On his 9th Boston blues fest, founder Sarni is still doing it for the love of the music

For a man who has dedicated his adult life to the blues, Greg Sarni is pretty upbeat.

He has been spinning blues discs as a volunteer at Brandeis University's WBRS-FM (100.1) for more than 10 years now, following stints in commercial radio in Manchester, N.H., and on Martha's Vineyard. He is also the president of the Blues Trust, a charitable nonprofit organization that will present its ninth annual Boston Blues Festival this weekend at the Hatch Shell.

"Greg is a very positive influence," says John Cain, product manager for Rounder Records and former label manager for Rounder's Bullseye Blues and Jazz imprint.

"He is doing all of this out of his love for the blues and nothing for himself."

Sarni may not be looking for anything for himself, but he is looking for something, more often than not something financial, for the local blues community. By his own admission, fund-raising for the festival, which he estimates can cost up to $30,000 to stage, takes up the majority of his time.

"It's our main goal," he says. "Presenting two free days of blues is even in our mission statement."

Occasionally, this fund-raising must go in innovative directions. This week, the Blues Trust auctioned off on eBay a guitar signed by B.B. King to raise money for the festival -- it fetched $3,000. "It's three grand we didn't have, but we're always juggling money, no matter what," says Sarni.

Although the festival is by no means in dire financial straits, funding is a constant issue; the love of the music helps drive the effort, which was ambitious from the beginning. The first festival, in 1996, treated audiences to a roster of 15 acts, including a then relatively unknown local artist named Susan Tedeschi. Word spread quickly that Sarni's event, in addition to being the only free two-day blues festival in New England, was a fantastic showcase for more established artists. Yet prior to establishing a Lifetime Achievement Award that would attract national artists, Sarni made a commitment to booking local acts.

"My first priority is trying to book [area] bands that are doing this for a living," he says. "The local people who are doing this are not doing this as hobbyists."

Sarni is equally realistic about bringing national acts to Boston.

"Can we afford them, first of all?" he asks. "Do they deserve more credit and wider recognition?" Establishing more credit for Boston's blues community is an obvious goal of the Blues Trust. Yet Sarni admittedly finds the fund-raising frustrating at points.

"I have been to the Chicago Blues Festival, which is also free," he says. "That's run by the Mayor's Office of Special Events with a big staff that I am very envious of."

Yet Chicago has always enjoyed a proud reputation for its blues artists. In Cambridge, however, the original House of Blues closed, leaving many in the Boston blues community with legitimate concerns. The Regent Theatre in Arlington has stepped up its blues bookings, as has Johnny D's in Somerville, but Rounder's Cain sees another trend developing.

"You can find the blues in the communities surrounding Boston almost every weekend," he says of a suburban retreat for the genre. "That's where I see the blues heading, outside of Boston proper, but it's still there, and it's still pretty strong."

Sarni has an idea that reaches well beyond Route 128. "We'd like to promote Boston blues artists on a caravan out west," he says.

"I already have Jet Blue on board with that, so if I could get a sponsor like Sam Adams to get involved and do a cultural exchange program, that's something I'd love to do."