The Blues Foundation’s annual International Blues Challenge took place in Memphis over the weekend, with the Selwyn Birchwood Band capturing the top band honor as well as Birchwood also being recognized as the competition’s best guitarist.
Here’s the band doing “I Got Loaded” at last summer’s White Mountain Boogie N’ Blues festival:
Hungary-born Little G Weevil, now based in Georgia, won out in the solo/duo category. Here he is singing and playing “Big Boss Man”:
Also worth checking out, the Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival has announced its complete line-up for this year, adding Mavis Staples (pictured here during her recent Pittsburgh Blues Festival appearance) to their Sunday (May 19) offerings, along with headliner Bonnie Raitt, Indigenous, the Slide Brothers, Deanna Bogart, Quinn Sullivan, and Southern Hospitality. Eric Burdon and the Animals headline Saturday’s (May 18) program, following a day of blues that also includes Trombone Shorty, Lucky and Tamara Peterson, and Samantha Fish, among others.