2023 Journey to Memphis Finalists!
The Cascade Blues Association is pleased to announce that the following FOUR acts will compete at the Journey to Memphis Finals at the Waterfront Blues Festival on the Front Porch Stage on Tuesday, July 4th, from 11:30 am – 1:55 pm.
Duos
Timothy James + Alec Donn
Timothy James is what many would call a phenomenon. At the age of 20 he has already achieved accomplishments that many musicians never will in their career. With 2 albums under his belt, a third on the way, and an endorsement from Brazil’s largest guitar manufacturer, he is on his way to the top. He has been to the International Blues Challenge two times as a youth representative for the Cascade Blues Association, and one time (as T.J. Wong in the T.J. Wong Trio) as a competing act in 2023.
Alec Donn is a drummer from Portland, Oregon. Alec is currently studying jazz at Portland State University under direction of George Colligan, Sherry Alves, and Darrell Grant. Alec was granted the title of state champion in rudimental snare drum during his high school years, and began recording/playing around town with various artists. Alec began playing with Timothy James in the spring of 2022 and together they have performed on all kinds of stages from small bars to the Waterfront Blues Festival.
Taylor and the Riders!
Taylor and the Riders! Is the duo band of two Rough Rider teachers from Portland’s Roosevelt High School who both share a passion for guitar playing. Taylor Newville is a Portland native and got to enjoy the local music scene as a young child and into her adulthood. She’ll be accompanied by George Bishop on rhythm guitar.
She began her musical career at age six playing ukulele and through the years learned to play the acoustic and electric guitar. Taylor has been a student of Ethos, School of Rock, Rock N Roll Camp For Girls and Roosevelt’s High school Jazz band. She has played at several venues around the city including Berbati’s Pan, Satyricon, Memorial Coliseum, Hawthorne Theater and The Crystal Ballroom.
Norman Sylvester (The Boogie Cat) the Northwest icon of blues has been one of Taylor’s idols and she has been fortunate to have the opportunity to take lessons from and play with him and The Norman Sylvester band at the Cathedral Jazz festival. Taylor is a blues fan and as of late has been jamming with the best around Portland. Her fellow teacher George Bishop is a High school history teacher for Roosevelt High school and when he has some spare time, loves playing the guitar. (George has been playing the guitar for 20+ years but who’s counting!)
Bands
Kivett Bednar Band
Originally from Austin, Kivett Bednar grew up steeped in the southern tradition of the blues. He arrived in Portland 10 years ago and has been playing guitar up and down the west coast from Los Angeles to British Columbia. A graduate of the Berklee College of Music, Kivett designs and builds his own audio circuits in addition to being lead technician at Benson Amps. Kivett has a powerful voice that can inspire you, or bring you to tears.
Joining him on bass is Calen Uhlig, a Portland native and fan favorite who has backed up everyone in town from Tevis Hodge Jr. to Ben Rice. On drums is one of Portland’s finest in-demand players Edwin Coleman III. A generational musician who has inherited a legacy, Edwin combines Second-line and Zydeco with deeply rooted blues grooves to create something that is simultaneously unique and yet familiar at the same time. Edwin has toured with some of the best Soul and Blues musicians in the world, including LaRhonda Steele and Lloyd Jones.
Kivett’s voice and solos, Calen’s melodic bass lines, and the foundation of Edwin’s groove for this band will take you on an emotional journey.
Billy D and the Hoodoos
Billy D & the Hoodoos is fronted by Blues Rock singer, guitarist & songwriter extraordinaire Billy Desmond. His life experience has given him the strength to write his brand of “Bluzy Rock” with a passion that only comes from living it. Heavily influenced by Chicago blues, Rock & Roll, and “Backbeat Roots” music of all types, his songs reflect the tough lessons of his past and show his love for Mother Blues and her first-born, Rock & Roll.
Born on the south side of Chicago, Billy Desmond grew up surrounded by the Blues and early Rock & Roll— a powerful combination. He started playing professionally at the age of fourteen, primarily for teen dances and parties; and by eighteen, he was sneaking into the blues clubs of Chicago to hear such greats as Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, and James Cotton. Within a few years, Billy would be working with blues legends Junior Wells, Big Time Sarah, and Detroit Junior.
The Hoodoos is made up of seasoned and talented Portland/Vancouver based rhythm section John Cavanaugh on bass and Scott Van Dusen on drums.
