New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Blues bands to compete in annual band competition
HARTFORD — Five of the top blues bands in Connecticut will perform and compete Saturday in the finals of the Connecticut Blues Society's 23rd annual Connecticut Blues Challenge band competition — which this year will be part of the 19th annual Black-Eyed & Blues Fest.
The finals will begin at 3 p.m. Saturday on the stage in Bushnell Park in Hartford. Admission is free.
The bands that made the finals this year include preliminary round winners Murray The Wheel, D Smith Blues Band, Jake Kulak & The Lowdown and Cole Morson Band, plus wild card Vitamin
B-3.
Each band will play a 25-minute set.
The schedule is as follows:
3-3:25 p.m. — Murray the Wheel
3:40-4:05 p.m. — Vitamin B-3
4:20-4:45 p.m. — Cole Morson Band
5-5:25 p.m.— D. Smith Blues Band
5:40-6:05 p.m. — Jake Kulak & the Low Down
The Black-Eyed & Blues Fest, presented by BlackEyed Sally’s Southern Kitchen & Bar, will continue afterward with Michael Palin's Other Orchestra at 6:30 p.m., The Slam Allen Band at 7:45 p.m. and Studebaker John & the Hawks at 9 p.m.
The festival is part of Hartford's Summer in the City series, made possible by the Greater Hartford Arts Council and United Technologies. For the full Summer in the City lineup, go to: summerinhartford.com.
The Connecticut Blues Challenge band competition winner gets a spot representing Connecticut at the Blues Foundation's International Blues Challenge, to take place on Beale Street in Memphis in January 2019 — along with $2,000 to offset travel costs.
A panel of judges will include musicians, blues radio DJs, writers and hard-core blues fans. Judges will award each band a score of one to 10 in the categories of blues content, vocal skills, instrumental talent, originality and stage presence.
In addition to a slot in the International Blues Challenge and $2,000, the winner will be booked to play at the Black-Eyed & Blues Festival.
Last year's Connecticut Blues Challenge winner was Easy Baby.