Keeping the Blues Live!

HIBS came to life as a concept at the Comox Valley Music Festival in July 1999. Through immense dedication and ingenuity by a team of enthusiastic volunteers, the first blues camp commenced the following May with just 16 students. Now entering its 27th year, Hornby Blues has continued to prove its success and importance to the Canadian music scene and has grown to near-capacity at 90+ students each year. 

The society has run strictly on a volunteer basis with a cohesive board at the helm. From board members to dishwashers, drivers and house-lenders, kitchen helpers and bartenders, the community support is unwavering and an enormous factor in our continued success. 

Our mandate is to bring Canadian blues artists to Hornby Island, raise awareness to the blues genres rich and complex history and provide high-level instruction to emerging artists. We are proud to have achieved this by hosting many of Canada’s top blues musicians, culminating in the honour of receiving the prestigious Blues Booster Maple Blues Award for Canadian blues promotion in 2018.