The International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tenn., is the largest competition in the blues industry. This year on Jan. 21-25, the 30th annual IBC was held once again, and senior Tom Bush and junior Colin Campbell, along with two other fellow band mates from East Ridge High School and FAIR High School in Minneapolis, represented Minnesota in the youth blues showcase. As a band, they call themselves the “Understudies”, but seem to possess much more leadership and talent than their name may suggest.

Participating in the IBC was a thrilling and rewarding experience for these young and thriving musicians, and the process of admission to the festival is highly selective and something to be proud of.

“Going to the Blues Challenge was as fun as I hoped that it would be,” saidCampbell. “Most states—whichever have a blues society—send one band to represent, one solo/duo act, and some send a youth showcase. All these bands or acts are the best that the society has or that knows that aren’t signed to major labels. But, technically the youth showcase acts aren’t a part of the competition, as they’re not judged for prizes and they can’t advance to the next level of the competition.”

Campbell paved the road for future Minnesota musicians at the IBC.

“Most blues societies hold small competitions with bands in the local area,” explained Campbell. “Whichever they feel is the best suit for it, they’ll send. This is the first year Minnesota has sent a youth showcase. My father and I went to them with the idea this year, and I was chosen to make a band to go down. My band was sent down as the guinea pig for future youth bands.”

As for the atmosphere the musicians experienced in Memphis, it was a haven of blues music and rich in southern culture.

“The majority of the event is on legendary Beale Street, which I would compare to a smaller version of Bourbon Street in New Orleans,” told Campbell. “ Little bars with huge neon signs to advertise them line the brick street. Almost every bar/restaurant doubles as a venue for performers. You can walk down the strip and different blues sounds will pour out of any building that isn’t a hundred year old general store.”

Both Colin and Tom are exceptionally talented musically and were rewarded for their abilities at the IBC.

“The band performed on Beale Street as well had an opportunity to jam with the best under twenty-one blues musicians from around the world at BB King’s,” told Jack Campbell, father of Colin. “Tom is a very involved musician around school. Colin is the band’s leader and made his second IBC appearance this year.”

Overall, the outcome of the competition was satisfactory to Campbell and Bush.

“Though there were a few kinks in the performance, overall I believe we performed as well as we could have,” expressed Campbell. “We played a slightly more rock influenced hybrid type of blues, so any of judges that were traditionalists probably found some reasons to mark us down, but then again, our marks didn’t make a difference down there.”

Campbell looks forward to a future full of musical opportunities, and embraces the time and energy he has geared toward music.

“The last couple years for me have been pretty much completely focused on music; whether it’s writing, playing, singing, listening to or watching it, I love doing it. I have a handful of gigs this summer at various blues festivals in the area, including one in Canada! I also hope to get a rock band together soon to play gigs in the city.”

 Campbell and Bush will no doubt continue to contribute to the world of music, so be on the lookout for more to come.