Blues and Challenge competition taking hold globally

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Michaela Rae came to Memphis as a 15 year old in 2009 to compete in the International Blues Challenge. She is a blues lead guitar player from Loveland, Colo.

"For music fans, finding something new is always the holy grail," says Blues Foundation president Jay Sieleman.

Over the next week, blues aficionados will have plenty of chances for discovery as Beale Street and its neighboring Downtown environs will be teeming with musicians from across the country and around the world, performing as part of the 28th International Blues Challenge.

The event -- presented by the Memphis-based Blues Foundation, which also stages the Blues Music Awards each May -- runs from Tuesday through Feb. 4.

The 2012 Challenge represents a peak, with a record 223 acts (compared to 216 last year in both band and solo/duo categories) participating at 21 venues, with more than 5,000 fans daily expected to attend.

Gerardo Diwa

Paul Marney Leobrera is the frontman for Bleu Rascals from Manila, Philippines. The band is only the second act from Southeast Asia to play the International Blues Challenge.

Much of that growth -- the Challenge has expanded exponentially over the past decade -- has been on the international side. "We're up to 16 countries this year, which is also a record for us," Sieleman says. "And four of the countries being represented are new: the Philippines, South Africa, Spain and Switzerland."

"There are blues clubs and blues festivals and blues bands in all those countries. Often it's a matter of connecting and networking and communication, and these days with e-mail and websites it's so much easier. I mean, we got an e-mail just yesterday from an act in Bangladesh that wants to perform. Go figure, huh?"

One of the more intriguing first-time international acts is Manila, Philippines-based teen blues band Bleu Rascals.

Helping guide the group is Tom Colvin, an American expat who has lived in Manila since 1986. An active member of the Philippines blues scene, Colvin played harmonica in the seminal '90s Philippine outfit Lampano Alley.

"More recently, I've been spearheading organization of the long-active but very informal Philippine Blues Society into a legally recognized not-for-profit organization which is affiliated with the Blues Foundation," Colvin says.

"The blues is, admittedly, a niche music in the Philippines, but it's always been present since 1974, with the country's first blues-rock band, Juan de la Cruz, becoming the iconic group of the era," he adds, noting that the blues has experienced a couple of surges of interest, first in the '70s and again in the mid-'90s. "Currently, the blues is experiencing another rise in prominence, with quite a few venues booking blues at least once a week."

Over the past year, Colvin has served as a mentor to the Bleu Rascals. Comprising singer/guitarist Paul Marney Leobrera, 18; bassist Spencer Rymonte, 19, and drummer Darwin Quinto, 19, the group has become a growing sensation in its native country.

After a nail-biting period waiting for their U.S. visas to come through, the group was formally invited to participate in this year's International Blues challenge; the band plays Tuesday at the New Daisy Theatre as part of a showcase of international acts sponsored by FedEx. The event will also include acts from the Netherlands, Finland, Norway and Croatia, among other countries.

The Bleu Rascals are only the second band from Southeast Asia to participate in the event, following Singapore's Universal Blues Band in 2001. Other Asian bands participating in the past have come from India, Taiwan and Japan. And Australia has been a perennial participant, with its acts often returning home with top honors.

"There is an explosion of interest in blues throughout Asia and the Pacific, with formation of new blues societies and several new blues festivals," Colvin says. "Just last month, discussions began following the Jakarta International Blues Festival that may lead to an Asian Blues Union, modeled after the Blues Foundation. Several of us are working to bring all of the individual blues societies out here into the Blues Foundation fold."

It's not just Asia, but also Europe and Scandinavia that have come to embrace the Challenge. This year, for example, France 2, the country's first public TV channel, will bring a crew to cover several French acts. The cameras will follow the acts associated with France Blues, a fledgling year-old blues society with more than 200 members.

For both international and American acts, the Blues Challenge has become a key stop on the road to professional blues successes. In fact, this year's Blues Music Award nominees include 11 past Challenge winners or participants. That's a trend that has changed the fundamental dynamic of the event.

"In years past, the Challenge was seen perhaps as more of an amateur contest, or a beginners contest," says foundation president Sieleman. "But now, any act that comes here and participates and does well will enhance their career. People are seeing that this can really make a difference for them professionally."

"In our case, it's accurate to say, historically, the (Blues Challenge) was musicians playing for themselves and their friends, their families and their own blues societies and not so much for the general blues fan or for music industry figures. But today, there are so many record labels and booking agents and club owners coming. It's definitely changed the complexion of the Challenge."

All this growth and development has meant a lot of expansion on the logistical side. Since 2011, the event has been expanded into a Tuesday-through-Saturday affair, and it could continue to grow.

"We have had to adapt in recent years," Sieleman says. "We've outgrow certain venues and outgrown the number of nights. It wasn't too many years ago this was just a Friday-and-Saturday event, and now we're starting off on a Tuesday. Perhaps there may be some limit to the growth, but we've been able to deal with it to date.

"In any case," Sieleman says. "It's a good problem to have."

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2012 International Blues Challenge

The event runs Tuesday through Feb. 4 at various venues on and around Beale Street. The Blues Foundation is selling a $100 pass that covers all events. To purchase or for more information, including a list of acts and venues, go to blues.org, or call (901) 527-2583.

Here are some highlights:

The FedEx International Showcase takes place at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the New Daisy, 330 Beale. Cover is $10 at the door.

Quarterfinals in both band and solo/duo competitions will be held in Beale Street venues on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Wristbands are $10.

Semifinals in both the band and solo/duo competitions take place in Beale Street clubs on Feb. 3. This includes the Youth Showcase, which begins at 4 p.m. Wristbands are $15.

Band finals start at 2 p.m. on Feb. 4 at the Orpheum, 203 S. Main. Tickets are $32.50. Solo/duo finals start at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are $22.50. They can be purchased at the door or through orpheum-memphis.com.

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