We took my husband Ken’s sister and brother-in-law to Darwin’s with us for the International Blues Challenge fundraiser to raise money to help our representatives get to the challenge in Memphis at the end o the month. The competitors were playing  – Blind Cadillac,, No Solution and Markey Blue –  and everyone was celebrating Darwin’s for winning the Keeping the Blues Alive Award.

The last table at the back turned out to be a pretty good vantage point to observe the scene. Every table was crowded and people were standing three deep along the walls. It was officially the largest crowd I have ever seen at Darwin’s.

Blind Cadillac kicked off the evening and they did an excellent set of  mostly original music, with just one Clapton cover. Then No Solution came on and the crowd really went wild. They absolutely love this young group of 15 and 16 year olds and rightfully so. The female vocalist is an absolute marvel, with a voice and style that belie her years, and the drummer and guitar player also are more skilled than you can imagine. Their version of James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s World” brought down the house, as the guitarist and drummer changed places so the drummer could trade verses with the girl.  This group is so good that it is hard to imagine how good they will be in years to come., and their excitement over going to Memphis was contagious.

Then it was time for Markey Blue. It takes a great group to follow a popular act and keep the momentum building, and Markey and crew are absolutely able to do that. They ran through their set for the IBC and then invited first No Solution’s singer and then Blind Cadillac up onstage to perform with them .At that point our guests were ready to leave as they had a considerable journey home.

It was so much fun and everybody was so happy. It was a delightful night and got everybody who is going to Memphis so revved up for the trip! We are going this year for the first time so you can expect reports from the challenge at the end of the month!

Congrats to Darwin’s and all the performers. Based on Saturday night Atlanta and the Atlanta Blues Society are going to be well-represented in Memphis!