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BLUES ASIA TV: International Blues Challenge – 1

Musicians from Asia and the Pacific have been participating for more than a decade in the prestigious International Blues Challenge [IBC], sponsored by the Blues Foundation and held each year during the first week of February on historic Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee.  The 24th IBC is coming up 31 January through 4 February 2012.  With today’s program, we are launching a series of shows documenting Asia’s participation in IBC, past and present.

The International Blues Challenge is hugely important.  It’s the Olympics and major international trade show rolled into one event.  Each year it has grown, and in 2012 participating will be 118 blues bands and 86 solo-duo acts, along with 22 entries in the Youth Division [musicians age 20 and below].  Altogether that’s 226 competing blues acts from around the world, including France, Croatia, Finland, Norway, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Canada, the Netherlands, Israel, South Africa — AND Taipei, Manila, Melbourne, Sydney, Southeast Queensland and Auckland.  With all this emerging blues talent congregated in one place, it is no wonder that music industry movers-and-shakers converge on Beale Street looking for the next big international act.

In this show today, we look at some of the bands from Asia and the Pacific that have participated in IBC in the past — and who have received top recognition.  Unsurprisingly, all of these bands and performers have gone on to become giants in the music scene in their home country.  And equally important, they have all brought back home knowledge and experience that helps to elevate musicianship among their peers.  We at Blues Asia Network hope to see increased participation in IBC by regional bands.

Here’s what is in today’s show:

00:00 — Introduction

 03:40 — Peter “Madcat” Ruth [US], Christmas greetings from US to Asia

07:50 — Chicken Shack Revival [Singapore], Christmas greetings from Asia to the world

10:47 — Brendan Power with Bleu Rascals in Manila, 7 December 2011

20:38 — Introduction to the International Blues Challenge

22:42 — UBlues [Singapore]

27:40 — Ray Beadle [Australia]

34:37 — Geoff Achison and Fiona Boyes [Australia]

43:16 — Soulmate [India]

52:02 — UBlues [Singapore} and Lampano Alley [Philippines] at Mosaic Music Festival 2005

 

THANKS & LINKS to these bands and sources:

Peter “Madcat” Ruth, http://www.youtube.com/user/petermadcatruth – Chicken Shack Revival, http://www.youtube.com/user/ChickenShackRevival – UBlues, http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/ublues – Ray Beadle, www.raybeadle.com – Geoff Achison and Fiona Boyes, Fur Peace Ranch:  www.furpeaceranch.com and www.youtube.com/user/furpeaceranch – Soulmate, http://www.myspace.com/soulmateshillong – Lampano Alley, www.lampanoalley.com, Cath Butler, http://www.myspace.com/cathbutler

This post was written by

Thomas Colvin – who has written posts on Blues Asia Network.
Thomas "Tomcat" Colvin is an American expat, residing in Manila since 1986. He is best known in the Philippines as the harp player with LAMPANO ALLEY [now in hibernation], with lots of videos on YouTube. Google will also tell you more than you want to know about him. Currently, he is the administrator of the Blues Asia Network. And he flies around Asia tooting his harp.

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January 3, 2012 by Write a Comment

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