2008 Iowa Blues Challenge

Just got this from the old email bag! Sound like some great shows! Show up and support your local blues bands!!!

Press Release-2008 Iowa Blues Challenge

The 2008 Iowa Blues Challenge features head to head competition culminating in a three band Final round to be held Saturday, May 17^th, 2008 at the Hotel Fort Des Moines at 1000 Walnut Street in Des Moines, Iowa.

For the fifteenth year, the Central Iowa Blues Society, in cooperation with the Mississippi Valley Blues Society and Lizard Creek Blues Society, presents the 2008 Iowa Blues Challenge, an all-Iowa Blues band contest. This contest is open to any Iowa Blues band that has not been nominated for the Blues Music Awards (Handy’s).

Rounds will be held around the state of Iowa. Ten bands from the Des Moines

area will compete in 2 preliminary rounds, each band performing 30-minute sets.

Midnight Wine, Cold Shot, Avey Brothers, Trouble No More and Kent Burnside

& New Generation will start at 8 PM at Zimm's Food & Spirits on Thursday, April 10^th.

The second round will be at Blues On Grand on Thursday, April 17^th starting at 8 PM

with Hot Tamale & the Red Hots, Double Clutch, Case of the Blues, The Blues

Bureau and The Soul Searchers. A preliminary round will also be held in the Quad

Cities area at RIBCO on Saturday, April 12^th at 8 PM featuring The Blues Explosion,

SLIM & the Bulletproof Boys, The Smokin’ Mojo Kings and Pocket Deuces Blues

Band. Two bands from Des Moines and one band from the Quad Cities will advance to

the Finals on Saturday, May 17^th at the Hotel Fort Des Moines.

The Iowa Blues Challenge features one of the finest prize packages, for a contest of this kind, in the country. Prizes are awarded to the top bands, including---cash, travel expenses, recording time, as well as spots in the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival in Davenport, IA; the Nitefall on the River in Des Moines, IA; Simply the Blues Fest in Fort Madison, IA and the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee.

The 2008 Iowa Blues Challenge is proudly sponsored by Central Iowa Blues Society, Mississippi Blues Society, Lizard Creek Blues Society, Budweiser, Citadel Broadcasting/94.9KGGO & 98.3WOW, Junior's Motel, Rieman Music and Russell Bird Foundation.

Triangle Blues Society Blues Challenge Hillsborough NC

Got an email from former Iowa Bluesman Andy Coats about the Triangle Blues Society Blues Challenge. The show is in Hillsborough North Carolina, and here are the particulars from the email.

Come on out for the best local blues in the Triangle!

SATURDAY, JUNE 30

--->2007 Triangle Blues Society Blues Challenge 8pm $10 21&up

Blue Bayou - 106 S. Churton St., Hillsborough 919-732-2555

Scheduled to appear:

Andy Coats

Bad Mojo

Clark Stern

Contagious Blues Band

Electric Church

Hip Sauce

Rootzie

T-Hammer

Full details at www.triangleblues.com

Hope to see you there!

Best,

Andy

www.andycoats.com

Even India Has The Blues

Oh, Boy! After last night reading comments about the death of the blues, I stumble upon the blues in INDIA! A blues band from India traveled to Memphis to compete in the blues challenge. It sounds like they had a good time in Memphis, and I am glad that we didn't come across as ugly Americans. Anyway, it is good to know that the blues is still growing and spreading. The Blues is not dying it's just been taking a break:-)

Iowa Jazz Championships. What about the Blues??

I see the high school Jazz competition is heating up in Des monies.
I was wondering what it would take to start something like that for the blues. I am sure we could do a small scale version of it with the blues societies. But what I am thinking of doing is putting together something with the schools just as the Jazz societies have set up. I think a school blues competition could help keep the blues alive, and build up future players and fans of the music. I also think it would create an opportunity for band and vocal students to work together.