Harrison Kennedy takes 2nd place (solo/duo category)!

Harrison Kennedy at the finals of the solo/duo category 2011 International Blues Challenge.

Several Canadians made the cut to the semi finals at the International Blues Challenge on Saturday, February 5:

Michael Jerome Browne (solo/duo)
Carlos del Junco & The Blues Mongrels (band)
Harrison Kennedy (solo/duo)
Theresa Malenfant & The Instigators (band)
Rick Taylor (solo/duo)
Al Wood& TheWoodsmen (band)

Here is the complete press release from the International Blues Challenge website:

The winners of the band competition for 27th IBC are:

1st Place: The Lionel Young Band (Colorado Blues Society)
2nd Place: The Mary Bridget Davies Group (Kansas City Blues Society)
3rd Place: Rob Blaine's Big Otis Blues (Windy City Blues Society)

Rob won the Best Guitarist Award which is a custome Gibson 335 and a Category 5 amp.

Stephane Bertolino won the first ever Best Harmonica Player Award presented by Lee Oskar. Stephane is in the French band AWEK, sponsored by Blues Sur Seine.

The Solo/Duo results are:

1st Place: George Schroeter & Marc Breitfelder, from Germany, sponsored by Baltic Blues.

2nd Place: Harrison Kennedy, representing Canal Bank Shuffle in Ontario, Canada.


BLUES FOUNDATION AWARDS GERMANY’S GEORG SCHROETER & MARC BREITFELDER AND COLORADO’S LIONEL YOUNG BAND WITH TOP HONORS AT 27TH INTERNTIONAL BLUES CHALLENGE

[Memphis, Tenn.] The Blues Foundation's 27th International Blues Challenge ended on Saturday February 5th, 2011 with two packed shows at the Orpheum Theatre. Out of 220 acts from 40 states and 13 countries that competed for top honors throughout the weekend only two can be called winner in the solo/duo and band competition.

For the second consecutive year a non-American act won the solo/duo category thus solidifying the global scope of the event. The solo/duo winner was Germany’s Georg Schroeter & Marc Breitfelder, sponsored by the Baltic Blues Society in Eutin, Germany. The second place honors went to Canadian Harrison Kennedy from the Canal Bank Shuffle in Thorold, Ontario, Canada.

For the first time in event history, the top prize in the band competition goes to a former solo/duo category winner. 2008 IBC solo/duo winner Lionel Young returned with The Lionel Young Band to win on behalf of the Colorado Blues Society. Second place honors were earned by Mary Bridget Davies of the Kansas City Blues Society, and the third spot went to Rob Blaine’s Big Otis Blues hailing from the Windy City Blues Society.

Another event first was the bestowing of IBC’s Best Harmonica Player. Yet another international participant, Stephane Bertolino from the French band AWEK, won for Blues Sur Seine.

The Best Guitarist Award was given to Rob Blaine of Rob Blaine’s Big Otis Blues. He walks away with beautiful blue custom Gibson guitar featuring The Blues Foundation's logo and a Category 5 amp.

In the Best Self-Produced CD contest, the judges crowned ‘Get Inside This House’ by Joe McMurrian of the Cascade Blues Association in Portland, OR.

The finalists in the solo/duo category were: Back Porch Stomp –(Washington Blues Society, WA), Izzy & Chris (West Virginia Blues Society), The Juke Joint Devils (Massachusetts Blues Society), The Mighty Orq (Houston Blues Society, TX), Big Jim Adam & John Stilwagen (Colorado Blues Society) and JT Blues (Billtown Blues Association, PA).

The finalists in the band competition were: Randy Oxford Band (South Sound Blues Association, WA), Stevie J & the Blues Eruption (Central Mississippi Blues Society, MS), Grand Marquis (Topeka Blues Society, KS), Alex Wilson (Grafton Blues Association, WI), The Sugar Prophets (Illinois Central Blues Club),

Blues societies all over the world will soon be starting all over again as they begin their own competitions to determine who they will send to the 28th International Blues Challenge, the finals of which will be staged January 31-February 4, 2012.