Journey to Memphis
Youth Showcase Contest 2022
Entries now open
The Cascade Blues Association will appoint one youth showcase act to perform at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis 2023.
- Entries are now open and will close at midnight on June 20 2022. The winner will be announced at the Journey to Memphis competition final at Waterfront Blues Festival on July 4th.
- All members in the act must be under 21 years of age to enter.
- At least one member of the act must be a Cascade Blues Association member to enter.
- To enter, each act must provide i) Cascade Blues Association member number ii) a link to one song iii) an essay of 250 words or less titled ‘why I would like to represent the city of Portland at the International Blues Challenge’.
- Entries must be emailed to presidentcascadeblues@gmail.com
- Entry is free and judging will be from the CBA board members
Journey to Memphis 2022
Cascade Blues Association Journey to Memphis Competition 2022
Heats, May 26, 6 p.m. Mekong Bistro and finals July 4, Waterfront Blues Festival
Blues societies worldwide send their acts to compete each January in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis TN, and it’s one of the world’s biggest band competitions. Winners receive guaranteed spots at some of the most prestigious festivals in the U.S., not to mention the kind of publicity money can’t buy.
The Cascade Blues Association, however, says that everyone’s a winner! Four of our participating acts will be performing in front of thousands of adoring fans as they battle it out at the finals at the Waterfront Blues Festival to be the winner. Want to be one of them? Entries are opening soon, check out the details below.
- At least one member of each act must be a member of Cascade Blues Association. Entry is open to all Oregon residents and any Washington residents who live within 100 miles of the city of Portland.
- Entries open April 11 until available slots are filled. This year we will only be taking the first eight acts to register, so get in early.
- Entry fee is $50 for bands and $35 for solo / duo acts. Pay your entry fee via PayPal to cascadebluescalendar@gmail.com and email presidentcascadeblues@gmail.com with the following information:
- Cascade Blues Association member number
- Name of act, names of all members in your act and instrument each person plays
- 150-word bio
- Stage plan
- 300 dpi JPG photo
- Please indicate if any members of the act are under 21 years of age
- Each act will perform a 20-minute set.
- We do not prevent acts competing with the Cascade Blues Association from doing so with other societies. If you win another group’s competition before ours is held, you agree to remove yourself from the CBA competition to allow other acts the chance to win the right to go to Memphis.
- Any act or member of an act that has been nominated for or received a Blues Music Awards from The Blues Foundation will be ineligible to compete.
- Any act that has competed in the International Blues Challenge two consecutive years, regardless whether with the same society or as a solo/duo or band act, must sit out a year before being allowed to compete again. Acts can only participate three times in Memphis (acts competing previous to 2017 receive grandfather status and may compete three times starting from 2017).
- We will use the same scoring system as the International Blues Challenge.
- Bass and drums must use a backline provided by the venue. Other instrumentalists can use their own amplifiers at Mekong Bistro, but must use the provided backline at Waterfront Blues Festival. Be mindful there is only a 10-minute changeover time between acts and you may receive a scoring penalty if you take too much time to clear the stage for the next band.
- The two top scoring bands and the two top scoring duo / solo acts at Mekong Bistro on May 26 will compete in the final at the Waterfront Blues Festival on July 4 to win the right to represent the Cascade Blues Association at the IBC in 2023.
Journey To Memphis Competition 2021
Saturday, September 11
Artichoke Music 2007 SE Powell
This is a fundraiser for the winning act.
Tickets on sale NOW! $20+$2.85 fee (limit 4) If you’d like to donate without buying a ticket, just click on the ticket button, that takes you to the donation option. No amount is too small, or too large! All funds will go to the winning act.
This will not be announced to the general public until Aug. 15, so members … get your place reserved!
We have two acts competing this year.
JME (Jenny Moriarty & Bradford Bleidt will go on at 1:30 pm.
Sugar Roots featuring Chad Rupp will be at 2:30 p.m.
Each set will be live streamed separately on the Artichoke Music Facebook page.
The winner will be announced at 3:15 p.m. on the Cascade Blues Association Facebook page.
Meet the competitors
JME
The JME Jazz is stylized blues and post-modern jazz for the next roaring ’20s. The band combines decades of musical experience exploring the vast genres of rock, blues, and jazz.
