The International Blues Challenge (IBC) is a music competition run by the
Blues Foundation
The Blues Foundation is an American nonprofit corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, that is affiliated with more than 175 blues organizations from various parts of the world.
Founded in 1980, a 25-person board of directors governs the ...
.
Notable blues artists that have competed in the IBC over the years also includes
Fiona Boyes,
Eden Brent
Eden Brent (born November 16, 1965 in Greenville, Mississippi, United States) is an American musician on the independent Yellow Dog Records label. A blues pianist and vocalist, she combines boogie-woogie with elements of blues, jazz, soul, gospel ...
,
Michael Burks,
Tommy Castro
Tommy Castro (born April 15, 1955, San Jose, California, United States) is an American blues, R&B, and rock guitarist and singer. He has been recording since the mid-1990s. His music has taken him from local stages to national and internation ...
,
Sean Costello
Sean Costello (April 16, 1979 – April 15, 2008) was an American blues musician, renowned for his fiery guitar playing and soulful singing. He released five critically acclaimed albums before his career was cut short by his sudden death from ...
,
Albert Cummings
Albert Cummings (born Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States) is an American blues musician who has recorded under Blind Pig Records. He has played alongside B.B. King, Johnny Winter, and Buddy Guy.
Biography
Cummings started playing the ...
,
Døvydas,
Larry Garner
Larry Garner (born July 8, 1952 in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States) is a Louisiana blues musician best known for his 1994 album ''Too Blues''., quote: "
One music journalist noted "If you define 'blues' by the rigid categories of structur ...
,
Zac Harmon
William Zach "Zac" Harmon is an American blues musician from Jackson, Mississippi, United States. Harmon was signed to Toronto's NorthernBlues Music until 2015, when he announced his signing to San Francisco–based Blind Pig Records.
Biography ...
,
Homemade Jamz Blues Band,
HowellDevine,
Richard Johnston,
Julian Fauth,
Super Chikan
Super may refer to:
Computing
* SUPER (computer program), or Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer, a video converter / player
* Super (computer science), a keyword in object-oriented programming languages
* Super key (keyboard butt ...
,
Susan Tedeschi
Susan Tedeschi (; born November 9, 1970) is an American singer and guitarist. A multiple Grammy Award nominee, she is a member of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, a conglomeration of her band, her husband Derek Trucks’ and other musicians.
Early li ...
,
Southern Avenue, and
Watermelon Slim
William P. Homans III, (born 1949) professionally known as "Watermelon Slim", is an American blues musician. He plays both guitar and harmonica. He is currently signed to NorthernBlues Music, based in Toronto, Ontario. Homans has also earned bach ...
.
The 1994 event in particular had a lot of talent as
Susan Tedeschi
Susan Tedeschi (; born November 9, 1970) is an American singer and guitarist. A multiple Grammy Award nominee, she is a member of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, a conglomeration of her band, her husband Derek Trucks’ and other musicians.
Early li ...
,
Michael Burks (who won the Albert King Guitar Award) and a 16-year-old
Sean Costello
Sean Costello (April 16, 1979 – April 15, 2008) was an American blues musician, renowned for his fiery guitar playing and soulful singing. He released five critically acclaimed albums before his career was cut short by his sudden death from ...
competed, although none of them were the eventual winner.
History
The competition began in 1984, then named the Blues Amateur Talent Contest. The idea was to give amateur or up and coming musicians a chance to be discovered and get a foothold. In 1986, the event was renamed the National Amateur Talent Contest and 17 bands competed. Prior to 1993, the IBC had a rule that performers had to make less than 50% of their income from performing. This rule was dropped that year and the following year the word “Amateur” was dropped from the name of the event. In 1995, the event was renamed “The International Blues Talent Competition” to reflect the expanded demand and over 40 acts competed. No competition was held in 1999 as the timing of the event was changed from the fall during the King Biscuit Festival to the January/February time frame. In January 2000, the first International Blues Challenge was held with 50 bands competing. As the event has grown in size it was decided to split the acts into two categories, Band and Solo/Duo in 2002. Now each year more than 200 acts from around the world gather on
Beale Street
Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of blues music. Today, th ...
in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
, to compete for the International Blues Challenge.
Diunna Greenleaf and her backing band, Blue Mercy, won the competition in 2005.
In 2006, the
Joey Gilmore Band won the Best Band prize. The winners in 2008 were
Trampled Under Foot
"Trampled Under Foot" is a song by English rock group Led Zeppelin. A funk-influenced piece with John Paul Jones on clavinet, it was included on their 1975 album '' Physical Graffiti''. The song was released as a single in several countries an ...
. The 2010 winner of the top Solo/Duo prize was
Matt Andersen
Matt Andersen is a Canadian blues guitarist and singer-songwriter from Perth-Andover, New Brunswick, signed to True North Records. He is a Juno Awards, Juno Award nominee. His musical career started in 2002 with the New Brunswick band Flat Top.
C ...
.
Grady Champion
Grady Champion (born October 10, 1969) is an American electric blues harmonicist, singer, guitarist and songwriter. He has released ten albums to date. His influences include Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and Koko Taylor. His "rough, r ...
and his band won the Best Band title at the 26th International Blues Challenge in 2010,
The 2011 winners of the Solo/Duo category were Georg Schroeter and Marc Breitfelder.
The band winner in 2014 was Mr. Sipp, with the solo winner being Tim Williams. In 2015, Eddie Cotton won the best band category, with Randy McQuay coming out on top in the solo/duo division.
Band winners
Solo/duo winners
In 2002, the Blues Foundation split the challenge into two categories and began awarding a winner in the Solo/Duo category.
Best Guitarist winners
Best self-produced CD award
References
{{Reflist
External links
Official web page of the International Blues ChallengeA Brief History of the International Blues Challenge
Blues music awards