The International Blues Challenge, "the world's largest gathering of unsigned blues talent," flies slightly under the radar here in Memphis -- spoiled as we are with music -- but the competition, which takes place in February on Beale Street, is serious business in the blues scene. Acts that make it to Memphis typically have risen to the top through a rigorous circuit of regional blues competitions.In the Pacific Northwest, the Karen Lovely Band moved up from the Cascade Blues Association's Journey to Memphis competition in June in Vancouver, Wash., then took first place at the Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, Ore., to win its ticket to the IBC, according to Mailtribune.com in southern Oregon, where the band is from.
"Winning the opportunity to go to Memphis is my biggest thrill yet," Lovely says. "That and the fact that my mom, my brother and my daughter were at the Portland show wearing Karen Lovely T-shirts."Lovely and her band also are making other moves in the blues world:
During the last three months, "Lucky Girl" was No. 1 on Sirius/XM satellite radio's Bluesville channel. Lovely's band will record with Richard Cousins and Jim Pugh of the Robert Cray Band in July in Los Angeles. In August, the band will perform at the Klamath Blues Festival, the Washington Blues Festival, the Britt Festivals and at a benefit for Habitat for Humanity with the Ty Curtis Band -- the second-place winner at the 2009 International Blues Challenge.
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