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<\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\tThe festival took place on campus for many years, with fans enjoying music before the Associated Students house. Photo: Cynthia Hall.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\tFor many years, the festival was sponsored in part by SJSU Associated Students. Photo: Cynthia Hall. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\tThe Fountain Blues and Brews Festival in San Jos\u00e9, 2007. Photo: Cynthia Hall. As an undergrad at SJSU, Ross served as a program board director for Associated Students, where he teamed up with a group of fellow Spartans, overseen by then-Student Union program board adviser Ted Gehrke, to found what would later become California\u2019s longest-running blues festival. For the first several years, the festival was hosted on campus \u2014 the festival gets its name from the fountain opposite SJSU\u2019s Tower Lawn \u2014 and operated on a tight budget in order to offer free or low-cost shows to students and the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2013, festival organizers created the Fountain Blues Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting live music in the Bay Area. Foundation board president Suzanne St. John-Crane, who also sings in a band called Pearl Alley, explains that the festival offers opportunities for people of all ages to enjoy live blues, gospel, swing, zydeco, funk, soul and R&B.<\/p>\n \u201cBlues really gave me my voice back in the day,\u201d St. John-Crane says. \u201cWhen I first started performing, it was so accessible and I felt like I belonged, that I could just jump right in. I want to create that opportunity for others; I want others to experience the joy of live music.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Suzanne St. John-Crane and Dan Ross. Photo: Brian Anderson, \u201924 MFA Digital Media Art.<\/p>\n St. John-Crane\u2019s husband David Crane, \u201997 Music, is a fellow musician and longtime member of the Fountain Blues and Brews community. He says that his time at SJSU established a strong foundation for the creative life he lives today.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cSJSU\u2019s music program is ever present in our lives,\u201d Crane says. \u201cI\u2019m in a band with three music program alumni of different generations, and play music with my wife Suzanne who is also the president of the Fountain Blues and Brews Festival, which started at SJSU. She\u2019s a Gator and I\u2019m a Spartan, but we make it work.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Ross adds that over the years, the festival has involved SJSU music students, alumni and faculty members in many performances \u2014 and that members of SJSU School of Music<\/a> are comped tickets every year. He\u2019s also the proud owner of a limo, which he has used to escort participating bands and musicians affiliated with the festival for many years. When he\u2019s not volunteering, Ross is playing drums with singer-songwriter Ruth Gerson.\u00a0<\/p>\n On June 27 and 28, Fountain Blues and Brews Festival will bring 16 bands to two stages at Plaza Park downtown and feature more than 40 varieties of craft beer and cider. New this year, blues fans can also register for meet-and-greets with performers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are very committed at the Fountain Blues Foundation to try and keep this festival affordable, and to pay artists what they deserve,\u201d says St. John-Crane. \u201cIf we want things like a blues festival, if we want arts and culture, we have to step up and support it. So I\u2019m grateful to our partners that have continued to support California\u2019s longest-running blues festival. We\u2019re really proud of it, and we want to keep the legacy going.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Fountain](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/blues-fest-cynthia-3-1440x1080.jpg\")
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