Page 92 - ION Indie Magazine MarchApril 2019

If you would've told 14-year-old lead singer Corri a
year ago that she would be singing in a blues band
in Memphis on Beale Street, she would've looked at
you like you just landed from Mars and wondering
what exactly you'd been smoking! But that's exactly
what she and her 5 school-aged bandmates, known
as B to the 6th, did! In January, 260 bands from all
over the world gathered on Memphis' famed Beale
Street at the 35th International Blues Challenge
(IBC) for 5 days of competition celebrating blues
music. The youth bands although part of the IBC,
are not there to compete, but rather to represent the
future of blues music for their local affiliate. This
year, representing Grand County Blues Society
from Winter Park Colorado, was B to the 6th.

B to the 6th is a 6-piece band from Colorado
Springs, Colorado. The members, aged 14 to 18,
have unique music influences spanning from
musicals to marching band and everything in
between! Corri and Chris share vocal duties, Julian
works those keys, Jack stays on the “down low” on
bass, Michael lays on the licks on guitar, and AJ is
blasting out the beat on drums. Their co-lead
singers combine with B to the 6th's diverse musical
palette to create a modern blues band that is funky
and fun.

The band came together as a project of the Pikes
Peak Blues Community. In March of 2018, each
auditioned to be in the inaugural class of their
School of Blues. After selecting the best of the best,
the band was formed and began to learn some
blues standards as well as explore some musical
choices of their own. Their goal was to be good
enough to attend the IBC. In September, Grand
County Blues Society agreed that they were good
enough and offered to sponsor their trip to the IBC
as their representative youth band. While they had
heard amazing stories about the opportunity they
would be experiencing in Memphis, what they were
told paled to the actual experience!

Arriving a day before they were expected to
perform, the members of B to the 6th and their
families had an opportunity to experience Memphis
and everything that the city had to offer. In addition
to listening to the adult bands compete that evening,
they got to tour legendary Sun Studios where Elvis
Presley recorded his first big hits and sample some
of Memphis' world-famous BBQ!