The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Battle of the blues
14th annual Connecticut Solo/Duo Blues Challenge starts Friday in Berlin
BERLIN — Nine blues acts from various spots in Connecticut will come together over the next three Sundays at the Pine Loft Cafe (1474 Berlin Tpke., Berlin) for the Connecticut Blues Society’s 14th annual Connecticut Solo/Duo Blues Challenge.
The two rounds of preliminaries and one afternoon of finals kick off today from 1 to 5 p.m. with the first preliminary round, said society board member Kent Kirkland in a news release. Admission for all rounds is free. The second preliminary round will be Oct. 21 from 1 to 5 p.m., and the finals will take place Oct. 28 at 1 p.m.
Participants this year are:
Friday: The Sugar Lemons, Steve Hatch, Joel Blumert, and Dan Labich.
Oct. 21: Peaceful Revolution, the Coffee Grinders, The Delta Blues Boys, Davey Blues, and Drew Blood & Kid Cameron.
Each act will play a 25-minute set in the preliminaries. The two acts receiving the most votes each night from a panel of judges will return for the finals on Oct. 28.
The participants will be judged by a panel that includes musicians, blues radio DJs and diehard fans in categories that include blues content, vocals, talent, originality and stage presence.
The criteria are the same used at the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge, which takes place each winter on Beale Street in Memphis. This year’s International Blues Challenge will be Jan. 22 to 26.
The winner of the Connecticut Blues Society event will be Connecticut’s representative in the Solo/Duo Division of the 34th International Blues Challenge. The local Solo/Duo Challenge winner will be awarded a $600 cash prize to offset some travel costs to Memphis.
The 2017 winner of the Solo/Duo Blues Challenge was Frank Breen of East Hartford, who is a member of the Coffee Grinders.
Artists must be an official representative of a Blues Foundation-sanctioned blues society to compete in the International Blues Challenge.
The Connecticut Blues Challenge, which has separate band and solo/duo competitions, is organized and run each year by the Connecticut Blues Society, a nonprofit organization.
The Blues Society’s mission is to promote and preserve the blues in Connecticut. It aims to preserve the blues as a unique musical form and support Connecticut’s community of blues fans and musicians.