Keep the Blues Alive: Stories, News & Local Culture

2026 TBS Blues Challenge to Compete in 2027 International Blues Challenge The Triangle Blues Society’s annual Triangle Blues Challenge is a regional competition to select acts that will represent TBS in the Blues Foundation’s 42nd International Blues Challenge (IBC) in Memphis, Tennessee January 19 - 23, 2027. More than 250 acts from around the world converge on Beale Street to perform before the music industry searching for new talent, with the chance to win recognition and

Our newest Members Spotlight is on Dennis Beckwith. Dennis originally moved to the Durham area in 1997, now resides in Raleigh. Dennis has been a TBS member since 2018. He met his wife at the Blue Note Grill and was married there by owner Bill Whittington! Dennis was the music coordinator for the TBS and Blue Note Grill blues jams for 2 years, 2018 and 2019 and was in the process of passing the baton over to Lo Taylor before the pandemic hit! Dennis is an accomplished guit

Members Spotlight – Anne Shrago This month’s spotlight is on Anne Shrago, a member since 2012. Anne joined the TBS for the community of other like-minded musicians, who love the blues! She loves being in the company of some great local blues musicians! She recalls going to a Blue Note Grill blues jam one night, with her SG guitar in tow, only to fall in love with the bass! Anne found the love of music as a teenager playing flute and banjo. She stopped playing music when l

We came across this list and it got us thinking. What are your favorite Blues Tunes? What belongs on this list?

Did you know that here in the Triangle there is an active Blues Dance Community?  RDU Blues is a local dance group providing social dances and instruction to blues and fusion dancers in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area. Open to first-time dancers, experienced dancers, visiting dancers, and local blues and fusion lovers. Find out more about them here Follow them, leave a comment on their posts and tell them that TBS sent ya! Most importantly, go dance and have some fun.

The Weekend is almost here and the Triangle Blues Society is ready for it! First, plan your weekend with the Blues Calendar! There's a bunch of shows all over the triangle from some top flight talents. Get out and support some live music.  While we are at it, be sure to check out the new Member's Spotlight feature! Our first subject is the incredible Anne Shrago. Let us know who you would like to see featured next! Finally, we encourage you to join us in supporting and gro

This month’s member spotlight is on Anne Shrago, a member since 2012. Anne joined the TBS for the community of other like-minded musicians, who love the blues and loves being in the company of some great local blues musicians! She recalls going to a blues jam one night The Blue Note Grill, with her SG guitar in tow, only to fall in love with the bass! Anne found the love of music as a teenager playing flute and banjo. She stopped playing music when life’s demands prevailed.

Blue Note Grill is offering another ticket discount to Bruce Katz' show tonight, Friday June 6th! Use code TBSKatz at checkout! We'll see you there!

Gear up for some Blues this weekend at The Plant in Pittsboro! A full day of fantastic music with favorites  Andy Kush, The Jive Bombers and Lee Gildersleeve and the Bad Dogs As always, be sure to check out the Triangle Blues Calendar for all of the great upcoming shows

Theres a whole lot of Blues happeneing this weekend inthe Triangle! Click the link and Check out the Blues Calendar today to plan the shows you're going to see.

The Triangle Blues Society needs YOU to get the Blues! Tell us about upcoming Blues events and shows!Get out and support local artists & venuesJoin us in growing the Triangle Blues Scene Bring yourself, your ideas and your passion and help us shape the future of the blues in our hometown by becoming a Triangle Blues Leader! Tell us what you can bring to the table, or ask us how you can help by clicking here

There's so much blues music happening this weekend....so plan out your schedule on the  THE BLUES CALENDAR Sunday is the monthly 1st Sunday Blues Jam at the fabulous Blue Note Grill hosted by The Velvet Beat Bring yourself, bring your friends and bring your instrument if you want to jam. We'll see you there!  

  Here's a fantastic opportunity for Triangle Blues Society members to get a full day of great food, amazing drinks, and phenomenal music and fun with family and friends at one of the most beautiful locations in the area. Mystic Farm and Distillery is offering FREE tickets to the first 20 TBS members to arrive at their incomparable.  Bourbon, BBQ & Blues Festival this weekend April 25th. To claim your free ticket simply show your membership card at entry. You can download

Join us Sunday, April 19th, 4-7pm for our 3rd Sunday jam, with host band The Five Cent Kings! See https://www.instagram.com/stories/triangle_blues_society/ for more information!  

See the following for Updated TBS jam calendar.