Anybody that has been active in Portland’s blues scene will be familiar with Jenny Moriarty’s powerful and expressive vocals as she has performed with many of Portland’s more prominent musicians. JME provides Jenny perhaps her most versatile and expressive vehicle where she can truly display her performance abilities and musicality.
The instrumental aspects of JME are anchored by Brad Bleidt on piano. Brad’s primary piano focus is providing a rich imaginative harmonic interpretation to Jenny’s varied repertoire while injecting complementary solos to round out the ensemble’s stylizing.
Jenny and Brad are active in Portland’s music venues with other projects such as JME Jazz, Bedazzled, the Beacon Street Titans, and The Mystic Mama Band.
Sugar Roots Featuring Chad Rupp
Sugar Roots Featuring Chad Rupp is a Portland, Oregon based blues band formed by multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Chad Rupp, guitarist Jason “JT” Thomas, keyboardist Sam Gendler, bassist Timmer Blakely and drummer Chandler Bowerman.
This band was forged from the roots of Portland’s uniquely prodigious local blues scene with three Portland natives and two extremely talented transplants who appreciate the legacy of Portland’s musical history and the amazing musicians that have provided a lasting tradition of blues performance. Sugar Roots draws on inspiration from Portland greats, like Curtis Salgado, Lloyd Jones, Jim Mesi, Paul deLay, DK Stewart, and Norman Sylvester, to name a few along with their supporting bandmates.
The band takes its name as a nod to popular local blues band, Brown Sugar, a pioneering staple of Portland’s live music scene. Front man, Chad Rupp on the band forming, “Really, the band came together because we had been playing together regularly pre-pandemic for a few years at a popular local jam session, The 1-4-5 Blues Jam Party and we were having a great time! Sam Gendler and Chandler Bowerman brought their experience and mojo from the LA and Illinois scenes combined with veteran local and national act musicians, Timmer Blakely and Jason “JT” Thomas. This group really became a tight and organic unit for me to work with. When we looked at the chemistry we had, we decided that we should be recording and gigging together more! These guys have made it possible for me to stretch out on stage leading to some fun and powerful performances for me, personally! “
We are all looking forward to bringing our best to the stage as we approach the Cascade Blues Association’s Journey to Memphis and the possibility representing Portland’s live blues legacy at the International Blues Challenge in 2022! Sugar Roots will be releasing an album of originals on 10/3 with some sneak peeks via social media! Please visit our Facebook Page for news and events and support live music and the blues, wherever you are!
2020 Journey to Memphis Postponed
This is a message that we were truly hoping that we wouldn’t have to announce, but for the first time in over twenty years, the Cascade Blues Association will be cancelling our Journey to Memphis competition for 2020. As the summer rolls forward and Covid-19 shows no signs of letting up to allow us to utilize a venue to full capacity that we’d need to present a proper event, we feel that preparation time for both the participating acts and the Cascade Blues Association, along with our prime opportunity to raise funds to assist with our winners to travel to Memphis is quickly eluding us.
The Blues Foundation have cancelled the 2021 International Blues Challenge. We look forward to being able to resume the Journey to Memphis next year in hopes of sending representatives to the International Blues Challenge in 2022.
The Cascade Blues Association’s signature event, the Journey To Memphis competition to select acts to represent the organization and region at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, has been postponed due to the current coronavirus pandemic. This wasn’t something we had envisioned, but the situation is out of our control. Restaurants and bars have been closed under State order, as well as gatherings to avoid potential exposure to the virus.
Our competition was originally scheduled to take place on Friday, May 15 and Saturday, May 16 at The East Eagles Lodge. We do not foresee businesses being reopened by this time. Our finals were also scheduled for July 4 at the Waterfront Blues Festival, but that event has also been cancelled.
Due to the impact of the pandemic, we had to cancel our general membership meetings in both April and May. The original deadline date for applications was for our April meeting, but with the State closure order dropping off the applications on this date could not be kept. We extended the deadline for a week, but did not receive as many applications as we have in the past. We feel that many who did not submit decided that the current status was uncertain and being able to prepare as a band could not be accomplished.
Therefore, the CBA has decided to postpone the competition until the health risk has passed and gatherings are once again allowed to take place. We do not have a date set as of yet, but hopefully toward the end of summer or early fall. Venues and dates to be determined. Depending on the time frame, we will make the decision to cancel the event if too late in the year.
