News & Events

The iconic Blues Bus that had sold blues music and celebrated blues musicians at the historic Maxwell Street Market under the ownership of its creators, John and Marie Johnson, is now a little slice of its former glory.  Funds are being sought by the Foundation to preserve this portion of the Bus, which underwent steady decline since 2019 when  it was ravaged by skilled vandals who cut away the front end of the bus with the engine and further stripped the interior and removed all the windows and both doors while on the vacated lot at which it had been stored since 2004. Maxwell Street Foundation members orchestrated a tow of the bus to an alternative safe haven but were unable to store it there further and so asked the lot owner to remove the rear end for preservation.

If you have skills or services for refurbishing the bus artifact, please contact us with your resources.  The Maxwell Street Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, and your services could be tax deductible. Or, make a contribution to our cause on the Support Us page of our website where you can send a safe donation through our DONATE button at http://maxwellstreetfoundation.org/support-us/

Please read below for the story of the Maxwell Street Foundation’s association with the Blues Bus, and its current state.

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In 2008, the Blues Bus made its debut at the Chicago Blues Festival where it continued an annual presence through 2010 manned by the Maxwell Street Foundation in partnership with its owner. It made a final public appearance in 2010 on Labor Day Sunday at the New Maxwell Street Market, again manned by the Maxwell Street Foundation in partnership with its owner.  Following this final appearance, the Maxwell Street Foundation retired their use of the bus to the owner who did not claim it and recently offered it to the Foundation for its future preservation. To this end, the Maxwell Street Foundation seeks a fellow steward to creatively reconsider and re-purpose the bus rear end in celebration of its heritage.