January 28- Feb 1, 2020 Memphis, TN

36th International Blues Challenge

The IBC is held in Memphis, TN.  There are about 250 acts from 20 countries across the globe competing annually.

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All contestants will be learning a lot about the music business that week, and bringing back better a Blues music experience to their local music scenes!

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Saturday, January 11th

We had a great time at the Port Hole Inn!  And we heard the best Blues music in the region!  

Sunday, November 3rd

We held a Member Meeting on Sunday Nov. 3rd at the Port Hole Inn on Lake Lemon.  
Jamie Carr Band played after the meeting, and then hosted the members-only Blues Jam.

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Pizza was donated by the Port Hole Inn and the SCI Blues Society.  We had a great time!

Saturday, September 7th, 2019

We had some great weather for the BBQ & Blues Festival this year at McCormick's Creek!  Thanks to the Friends of McCormick's Creek for hosting such an excellent festival!

August 22-24 2019

We had another great time at the Bean year!  Congratulations to the winner of the Governor Davis guitar auction, and thanks to Governor Davis for his generous donation!

Sunday, August 18th, 2019

We held our fourth annual Blues Challenge at Mike's Dance Barn in Nashville, Indiana, and had an excellent turnout!  Ten acts competed to enter the IBC quarterfinals, and everyone did an excellent job!  This year's winners are:

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Solo/Duo category winner: Delta Duo

Band category winner: The JC Clements Band

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The winners are expected to represent the South Central Indiana Blues Society at the 2020 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN.

Monday, june 24th 2019

John Shain, regional Blues artist and winner of the 2019 IBC Blues Challenge solo/duo category, played a night here in Nashville at the Seasons Lodge!  We had a good turnout, and we all enjoyed some excellent, award-winning Blues!

Sunday, May 5th, 2019

​Free pizza! Door prizes!  Members in good standing can join us on stage for a Blues Jam after the business meeting!

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We held our Member Meeting at the Porthole Bar & Grill on Sunday, May 5th.  We reviewed the Society's activities since the last meeting, and discussed our upcoming plans.  We gathered our member's input, as always, and got some good feedback!

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We discussed that Governor Davis has generously donated one of his guitars to the SCI Blues Society, and we plan to hold an auction later this summer.

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Door prizes were generously donated by local businesses including the Weed Patch Music Company, and Nashville Spice Company, Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Rolls and The Cheeky Owl.​

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We had a good time and heard some good Blues music!

Local Blues legend Governor Davis has generously donated one of his guitars to our SCI Blues Society!  This custom-painted red Fender Stratocaster with a white pick guard and Fender noiseless pickups will be auctioned at an upcoming SCI Blues Society event!

Saturday January 12th, 2019

The IBC 2019 Fundraiser at the Seasons Lodge helped support our IBC Representatives Blind Boy Williamson & CNI Dawg, and King Bee & the Stingers on their trip to Memphis, TN!

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Sunday, November 11th, 2018

We had our Member meeting at Chateau Thomas Winery in Nashville, Indiana.  We reviewed the activities of the last year, voted on activities to pursue, had some free pizza and a Blues jam!  We had a good turnout!

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Thanks to all the members who shared their opinions and votes and helped us guide our activities for the upcoming year!

August 23 - 25 2018

We set up a booth at The Bean again this year!  What a great event!  it was great to see so many acts over the weekend! 

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The SCI Blues Society helped the artists sell their merchandise at the Merch Tent again this year, which was great!  We get to spend time with the artists as they sign their merchandise!

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We had an excellent time, and we're already looking forward to next year's festival!

Sunday, August 19th 2018

​The SCI Blues society held its third annual Blues Challenge, the Boogie to Beale, at Mike's Music and Dance Barn in Nashville, IN.

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Our Challenge has been met!  The first place winners are:

Solo-duo: Blind Boy Williamson & CNI Dawg

Band: King Bee & the Stingers

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Congratulations to our winners!  See you in Memphis!

July 21st, 2018, Gates open at Noon

Three years ago we started our Blues Society to help promote the Blues in our area.

You asked a festival, so we have arranged our first Blues festival with all Indiana Blues talent. We had 7 acts perform on the Redbarn stage from 3pm til 11pm.

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Here was the act lineup:

3:00pm JC Clements
3:55pm O2R
5:05pm Benson-Wills
6:00pm Dicky James Band
7:10pm Will Scott
8:05pm King Bee & the Stingers & Friends
9:50pm Rebekah Meldrum Band
 

We had a great day of Blues music!

May 5, 2018

We held a Members Meeting at the Chateau Thomas Winery in Nashville, Indiana.  We had a great time!  We ordered pizza, gave away door prizes, and got our member musicians up to jam!  We also polled our members to see which direction our society should take, and we got some great feedback!  

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Our members voted to have more shows and festivals, so that's what we're doing!  Our first Festival is coming up this July, and we will begin looking into having House Concerts!  We really appreciate everyone's input!
 

January 16th - 20th, 2018

The 2017 International Blues Challenge was amazing!  There were over 260 acts from 14 countries, including 38 US states.  Here's a link to the Blues Foundation Winners page!  2018 IBC Winners
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The SCI Blues Society is very proud to be represented by the winners of our 2017 Boogie to Beale Blues Challenge!
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Solo/Duo Act: Bo Ricketts
Band Act: King Bee & The Stingers
Youth Group Act: Geoffrey Gentry

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We are very proud of our acts!  They all did an excellent job in Memphis!

January 6, 2018

We had an event to raise funds for our winning acts' travel and lodging in Memphis at IBC 2018!

Saturday 10am, August 26, 2017

The SCI Blues Society hosted another Blues Jam open to the public on the Hippie Hill Stage.  This was our second year at the Bean, and we had lots of participants!  It was an excellent morning to play the Blues!

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Thursday - Saturday August 24-26, 2017

The SCI Blues Society had a booth set up next to the Merch tent Friday and Saturday. We had a great time listening to the great music, talking to lots of people, and spending time outside on a wonderful weekend!  We signed up some new members, and helped the bands at the festival sell their merchandise.

Sunday, August 20, 2017

We had a great Blues Challenge this year!  Mike's Music & Dance Barn in Nashville, IN, hosted our contest, and we enjoyed hearing the Blues from seven great acts!  Here are the 2017 winners:

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1st Place Solo/Duo: Bo Ricketts

1st Place Band: King Bee & The Stingers

2nd Place Band: Dick & The Roadmasters

3rd Place Band: The James Plessenger Trio

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The first place winners are now eligible to enter the International Blues Challenge 2018 in Memphis, TN. We will be there cheering them on!

Saturday, July 15th, 2017

The SCI Blues Society hosted an Anniversary Jam, celebrating two years of operation!  Governor Davis, Marvin Druin, Orie Stith, and Eric Gaylord played for the first hour, then we got jammers up on stage.  We all had a great time!