"I continue to be amazed at how well an event this big comes off. I heard the comment over and over that win or lose, the experience and meeting so many other people in the buisness is the real prize. The ones that walk away unhappy have missed the whole point of the event in my opinion. To me I see year after year bands evolving from hobby bands to professional bands and a lot of the evolution comes from networking and learning at this event. The big fish from the little ponds learn if they can swim in the big pond." Mike Dew, WNCW 88.7 Spindale NC.

Advance tickets, host hotel information, merchandise and preliminary event schedule will be available at www.blues.org beginning October 1.

The 2008 International Blues Challenge has come and gone for another year. Next year will be the 25th year of Blues musicians from around the world competing for cash, prizes, and industry recognition. The Blues Foundation will present the 25th International Blues Challenge February 4-7, 2009 in Memphis, TN. The world's largest gathering of Blues acts represents an international search by The Blues Foundation and its Affiliated Organizations for the Blues Band and Solo/Duo Blues Act ready to take their act to the international stage. In 2008, 100 bands and 60 solo/duo acts entered, filling the clubs up and down Beale Street for the semi-finals on Thursday and Friday and the finals at the Orpheum Theater on Saturday.

25th International Blues Challenge announces Youth Showcase.

The Blues Foundation will add a youth showcase for the 25th year of the International Blues Challenge. Over the years this event has witnessed the influx of younger musicians competing for top honors at this international event. In an effort gain maximum exposure to this new crop of talented artist, the 25^th IBC will include an afternoon(Friday, February 6, 2009) of these talented young people showcasing their talents for record labels, media, festivals, managers, talent buyers and the fans.

This will be a showcase, not a competition. Acts may also be competing at night in the challenge, but they are not required to be the affiliate’s entry for the competition. Each affiliate has the right to send a youth act for the showcase. While the definition for youth act is loose, we would expect no member of the band to be over 21. The essence of the showcase is to expose the blues world to future stars of this genre.

Watch this page for further information. Email
joe@blues.org if you have any questions.

We are hopeful that the weekend’s events will once again kick off Wednesday night with a Meet & Greet hosted by the Beale Street Merchants Association at the New Daisy Theater and the performance of multiple IBC participants at the FedEx Forum during the Memphis Grizzlies NBA game. In addition to the evening Blues competition, the days are filled with seminars and workshops and topped off in a moving Saturday morning brunch in which the Blues community will honor its own with the prestigious Keeping the Blues Alive (KBA) awards that honor the men and women, who have made significant contributions to the Blues music world, in 20 categories such as journalism, literature and photography and to the best clubs and festivals, as well as managers, promoters and producers.

Media Sponsors include XM Satellite Radio, House of Blues Radio Hour, Big City Rhythm and Blues, Blues Festival Guide, Blues Revue, BluesWax, Downtowner magazine, Blues Blast magazine, Living Blues, Memphis Flyer and WREG-TV.

The 25th International Blues Challnege is sponsored by ArtsMemphis, bandVillage, Beale Street Merchants Association, Budweiser and its local distributor, D.Canale Beverages, FedEx, Gibson, Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau, Sonicbids, T. Clifton Art, Tennessee Arts Commission and XM Satellite Radio.

The list of blues greats that have competed in the IBC over the years is impressive indeed: Slick Ballinger, Eden Brent, Michael Burks, Sean Carney, Tommy Castro, Albert Cummings, Delta Moon, Fiona Boyes, Larry Garner, Diunna Greenleaf, Zac Harmon, Richard Johnston, Matthew Skoller, Susan Tedeschi, Watermelon Slim, the late John Weston and Michelle Wilson.

"Winning the International Blues Challenge is better than having a $100,000 publicity budget"--2004 IBC winner and 2006 Blues Music Award Best New Artist Zac Harmon.

“This was my first year attending the International Blues Challenge and it was better than any festival I have ever attended.”—Eddie Bagwell, Vice-President, Tulsa Blues Society.

The IBC is sponsored by the good folks at the companies and arts organizations identified on the side banner.

The IBC has evolved into the nation’s biggest and most respected showcase for Blues musicians ready to take their act to the national stage. The IBC is a judged “Battle of the Bands” in which competitors take the stage and play a short set for a panel of judges. The acts are judged based on an established set of criteria.

The IBC represents an international search by The Blues Foundation and its Affiliated Organizations (mostly blues societies) for the Blues Band and Solo/Duo Blues Act ready to perform on a national stage, but just need that extra break. Each Affiliate of The Blues Foundation has the right to send a band and solo/duo act to represent the organization at the IBC Semi-Finals on Beale Street in Memphis, TN.

Most Affiliates stage a regional preliminary IBC competition, with the winner of that competition representing the organization in the Memphis international competition. Usually, these preliminary rounds are held in clubs as part of a fundraiser or simply an excitement-building event. Each organization is free to structure the preliminary round as it sees fit, as long as a single band and/or solo/duo act is identified. However, since The Blues Foundation scoring criteria will determine the ultimate winner, we strongly encourage our Affiliates to use the same system in the preliminary competitions.