New Brunswick bluesman Matt Andersen has won the International Blues Challenge, a 
Memphis, Tenn., music contest that drew musicians from 12 countries over four days, ending Saturday, Jan. 23.
Andersen, known for his soulful voice, won the top prize in the solo/duo category Saturday at the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis.
This year’s International Blues Challenge — staged by the Memphis-based Blues Foundation is estimated to have attracted as many as 9,000 musicians, business practioners and blues enthusiasts for the four days of performances and related events. A competitive group of more than 100 acts began the competition, hoping to be among the last performers standing. After Thursday and Friday night showcases at a variety of venues on Beale, the field was winnowed down and the action shifted to the Orpheum for the finals on Saturday.
The contest sponsored by the U.S.-based Blues Foundation draws musicians nominated by blues societies to compete for best singer, best band and best self-produced CD.
Andersen, who was sponsored by the Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival in Fredericton, triumphed over finalists from Mississippi, New York and Texas.
He is expected to build his international reputation with the win. His prize includes large-profile American festival gigs, festivals in France and Italy and a slot on the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruises, as well as a cash award.
Born in Bairdsville, N.B., and now based in Halifax, Andersen’s recent CDs include Matt Andersen: Live from the Phoenix Theatre and Piggyback, by Matt Andersen & Mike Stevens.
He made his name doing blues covers but has moved into original music. Well-known in East Coast music circles, he has also successfully toured the U.K.
The top prize in the band competition was awarded to Grady Champion of the Mississippi Delta Blues Society of Indianola. – Compiled from the Blues Foundation and CBC News. An audio interview with Andersen can be heard here.
Blues Challenge Winners
Solo/duo winner: Matt Andersen, sponsored by Harvest Jazz and Blues from Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
Second Place: Alphonso Sanders and Bill “Howl-n-Madd” Perry from Mississippi’s Crossroads Blues Society
Band winner: Grady Champion of the Mississippi Delta Blues Society of Indianola.
Second place: Karen Lovely Band, Cascade Blues Association.
Top Guitarist: Matt Kelly of the Big Boy Little Band, of the Washington D.C. Blues
Society
Best Self-Produced CD: Fire It Up! by the Laurie Morvan Band and Crime Scene Queen by The Informants.
The 2009 Keeping the Blues Alive recipients are:
Art and Photography: Michael Maness, Memphis, TN
Blues Club: Bradfordville Blues Club, Tallahassee, FL
Blues Organization: Connecticut Blues Society
Education: Spencer Bohren, New Orleans, LA
Festival: Heritage Music Blues Festival, Wheeling, WV
Festival International: Piazza Blues, Bellinzona, Switzerland
Historical Preservation: Eric Leblanc, British Columbia, Canada
International: Finnish Blues Association, Helsinki, Finland
Journalism: David Fricke, Rolling Stone, New York, NY
Literature: Crossroads, The Life and Afterlife of Blues Legend Robert Johnson Tom Graves, Memphis, TN
Manager/Agent: Pat Morgan, Kailua-Kona, HI
Print Media: Block, Almelo, Netherlands
Producer: Andy McKaie, Universal Music Enterprises, Santa Monica, CA
Promoter: Pozitif Productions, Istanbul, Turkey
Publicist: Richard Flohil, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Radio Commercial: Charles Evers, Jackson, MS
Radio Public: Rick Galusha, Omaha, NE
Record Label: Crosscut Records, Bremen, Germany
Visual Broadcast: Film, Television and Video: Pocket Full of Soul, Houston, TX