Applications will continue to be accepted and to make it more convenient we will keep the deadline open for a few weeks following the reopening of businesses up to the first membership meeting after that time, no earlier than June at this point. Any act that has already submitted their application prior to the original deadline who wishes to withdraw may do so and their application fee will be returned. If the event does end up being cancelled, all application fees will be returned.
Thank you for understanding.
Here’s the application information:
- Entry fee is $25.00
- Each act must have at least one person in the band who is a member of the Cascade Blues Association.
- Only acts located within the Oregon and Washington region are allowed to enter the Journey To Memphis.
- Any act or member of an act that has been nominated for or received a Blues Music Awards from The Blues Foundation are ineligible to compete. No exceptions.
- Any act that has competed in the International Blues Challenge two consecutive years, regardless whether with the same society or as a solo/duo or band act, must sit out a year before being allowed to compete again. Acts can only participate three times in Memphis (acts competing previous to 2017 receive grandfather status and may compete three times starting from 2017).
- Along with your $25.00 application fee, send an up-to-date band bio including names of all members, a 300 dpi photo of the band, full song samples of the band’s music (this may be used on a radio broadcast to promote the event), and we need to be made aware of any band member who may be under 21 years of age at the time of the competition so the venue is aware ahead of time for Oregon or Washington Liquor Commission laws.
- We require that any act that moves forward in the competition must use the same band members with whom it won previous rounds. In other words, if you won with a certain bass player or drummer at the Waterfront Blues Festival, that bassist and drummer must be in your band to compete in Memphis. Exceptions will made in rare circumstances not under the control of the act, such as health issues.
- We do not prevent acts competing with the Cascade Blues Association from doing so with other societies. All that we ask is that if you win another group’s competition before ours is held, or if you win ours before theirs, please remove yourself from further competitions to allow other acts the chance to win the right to go to Memphis.
The Journey To Memphis is the Cascade Blues Association’s regional competition to select the acts that will represent our organization and region in 2021’s International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. Up to 250 acts from around the world converge on Beale Street to perform before the music industry searching for new talent, with the chance to win recognition and prizes that include major festival performances and more. But the only way an act may participate is to win a regional competition held by one of The Blues Foundation’s affiliated societies like the Cascade Blues Association.
The Journey To Memphis competition consists of two rounds. The opening round will be held this year at The East Portland Eagles Lodge, 4904 SE Hawthorne St, scheduled for Friday, May 15 and Saturday, May 16. The event may take place over more than one night depending on the number of acts wishing to compete. Times will also be determined by the number of entrants. Acts are scored by a trio of judges selected for their backgrounds and knowledge of the blues. The highest scoring acts from each night of competition (up to four acts) will advance to the finals held at the Waterfront Blues Festival on July 4th.
The deadline for applications to participate in the competition to be accepted is Wednesday, April 7. No late applications will be accepted. If mailing in your application, it must be postmarked no later than April 6 so we know that it was in fact submitted before the deadline. You may also turn in your application to any CBA board member by April 7.
All acts that meet our criteria as described below will be eligible to compete. The performance schedule for the competition is drawn at random.
Here’s the application information:
- Entry fee is $25.00
- Each act must have at least one person in the band who is a member of the Cascade Blues
Association.
- Only acts located within the Oregon and Washington region are allowed to enter the
Journey To Memphis.
- Any act or member of an act that has been nominated for or received a Blues Music
Awards from The Blues Foundation are ineligible to compete. No exceptions.
- Any act that has competed in the International Blues Challenge two consecutive years,
regardless whether with the same society or as a solo/duo or band act, must sit out a year
before being allowed to compete again. Acts can only participate three times in Memphis
(acts competing previous to 2017 receive grandfather status and may compete three times
starting from 2017).
- Along with your $25.00 application fee, send an up-to-date band bio including names of
all members, a 300 dpi photo of the band, full song samples of the band’s music (this
may be used on a radio broadcast to promote the event), and we need to be made aware
of any band member who may be under 21 years of age at the time of the competition so
the venue is aware ahead of time for Oregon or Washington Liquor Commission laws.
- We require that any act that moves forward in the competition must use the same band
members with whom it won previous rounds. In other words, if you won with a certain bass player or drummer at the Waterfront Blues Festival, that bassist and drummer must be in your band to compete in Memphis. Exceptions will made in rare circumstances not under the control of the act, such as health issues.
