The Band portion of the Heart of Texas Blues Challenge was held Thursday, July 14th at the Brass House. This year's competition line-up was:
• Jeff and the Jumptones
• The JJ Jones Band
• Trent Turner and the Moontowers
• Austin Nights
• Rochelle and the Sidewinders
All performances were enthusiastically received by the near-capacity audience. The bands' songs represented a broad swath of blues styles while still retaining a distinct identity, adding to the richness of the evening's entertainment.
After tallying the points awarded by our panel of five judges, the winner of this year's band competition is Rochelle and the Sidewinders, who will be representing Austin in the band category at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis!!
The Austin Blues Society would like to thank all five acts who competed this year. Each band displayed their talents and abilities at an exceptionally high level, and contributed to a singularly special night!
Thanks also go out to our panel of judges:
• Andrew Cohen
• Pitt Garrett
• Danny Levin
• Ivan Wallace
• Wally Williams
Many thanks to these folks for their invaluable support:
• Jason White and the staff of the Brass House
• Our terrific volunteers (Mike & Michele Eneboe, Wil Oxford, Ed Howse, Michelle Stone, Will Forsyth)
• The Austin Blues Society board (Catfish Daniel, Fawn Storm, Lisa Woodcock, Bill Bushey, and Bill Lockett)
Lastly, thanks to everyone who came out to support the artists and the event – you're helping keep the blues alive in Austin!