Page 93 - ION Indie Magazine MarchApril 2019

On performance day, the youth bands attended master classes and seminars to help them grow as
musicians…all of this building to the reason they practiced and work so hard to get there -- a 30-
minute showcase playing on Beale Street in front of a packed international crowd!

B to the 6th got the opening 5:00 p.m. slot at Club 152, which was the headquarters for the IBC.
After an introduction by the master of ceremonies for the evening, Michael's guitar got the attention
of the crowd quickly with those unmistakable riffs to a blues standard made famous in the Blues
Brothers movie, “Sweet Home Chicago.” However, the crowd quickly realized that this band came
from someplace other than Chicago as Corri was actually singing “Sweet Home Colorado!” The rest
of the set was a combination of new and traditional blues songs.

B to the 6th also unveiled an original song called “This Time.” Their 30-minute set had the crowd
completely engaged, with Corri and Chris sharing the lead on vocals. The other members each had
a time to shine as well with various solos in every song. The group covered “Off the Ground” by The
Record as their second song, which featured a blazing bass solo by Jack. Julian's keyboard playing
was heard throughout the set and was featured with a solo introduction to the blues standard, “Every
Day I Have the Blues.” Michael's guitar solos were crisp and interwoven into virtually every song.
On their original song “This Time,” Michael and Julian traded licks between guitar and Hammond
B3 organ.

Their set came to a close with a cover of the blues standard “Don’t You Lie to Me,” that not only
had a crowd-pleasing drum solo from AJ, but had everyone joining in as Corri and Chris had the
audience backing them up singing, "Don't You Lie to Me." As B to the 6th took a moment to express
their appreciation to the now standing-room-only crowd that was cheering loudly and showering
them with raucous applause, they knew that they had achieved their goal. They delivered a set that
not only hit a chord with their audience but left an indelible mark in the minds of the blues aficionados
who came to hear what the best of the genre is offering at the IBC. B to the 6th left no doubt that
the future of blues was in great hands with such masterful musicians.

The IBC is truly an international event and one that promotes fellowship in the blues, which was
readily apparent during an “international incident” of the best sort. The youth band that followed B
to the 6th was representing Croatia. As the Croatian band was setting up, they quickly realized that
they did not have cymbals for the drum set. With the differing languages being a challenge, it took
about 5 minutes of hand gestures and pantomime between AJ and members of the Croatian band
to establish that they needed to borrow cymbals for their set…and AJ was happy to comply.
However, in spite of the language barrier, when they got up to play, the kids from Croatia sang in
perfect English!

Julian, Jack, and AJ played into the night on songs that even featured some of the kids from Korea's
youth band!