TO BLUES MUSICIANS:
The Greater Twin Cities Blues Music Society is sponsoring a solo/duo act and a band to compete in the International Blues Challenge (IBC) in Memphis in 2009 (typically occurs at the end of January or early February, from Thursday through Saturday).
We will hold our Road to Memphis on one or more Sundays during the springtime, and judges will select the band and the solo/duo act our society will sponsor. APPLICATIONS MUST BE POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN FEBRUARY 29TH. SEE ENCLOSED APPLICATION. You can enter as a solo/duo act even if you enter as a member of a band, BUT you can only advance to the IBC under one category. Each entry must have a separate application form. If you think you would like to sign-up for the Road to Memphis, please fill out the application form. The following lists qualifications to compete in the Road to Memphis:
- Individuals are not permitted to compete if their names have ever been included on a Handy Awards ballot. This does not apply to sidemen of these individuals. See the Blues Foundation website for more details at www.blues.org.
- Eligibility to compete in our Society's Road to Memphis requires at least one musician from each band/act be a member of the Greater Twin Cities Blues Music Society. We have membership forms on this website under "Join GTCBMS".
- You must be a professional musician(s) or band from the State of Minnesota to compete. For this purpose, professional musician is defined as a musician who has been booked and paid to play at established music venues.
- We ask that applicants be capable, both physically and financially, of travel to Memphis for the purpose of competing in the 2009 IBC. If you place at the IBC, we ask that you are dedicated to representing our Society at IBC sponsored functions.
- Each application must include the application fee. The fee is $5.00 for each musician in your act. All application fees will be dedicated to the Get Out of Town Fund for travel-related costs for those selected to compete in the IBC. The fee is tax-deductible.
- We require all musical acts scheduled for a specific Sunday arrive at the beginning of the Road to Memphis event. Start time is the same for everyone and we will draw straws for order of performance. We ask that the musicians support one another.
- Applications must be mailed and postmarked with membership and/or fee enclosed no later than Friday, February 29 midnight.
- At the finals we will announce 1st and 2nd places.
Our Society does not have funds available to assist the band with IBC-associated costs but we will cooperate with you to help raise funds by holding "Get Out of Town" fundraisers. It is the musician’s responsibility to set up the fundraiser’s gigs and let the society know the dates and venues for GOOT fundraisers.
Our Mission Statement: The Greater Twin Cities Blues Music Society seeks opportunities to research and document the history of local blues music; to chart the evolution of the blues community located in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota; to teach, interpret, archive, catalog and otherwise preserve the history of blues music in this metro region; to provide learning opportunities related to this American-roots music genre; and to enhance and celebrate the existing blues music environment in the Greater Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of the State of Minnesota.
Please pass along this information to other musicians who may not be on our email list and let them know they can be on our musicians email list for the asking.
Questions? Contact us: gtcbms@att.net
(1/16/08)
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page last updated:
Friday, January 18, 2008
