Blue Jordan Records
Blue Jordan Records is an independent record label founded by Janet Pressley in Cincinnati, Ohio. In addition to releasing records the label has organized concerts and music festivals.
The Cincinnati Post said, "Blue Jordan is as much a state of mind as a record label" and described its origins, "When the coffeehouse folded the musicians who played and sang there simply stuck together and have been releasing CDs and making music ever since."
Festivals and concert series
The label has organized a number of shows and music festivals over the years, notably the Blue Jordan Fall Music Festival at the Heritage Village of Sharon Woods Park in Sharonville, Ohio. The festival ran 1998–2000. Headliners included acts like Carrie Newcomer, Over the Rhine, the Cowboy Junkies, and Victoria Williams and the Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers. At its peak the festival included a diverse mix of two dozen local and national artists providing 10 hours of music on three stages and was described as "Cincinnati's premiere music event of the fall." All the Fall Music Festivals took place at the historic 19th-century open-air museum; Heritage Village Museum in Sharon Woods Park and funds raised by the events went to the restoration, upkeep and historical interpretation of the village. The charm added by the location was noted in the Chicago-based webzine Phantom Tollbooth, "After experiencing a folk festival in this atmosphere, how could one go back to an auditorium? The event is well worth the drive from Detroit, Chicago or your hometown."The label has also held other events such as the Spring Songs Music Festival, and the Blue Jordan Records Christmas Show.
The label's 2008 house concert series, Living Room Shows, was named Best Intimate Concert Series in Cincinnati. The 2008 run will wrap up in December with a "Songwriters in the Round" Event.