By Candice Ludlow
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkno/local-wkno-949849.mp3
Memphis, TN – Blues musicians and enthusiasts have come to Memphis this week for the 27th International Blues Challenge. This year, 110 bands and 83 solo/duo acts are set to show their talents with the hope of making it big. The event kicked off last night at the New Daisy with the International Showcase, featuring acts from Europe, Australia, Israel and Canada. Candice Ludlow spoke with Canadian bluesman Harrison Kennedy just hours before he was scheduled to play.
I slid into the booth next to Kennedy at a restaurant on Beale Street as he was getting a bite. Kennedy told me that he feels at home in Memphis.
"It's like I heard my mother sing about Beale Street when I was younger. She was here. She came to Beale Street," Kennedy said. "And she used to sing, down on Beale Street, Beale Street.'
And then there's his guitar which was given to him by his great aunt, who lived to 103 in Rogersville, Tennessee.
"She gave me a Stella guitar." Kennedy explains, "She told me it was worth about $26. They were made during the Second World War. Come to find out the, a lot of old blues players were using Stellas. But I just love the tone of it. So you would get one that might last a week because the wood was no good. Then you got one that is - I don't know what the wood is made out of, but it's still sweet. I'm going to play it this week."
Kennedy's no stranger to the music scene. In 2008, He was nominated for a Juno award for blues album of the year. He's also been nominated for several Maple Blues Awards. Both Canadian honors. And in early 70s, he was the lead singer in the Detroit-based pop group Chairmen of the Board. You might remember their hit, "Give Me Just A Little More Time."
Well, the IBC's have just a little, as this is Kennedy's second year. The competition officially begins today in the clubs along Beale. Kennedy, a life-long musician, says he's happy to play his Stella.
"But as far as the winning the competition," Kennedy says, "that's just not something that I really dwell on."
And last year, it paid off - not with a win, but later in the year he was called to play in France and Italy - just because someone saw him play at the IBC's.