomen faithful to the African American Blues Tradition. In 1982, after becoming aware of the society during its first five years of operation, the executive director of The Blues Foundation Joe Savarin requested documentation of the activities of the group which lead to the establishment of the category of Blues Organization of The Year with the first such award bestowed on the Santa Barbara Blues Society.

In 1987, the Senate of the State of California presented the society with a special Resolution of Commendation on the event of the tenth anniversary of its existence, recognizing its commitment to the preservation of the blues by creating a positive cultural environment in California and serving as a model for other blues organizations.

The society, a 501(c)(3) organization, is operated by an all-volunteer board of directors assisted by a large pool of volunteers. It has over 500 dues-paying members most of whom are Life members. Its mailing list of over 1000, plus an even larger Blues Lovers e-mail list are used to publicize its shows as well as other blues activities in the area. The society’s website established in 2000 is also a powerful instrument of keeping bluesfans informed and up-to-date.

In the past few years, the society has acquired a group of local sponsors ranging from a winery, to a brewery, a hotel, a restaurant, and a caterer, all of which contribute significantly to its financial stability. It also receives several thousand dollars worth of free advertising from the town’s largest rock radio station. Furthermore, the public radio stations in the area are also solid supporters of the SBBS’s efforts with the community, in turn serving as an important source of financial support for their programming.

The local and regional press organizations have regularly featured stories of the visiting blues performers as well as reviews of the concerts.

A discount offered to students has spawned a budding blues club at a local high school with regular attendance by students at the shows.

The society has also recently been instrumental in the formation of The Blues Society @ UCSB, its college student affiliate to generate interest in the blues on the campus of the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Over the years the society has hosted over 140 performers and staged in excess of 180 concerts in as many as twenty different venues. Currently it promotes five to six shows a year. Musicians have gone away from these shows praising the warm hospitality they receive by the staff and admiring fans. At times, the society has joined forces with organizers of other festivals and musical events in the area such as the Ojai Bowlful of Blues, and the annual Red, White & Blues. It also has a close working relationship with the local music club SOhO facilitating bookings for touring blues acts and promoting these on the society’s website and via its Blues Lovers e-mail list.

The society celebrated its 25th Anniversary in March 2002 with a performance by Ike Turner and the Kings of Rhythm. In a special observance of the Year Of The Blues, at the society's behest, the mayor of the city of Santa Barbara pronounced the week of September 15, 2003, as the Week of The Blues in Santa Barbara, culminating in a special performance by David Honeyboy Edwards put on by the society in conjunction with the prestigious Santa Barbara Book Festival which also hosted the noted author Peter Guralnick.

In recent years the society has launched an active Blues For Youth program to expand the knowledge and understanding of blues music in area schools.

In an effort to trace the history of the society as the oldest such organization in the U.S., Prof. Douglas Daniels at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a noted author of jazz books, is currently working on a book about the society.

In February 2005, the society received The Keeping the Blues Alive Award by the Memphis-based Blues Foundation as Blues Organization of the Year for 2005, making it only one of two blues organizations to receive such an award more than once.

In its 30^th year, the Santa Barbara Blues Society has earned the respect of the community and is proud to have contributed to the cultural enrichment of our region by exposing this truly American art form to thousands of fans.

The blues lives! and the SBBS helps keep it thriving.