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One of our initial goals was to put in place a mechanism to choose the UK’s representative at the annual European
Blues Challenge organized by the European Blues Union, of which I am an active member. Although the UK had
been sending a representative since the inception of the EBC, there were many who felt that the selection process
was not very open. So, we created the UKBlues Challenge and
in 2020 we will stage the sixth such event with five bands
competing to go to Chorzów in Poland for the 2021 EBC. I
had also felt that it was wrong that the UK was not represented
at the annual International Blues Challenge in Memphis and in
2017 we sent the first UK representative to Memphis – Kaz
Hawkins. Since then four acts have gone from the UK to
Memphis, three of them reaching the semi-finals. This year we
also sent, for the first time, a participant in the solo/duo
category – Kyla Brox and Danny Blomeley. 2017 also saw
Kaz win the EBC, the first time the UK had won, and in 2019,
Kyla Brox also won the EBC for the UK which was a real
vindication of what we are doing. We are so proud of all the
acts that we have helped send abroad to the annual Challenges.
The Federation provides financial support to all participants in
the IBC & EBC as well as mentoring by previous participants
to try to help them hit the ground running.

A couple of years ago we were approached by the British
Blues Archive, a fantastic historical resource for British blues, and we amalgamated the Archive with the Federation
and this is now hosted alongside board member Alan White’s earlyblues.com web based resource, under the UKBF
banner, and this has created an unrivalled resource for those interested in the history of the blues, particularly the
blues in the UK. We are frequently approached by and quoted by researchers, students and the like from around the
world. I am delighted that the UKBF is preserving history as well as looking to the future.

In 2018 we set up the UKBlues Awards which were very well received and which were presented at a sold out event
in Worthing. For various reasons, the Awards did not take place in 2019 but in May 2020 this year’s Awards were
scheduled to be presented at a professionally produced event at the iconic Dingwalls in Camden, London compered
by Paul Jones and featuring a number of guest presenters as well as four live acts performing. Covid 19 has put paid
top this but we are putting together a virtual awards presentation for the same date featuring everybody who was
originally going to be at Dingwalls and I can tell you, it is a pretty impressive list with some big names! More details
can be found at www.ukblues.org.

We have also recently introduced the UKBlues Fuse initiative which sees us working in partnership with venues
around the country to give unsigned and lesser known acts an opportunity to play at gigs organized and promoted by
the Federation which we, in turn, hope will help raise their profile. The events are subsidized by the Federation and,
where possible, recorded with a professionally mixed and produced recording of original material being made
available to the participating acts.

And this year we are working with the Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival in Colne on an Under The Radar
Project which has received applications from more than 130 acts for two main stage places at this year’s festival. The
selection process is underway as we talk.

Whilst the Federation has come a long way since its small beginnings, it still struggles to gain the recognition and
support that it deserves and needs to achieve so much more. It is, however, an indication that we are doing things
right in so far as we now have other organizations approaching us for help and guidance about replicating some of
the things we do. We have a dedicated and enthusiastic Board drawn from across the UK blues scene whose hard
work I would like to acknowledge and whose contributions are integral to everything the Federation does.

I must also publicly recognize the massive support given to us by those who sponsor our activities, especially FORM
Fit Out, without whom most of our events would not happen or if they did would be very much lower key and less
professional.

As for the future, who knows? It would be lovely to think that the denigrators might actually see that we are working
for the good of the Blues in the UK and support us rather than being negative. Especially as it was to try to respond