Secretary Ken Detzner Announces Launch of Florida Music Tours

Listen, learn and visit now at FloridaMusicTours.com

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –

Secretary of State Ken Detzner and the Florida Department of State today announced the launch of Florida Music Tours, a new educational, travel and media website that spotlights Florida’s important role in American musical history and promotes the state as a top destination for music enthusiasts. Each Florida Music Tour will act as an interactive guide to a musical genre or style that takes a visitor through Florida's musical history and across the state to where that music originated and where it can be heard today.

“Florida Music Tours is a great way for music fans, history lovers, educators and visitors to experience Florida’s history through music,” said Secretary Detzner. “The website makes it easy to listen to Florida’s traditional music, learn about influential performers and visit music festivals, venues and historical sites throughout Florida. We look forward to working with musicians, venues, researchers and museums across the state as we share Florida's deep roots in American musical history.”

Florida Music Tours is kicking off this weekend, May 26-28, at the Florida Folk Festival in White Springs, Florida where a number of the musicians featured on the site are performing.

The debut Florida Music Tour, Florida’s Got the Blues, spotlights the history of blues music in Florida as well as related genres of gospel, jazz and rhythm and blues. In the coming months, additional Florida Music Tours will be added that feature rock and roll, old time string and folk, Latin American and Caribbean, country and more. Music fans can experience the Florida’s Got the Blues Music Tour during the tour’s launch party on June 3 in Tallahassee at the Bradfordville Blues Club concert featuring Joey Gilmore.

Florida Music Tours incorporates a variety of resources from the Florida Department of State, including Florida Memory Radio which provides streaming audio of bluegrass and old-time, blues, folk, gospel, Latin and world music from the Florida Folklife Collection. The website also features media from the State Library and Archives of Florida and spotlights musicians that are Florida Folk Heritage Award winners and Florida Artists Hall of Fame inductees.    

Start your Florida Music Tour today by visiting FloridaMusicTours.com and following Florida Music Tours on Facebook and Twitter.

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About the Division of Cultural Affairs

The Florida Department of State Division of Cultural Affairs is Florida’s legislatively designated state arts agency. The Division promotes the arts and culture as essential to quality of life for all Floridians. To achieve its mission, the Division funds and supports cultural programs that provide artistic excellence, diversity, education, access and economic vitality for Florida’s communities. For more information, visit dos.myflorida.com/cultural.

About the Florida Folklife Program

The Florida Folklife Program, a component of the Florida Department of State Division of Historical Resources, documents and presents Florida's folklife, folklore and folk arts. The program coordinates a wide range of activities and projects designed to increase the awareness of Floridians and visitors alike about Florida's traditional culture. Established in 1979 by the legislature to document and present Florida folklife, this program is one of the oldest state folk arts programs in the nation. For more information, visit flheritage.com/preservation/folklife.

About Florida Memory

Florida Memory provides free online access to significant photographs, films, sound recordings, and original documents from the collections of the State Library and Archives of Florida. Florida Memory is funded under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Florida Department of State's Division of Library and Information Services. Visit floridamemory.com for more information.