The word “MAMA” – especially when it is in all caps – invokes dedication, sacrifice, and support. And all that tracks for Melissa McKinney, who fronts the 2025 Triangle Blues Challenge-winning band MAMA. Even without her inspiring backstory, McKinney’s recent accomplishments alone would make for impressive album liner notes: By Barry Shuster Melissa McKinney will not need directions to Memphis when she and her new band MAMA hit the road in mid-January to perform at the 2026

Let's celebrate ... you! The Triangle Blues Society's Member Appreciation Party is set for Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, from 4-7 p.m. at Blue Note Grill. Our host band, Fabulous Nite-Life Boogie, will get you groovin’ – and there will be complimentary food! Please bring an unwrapped toy for our Toys for Tots box. TOYS FOR TOTS: Deliver hope to children this holiday season! Triangle Blues Society and Blue Note Grill are once again inviting everyone in the area to help us fill the To

The 2025 Triangle Blues Challenge winners were MAMA featuring Melissa McKinney (band) and Charlley Ward and Joel Keel (solo/duo). They'll now represent the area at the Blues Foundation's 41st International Blues Challenge. Among the other great local talents competing this year at the Triangle Blues Challenge, held on Nov. 2, 2025, at the Blue Note Grill in Durham, N.C.: Caitlin Krisko and the Broadcast, Lightning Kate and the Derm Dregs, Big Jim Kohler and BluzHammer. Solo/

We have an exciting lineup of bands and solo/duo competitors for the Triangle Blues Society's 2025 Triangle Blues Challenge! Band performers at 1PM on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, at the Blue Note Grill in Durham will be Caitlin Krisko and the Broadcast, Lightning Kate and the Derm Dregs, Big Jim Kohler and BluzHammer. Solo/duos include Melissa McKinney, T.C. Mirc, Charlley Ward, John Shearer and Blue Plate Special! The Triangle Blues Society’s annual Triangle Blues Challenge is a

The Triangle Blues Society’s annual Triangle Blues Challenge is a regional competition to select acts that will represent TBS in the Blues Foundation’s 41st International Blues Challenge (IBC) in Memphis, Tennessee. More than 250 acts from around the world converge on Beale Street to perform before the music industry searching for new talent, with the chance to win recognition and prizes that include major festival performances and more. This year’s TBS Blues Challenge is ta

Make your blues plans with the Triangle Blues Society's continuously updated Blues Calendar. Want to add an event? Drop us a line at triangleblues@gmail.com.Go HERE to see the entire month in blues. All events are subject to change. Click through individual calendar entries to find contact information for confirmation from sponsoring venues . JOIN THE TRIANGLE BLUES SOCIETY Support our blues mission! Click here to find out more. MONTHLY TBS NEWSLETTER You can also sign up

Armand and Bluesology will serve as host band for the Triangle Blues Society's Third Sunday Blues Jam on May 18, 2025 – and they have special plans. The jam, held from 4-7 p.m. at the Speakeasy in Carrboro, will feature a set inspired by the late Piedmont bluesman Walter "Lightnin' Bug" Rhodes. The Hamlet, North Carolina, bluesman died in 1990 just as his dormant career was in the midst of a long-hoped-for comeback. "Walter was gonna be big," argues Chapel Hill's Armand Len

International Blues Challenge finalists Lynnette Barber and Will Ellis will join us for a special performance at the Triangle Blues Society's 2025 Member Appreciation Party, held from 4-7 p.m. May 4 at the Blue Note Grill in Durham. Stop by to renew your membership and mingle with fellow blues music enthusiasts. Prior to the event, Lynnette and Will shared the story of their amazing experiences in Memphis: TRIANGLE BLUES PRIDE AMPLIFIED: THE STORY OF LYNNETTE BARBER AND WILL

The Triangle Blues Society sponsors a special fundraising concert from 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8. 2024, at the Blue Note Grill in Durham, N.C. Triangle Blues Challenge winners Acisse Jay and the Gents (band) and Lynnette Barber & Will Ellis (solo/duo) will perform. They're set to represent the area in the Blues Foundation's 40th International Blues Challenge – and your donations will help fund their trip. Make blues dreams come true! Advance tickets are on sale now; there's a

The Triangle Blues Challenge's 2024 winners are Acisse Jay and the Gents (band) and Lynnette Barber & Will Ellis (solo/duo). They'll now represent the area in the Blues Foundation's 40th International Blues Challenge after competing on Oct. 6, 2024, at the Blue Note Grill in Durham, N.C. In all, more than 250 acts from around the world will converge for the IBC in Memphis to perform before music industry pros searching for new talent, with the chance to win recognition and p

It's time for the Triangle Blues Society's Triangle Blues Challenge! Our regional competition to select acts that will represent the area in the Blues Foundation’s 40th International Blues Challenge is set for 1 PM Sunday, October 6, 2024, at the Blue Note Grill in Durham, N.C. Categories include solo, duo and bands. Competing bands this weekend include Acisse Jay and the Gents, Cammy and the Soul Shakers and the Tanner Lee Blues Band. Solo and duo contestants include J. Mic

As a part of the upcoming Triangle Blues Challenge, you are invited to submit your compact disc to the Triangle Blues Society to have it considered for the Best Self-Produced CD at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis!Here are the rules: The compact disc entered may be recorded and performed by an act other than is entered in the current year’s International Blues Challenge. Compilations are not eligible. Only CDs released between November 1, 2023, and October 31,

