
(DURHAM, NC) – The Triangle Blues Society’s Triangle Blues Challenge will determine the Solo/Duo act and Band that will represent them at the IBC’s. The IBC’s are the International Blues Challenge. The Blues Foundation’s 40th International Blues Challenge (IBC) in Memphis, Tennessee is scheduled for January 2025. This year’s local event is at 1pm Sunday, October 6, 2024. It will be held at the Blue Note Grill located at 709 Washington Street in Durham, North Carolina.
As a part of the upcoming Challenge, Triangle Blues Society (TBS) members are invited to submit their compact disc released between Nov 1, 2023, and Oct 31, 2024 to the TBS to have it considered for the Best Self-Produced CD at the IBC. Compilations are not eligible. See this page for further details.
Triangle Blues Society’s Blues Challenge
Triangle Blues Society is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working to support, promote and grow blues music in the greater Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina area. TBS has been an affiliate member of the Blues Foundation in Memphis since 1996.
THE BLUE NOTE GRILL
The Blue Note Grill is one of the Triangle’s (Raleigh, Durham & Chapel Hill) premier live-music venues, complete with a full-service BBQ and Ribs restaurant and bar. The original Blue Note Grill opened in a non-descript strip mall in 2010 on the outskirts of Durham. Their musical reputation and Southern-style menu soon packed the house. They quickly outgrew the tiny end space. In June of 2015, the Blue Note Grill opened and expanded in to a new 6,000 sq ft space in the downtown Durham historic Central Park District.
Family-owned and operated, the Blue Note Grill has consistently been voted by readers of the INDY
Best Place to Dance in the Triangle (2022)
~Place to Hear Blues: Winner (2011-2022); Place to Hear Bluegrass: Finalist (2011-2022); Place to hear Jazz (2022); Place to Hear Rock & Roll: Finalist (2018)
Open Mic: Winner (2020), Finalist (2018)
Barbecue in Durham County: Finalist (2018)
Wings in Durham County: Finalist (2018, 2019, 2020)
Neighborhood Bar in Durham County: Winner (2020), Finalist (2018)
…and the barbecue and ribs are second to none!
PAST PERFORMERS AT THE BLUE NOTE GRILL
As to be expected, past perfomers include international headliners including Paul Thorn, Chris Smither, Coco Montoya, John McEuen, Popa Chubby, Shemekia Copeland, The Waybacks, Nick Moss, John McEuen, Wishbone Ash, Vanessa Collier, Maria Muldaur, Larkin Poe, Walter Trout, Janiva Magness, Barrere & Tackett with Craig Fuller, Marcia Ball, Randall Bramblett, Amanda Ann Platt & the Honeycutters, Scott Sharrard & the Brickyard Band, John Hammond Jr, Ana Popovic, Davy Knowles, Albert Cummings, The Nighthawks, The Subdudes, Roomful of Blues, Jimmy Thackery, Les Dudek, Will McFarlane, Rev. Billy C. Wirtz, Victor Wainwright, Samantha Fish, Tas Cru, Tommy Castro, Albert Castiglia, Selwyn Birchwood, Kelvin Holley, Tinsley Ellis, Slam Allen, Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials, Madeleine Peyroux, JP Soars, Delta Moon, Teresa James & the Rhythm Tramps, Darrell Scott, Cedric Burnside, The Quebe Sisters, Bobby Messano, Anne McCue, Ruthie Foster, Jarekus Singleton, Bruce Katz Band, Harvey Dalton Arnold, Larry Mitchell, Harper & Midwest Kind, The Gravy Boys, Wayne Sharp & the Sharpshooters, and local/regional favorites.