At 2:51 PM, Steve Allen, President of the Detroit Blues Society knew the finalists for the International Blues Challenge had been announced. Unfortunately the finalists did not include the band, nor the duo sent to Memphis to represent Detroit.
For the 24th year, Blues musicians from around the world competed for cash, prizes, and industry recognition as The Blues Foundation presented the 24th annual IBC beginning January 31 and continuing February 1-2, 2008 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 2007 over 90 bands and 60 solo/duo acts and even greater participation is expected in 2008, 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.
Said Allen, "Round two of the preliminaries at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis is complete and unfortunately, neither the Front Street Blues Band or Mike Espy and Yakety Yak are going to move on to the finals.
"They were beaten out by some pretty stiff competition. Front Street was beaten out by the Laurie Morvan Band, national recording artists. Mike Espy and Yakety Yak were beaten out by one-man-band, John -Alex Mason."
In fact, NO MICHIGAN BANDS MADE THE FINALS!
Allen continued "Please join me in thanking our excellent representatives and let them know just how proud we are of them! "
The finalists are as follows:
The Band finalists :
Doghouse Daddies
Laurie Morvan Band
Shakura S'Aida
Lil' Ray Neal Blues Band
Trampled Under Foot
Little Rodger & The Cheap Thrills
Awek
Delta Wires
The Mike Crandall Band
Pryor Baird and the Deacons
The Solo/Duo finalists
John -Alex Mason
Ben Prestage
Dan Stevens and Chris D'Amato
2blu
Robert Sampson
Lionel Young.
Band finals begin today at 2pm; doors open at 1:00pm. Solo/Duo begins tonite at 8:30. All at The Orpheum Theatre.
