Palladium favorite, TC Carr and Bolts of Blue, headed to Memphis for International Blues Challenge after regional win Sunday

Traveled south of the Skyway on Sunday, to be one of the judges for the International Blues Challenge event at Ace’s in Bradenton.

it was my first trip to Ace’s, which is a really nice music bar, with good food.

The competition was produced by the Suncoast Blues Society. I shared a judging table with Rick Lewis, P.W. Fenton, Verdun Dooner Manross, and Zaida Zoller. We heard, I think, eight bands and rated them with a system that is used at the IBC finals in Memphis. This is the international competition that Selwyn Birchwood won three years ago, which really launched his career.

TC Carr at the competition. Photo by Rick Lewis

For me, it was a chance to hear several good bands in one spot. The bands in the competition included:

Bob Petrocelli Band

Kat Crosby Band

Alex Lopez Express

David Smash Band

TC Carr & the Bolts of Blue

Jason Haram Group

George Pennington Band

Troy Youngblood & the Soulfish

Proud to report that the Side Door favorite, TC Carr and his band, the Bolts of Blue, won the competition and will travel to Memphis for the finals. David Smash, a recent transplant form Lithuania, and Troy Youngblood and the Soulfish, finished second and third.

The George Pennington Band, which is more of a Cream or Hendrix style power trio, also really impressed me. And I got to visit with my buddy Lauren Mitchell.

Congrats to everyone and to the Suncoast Blues Society for organizing a very well-run competition. I heard a lot of great bands and didn’t get home late!

Best wishes to TC and the boys. He had a great CD release show in the Side Door last Friday and did the entire album in the first set. Lots of great new original material. He’s the best harmonica player and the most soulful singer on the circuit today and Josh Nelms is one of my favorite guitarists. We’ll have them back after the competition and hopefully we’ll be welcoming back the winners!

Thanks to Rick Lewis for the photo from the show.

Selwyn Birchwood

And the IBC International Winner, Selwyn Birchwood and his band, will be at the Side Door for two nights in September (Friday and Saturday, Sept. 18 and 19) Tickets are on sale now at our box office.