- We do not prevent acts competing with the Cascade Blues Association from doing so
with other societies. All that we ask is that if you win another group’s competition before
ours is held, or if you win ours before theirs, please remove yourself from further
competitions to allow other acts the chance to win the right to go to Memphis.
Due to the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Oregon Governor Kate Brown’s announcement cancelling any events or gatherings of 250 people for a four-week period, the Cascade Blues Association’s General Membership Meeting scheduled for April 1 has been cancelled.
This decision was difficult. After the CBA board members discussed the issues and then consulted with the musicians scheduled to perform at the meeting, we determined it was in everyone’s best interest to cancel April’s meeting.
Although our meetings do not usually bring in 250 people, there were many factors we needed to consider when making this decision. Our concern was for CBA members, guests, musicians, the sound crew, our board members, and volunteers, both those for the CBA as well as those for The Eagles. Given the fact that many who attend our meetings fall within the age and at-risk categories health authorities suggests should stay away from large gatherings, we wanted to err on the side of caution and avoid exposing anyone to a potential risk of infection.
Though this decision is disappointing, it is also the right and responsible decision to make at this time.
Due to the cancellation, the Journey To Memphis application deadline which was originally set for the conclusion of the meeting, will be extended for one week until April 7. Entries may be mailed (post-marked no later than April 6) to Journey To Memphis (J2M) c/o Cascade Blues Association, PO Box 6566, Portland, OR 97228. Or they can be handed over directly to any CBA board member no later than April 7.
Also, the Waterfront Blues Festival volunteer sign-ups normally begins at the April meeting. We apologize for the inconvenience of those planning on doing so at this meeting, but we will continue the process in both May and June.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support.
Plan on joining us at The Eagles Lodge for our monthly General Membership Meeting where you are guaranteed to find some fun times with two sets of blues, a bunch of fun give-aways for our lucky ticket drawings, and good times with special friends. This month we have two acts that we know you’re going to love, so come on out and check them out.
Thad Beckman – photo by Greg Johnson
A professional musician for close to 40 years, Thad Beckman has paid his dues on the dusty roads which run from Oregon to California to New Jersey to Texas to Amsterdam to Vienna and points in between. His finely-crafted original songs are the story of life, the voice of modern America…from the growling Delta blues of the Deep South to evocative contemporary folk blues…bound by the common thread of experience gleaned from the road.
Thad Beckman, is a prolific songwriter, having written and produced seven solo albums, whom Tom Russel as called, “One of America’s best guitar players and a damn good songwriter” As a guitarist, Thad Beckman has been hired by Bo Diddley, The Shirelles, Earl Thomas, Tom Russell, and as a bandleader has found himself sharing the stage with such renowned artists as B.B. King, Albert Collins, James Cotton, The Band, Emmylou Harris, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks, Los Lobos, Dave Alvin, Jimmy Webb, and The Flatlanders to name a few. Thad has also appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman playing guitar for Tom Russell.
Founded by guitarist and band leader Josh Makosky and his high school best friend Rich Staats, Love Sloth is a
mutation of their original band August In Blue. Makosky has been playing music since he was five, starting on piano and picking up guitar when he was ten. He studied music at a local community college and a few years later with a desire to play for more than just his friends, he began hitting jams around town and fell in love with the local blues scene. Finding a calling for the blues he started playing regularly with musicians such as Angel Bouchet and Lucy Hammond, then touring with American Idol favorite and super-diva Naomi Tstsuoka and also with his friend, the award-winning Ben Rice.
Although founded as primarily a blues-rock band, Love Sloth, with its own sound has been crafted from many styles, blending the genres of blues and R&B, funk and high-energy rock. Through several line-up changes, the band released their debut recording 2017. Staats ended up moving to Arizona, leaving a vacuum within the group which was filled by Nathan Mayers taking on the second guitar position, with the band rounded out by the amazingly talented Juliet Terrill on bass and Chandler Bowerman holding it all together on drums.
Live onstage is where this band shines. They have a belief in writing fun, relatable songs and strive at delivering a fun and energetic musical experience that will make their audiences want to see them again and again.
The East Portland Eagles Aerie, 4904 SE Hawthorne St. Wednesday, March 4, 7:00 pm. Members always Free, Non-members $5.00. All ages welcome.