The Anthony Roberts Memorial CD Fund offers established PNW performers funding for their first commercially released blues recording with the artists retaining all rights to their music and recordings. The ideal candidate will demonstrate; a history of musical performances in the Pacific Northwest and beyond, recognition from regional and wider audiences, proactive multi-platform social media marketing, fan base development and retention, compositional and musical mastery, and organizational and budgetary skills.
QUALIFYING PARAMETERS & ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
- The artist must be an established PNW performing musician or band.
- The artist must be a CBA member and reside in the CBA region.
- Only band/artists who have not previously released a full commercial blues album may apply. Singles and EPs are not considered commercial recordings for this purpose.
- The recording must be a collection of no less than 8 songs with at least 50% being previously unreleased original material written by or for the band/artist.
- Additional considerations will be given to band/artist who have been nominated for the Muddy Awards, who have won the Muddy Awards, who have competed in the Journey to Memphis, or have been chosen to compete at the International Blues Challenge.
- All works submitted in rough draft/demo form must be included in the final recording.
- The artist must provide a budget that comes within the $10,000 limit, or guarantee to cover any budgeted costs over $10,000 to produce 100 CDs. The budget must include estimates for the following items:
- Recording (including engineer cost)
- Session players
- Mixing
- Mastering
- Album Artwork
- Duplication of 100 CD units
- Fees related to physical and digital distribution
Questions? Email CDfund@cascadeblues.org
THE PROCESS
Timeline
- Application Submissions Accepted: October 1 – November 12, 2025
- Application Review: November 13 – December 6, 2025
- Funding Decision Announced December 7, 2025
To Apply
- Complete application form.
- Complete budget form – refer to Budget Guidelines before completing.
- Submit rough demos (or links to rough demos) for each song planned for the album to CDfund@cascadeblues.org. Rough demos can be as basic as a phone recording of the artist demonstrating the song in any context; ie live show, individual solo performance, band performance. Songs will be used for confirmation of blues content only. The recording quality of the demo will have no bearing on qualifying scoring or consideration.
Evaluation
Applications will go through an evaluation by a grant committee composed of CBA members.
Decision Announcement
The decision will be announced at the CBA Annual Holiday Party. Sunday, December 7, 1-5pm
Mekong Bistro, 8200 NE Siskiyou St, Portland, OR 97220.
Grant Distribution
Funds will be dispersed to the artist once the agreement is signed by the CBA President and Recipient.
THE GRANT RECIPIENT AGREEMENT
A maximum of $10,000 will be provided for the grant recipient.
The funds may not be used to reimburse anyone for already completed, not yet released recordings. However, the grant may be used to finish and release an already started project.
In exchange for funding, the recipient agrees to hold a release event in the Portland Metro area as a CBA fundraiser. The CBA will work with the recipient to coordinate and promote this event. The proceeds from the sales of any of the first 100 physical units prior to or at this event will return to the AR CBA CD Fund to support future projects. No other release events or promotions of physical units may be scheduled within the next 30 days in the Portland Metro Area. All unsold copies are the property of the grant recipient, who will have no further obligations to the CBA.
The recipient may choose to pay for additional CDs to be duplicated with the first run of 100.
The recipient agrees to complete and release the album within 18 months of receiving the grant.
The recipient agrees to include graphics (CBA Logo and AR Fund Logo) and language provided by the CBA on the back of the physical album next to the UPC symbol.
READY TO APPLY?
Click here → Grant Application Form
Click here → Budget Form
Submit sound files or links to song demos to CDfund@cascadeblues.org
