The Maine Jewish Film Festival in partnership with The Hill Arts will present the film “Born in Chicago” followed by The Blues Prophets live in concert at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 14, at The Hill Arts in Portland.

Directed by Bob Sarles and John Anderson, “Born In Chicago,” is a soulful documentary film that chronicles a uniquely musical passing of the torch. It’s the story of first generation blues performers who had made their way to Chicago from the Mississippi Delta and their ardent and unexpected followers — young white, middle class kids — who followed the evocative music to smoky clubs deep in Chicago’s ghettos. Passed down from musician to musician, the Chicago blues transcended the color lines of the 1960s as young, white Chicago musicians apprenticed themselves to legends such as Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf.

“[Born in Chicago] is the American tale: the immigrant’s odyssey, the survivor’s hymn and the hero’s journey, that hero being the Blues that emerged from the South, came of age in Chicago and ascended to its throne on the stages of the Fillmore and Woodstock,” writes Terry Abrahamson, Chicago Blues Guide.

The Blues Prophets introduced many local patrons to the music. The members are Doug Wainoris, guitar/vocals. DW Gill, harmonica/vocals. Jeffrey Davison, drums/vocals. Jamie Isaacson, piano. Jack Tukey, bass guitar. The band traveled to the blues bars of Chicago, played many stages in New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Boston, and throughout Maine/New England, honing their craft and becoming an institution. During their travels they met and played with living legends of the day such as James Cotton, Otis Rush, Muddy Waters, Professor Longhair, Jimmy Johnson and Bonnie Raitt.

The Hill Arts is located at 76 Congress St., Portland. For more information, call 207-775-1248 or visit thehillarts.me.

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