TBS' 2024 Triangle Blues Challenge Call for Musicians and Best Self-Produced CD The Triangle Blues Society's Triangle Blues Challenge is a regional competition to select acts that will represent the area in the Blues Foundation’s 40th International Blues Challenge (IBC) in Memphis, Tennessee. More than 250 acts from around the world converge on Beale Street to perform before the music industry searching for new talent, with the chance to win recognition and prizes that inc

The soul-blues powerhouse Sugaray Rayford is coming to the Triangle for a special Sunday show – and he's promising a party. "A lot of musicians, the blues notwithstanding, have forgotten how to entertain people," he tells Blues Blast magazine. "Think about groups like Earth Wind and Fire. You loved the songs you heard on the radio, but when you went to see them live, they couldn't just play the song like the record. They needed to kick it up a bit and entertain. Otherwise, i

Howard Levy, a two-time Grammy Award-winning pianist, harmonica player and composer, is set for a May appearance in Durham, N.C., with his new band. He's been playing the diatonic harmonica since the age of 19, developing groundbreaking techniques that allowed him to play it as a fully chromatic instrument. The multi-instrumentalist was soon going far beyond the folk and blues music that the harmonica is usually associated with, as he explored jazz, classical and Middle East

Exactly what is the IBC experience? Worldwide affiliates of the Blues Foundation have their own annual blues challenges, and the winners of solo/duo and band categories head to Memphis to compete in the International Blues Challenge – the largest gathering of blues musicians (and fans) on this planet! It doesn’t matter if you’re a first-timer (or an old-timer like me – this was my 22nd year to attend!), blues musicians and blues lovers from far and wide converge on Beale Str

Want to help make some blues dreams come true? Here's your chance! Each year, the Triangle Blues Society sponsors the Triangle Blues Challenge where local musicians compete to earn a spot at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, the largest gathering of blues musicians in the world. Sponsored by the Blues Foundation, the IBC lasts for almost a week. The signature element of the Triangle Blues Society's mission is to raise funds to support their trips to Tennessee. T

Deliver hope to children this holiday season! Triangle Blues Society and Blue Note Grill in Durham are once again inviting everyone in the area to help us fill the Toys for Tots toy box. Toys can be donated by dropping them off during regular business hours through Nov. 27, 2023. The Blue Note Grill is open from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, and closed on Sundays and Mondays. Donate a toy and become a member! When you do, new Triangle Blues Society membe

Greylan Hall and the Nasty Kings and E-Train were named winners Sunday of the Triangle Blues Society's 2023 Triangle Blues Challenge. They were part of a 10-act slate who competed at the Blue Note Grill in Durham for the chance to advance to January's 39th International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tenn. Proceeds from ticket sales on Sunday and your TBS membership fees help fund their trips. Greylan Hall emerged from the group category, which also featured Acisse Jay, beckwi

Join the Triangle Blues Society and a group of area hopefuls for the 2023 Triangle Blues Challenge. The competition kicks off at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023, at the Blue Note Grill in Durham. The challenge is a local blues competition with two categories, for solo/duo and band. Winners earn the right to travel to Memphis, Tenn., to further compete next January in the 39th International Blues Challenge. This year's competing solo and duo acts are Cory Luetjen and the Traveli

The Triangle Blues Society's next monthly jam is set for Sept. 24, from 5-8 p.m. at the Speakeasy in Carrboro. Hosts are Scott Larid and Larry Myers. The application deadline is also fast approaching for the 2023 Triangle Blues Challenge, to be held in October at the Blue Note Grill in Durham. The challenge is a local blues competition with two categories, solo/duo and band. Winners earn the right to travel to Memphis, TN, to further compete next January in the 39th Internat

The Triangle Blues Society Blues Challenge is a regional competition to select acts who will represent TBS at the Blues Foundation’s next 39th International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN. As many as 266 acts from around the world converge on Beale Street next January to perform as the music industry searches for new talent, with the chance to win recognition and prizes that include major festival performances and more. This year’s Triangle Blues Challenge is taking place at

We hope this letter finds you in good health and high spirits.Ralph DeMasi President, The Triangle Blues Society P.O. Box 13208 Durham, N.C., 27709 triangleblues@gmail.com 5 July, 2023Subject: Re-Launching the Triangle Blues Society and Exciting Plans for 2023!Dear Triangle Blues Society Members, Greetings! As the newly appointed President of The Triangle Blues Society, I am delighted to announce that we are emerging from our dormant status and re-launching our organization

Mark your calendars now for the next Triangle Blues Society blues jam, set for 4 to 7 p.m. July 16 at the Speakeasy on Main Street in Carrboro. Want to add your blues event to our continuously updated calendar of events? Email us at triangleblues@gmail.com with the event details, time, date and place. TBS long attracted some of the area's best players at regular jams held from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturdays at the Blue Note Grill in Durham. We're working to bring those back, b

The legacy of the blues is often set in Delta juke joints or on the urban streets of Chicago’s Southside. But faraway Durham, N.C., plays its own important role. At the turn of the 20th century, the city was an epicenter for Black arts culture and entrepreneurial ambition. That drew blues musicians to Durham’s downtown, as warehouses buzzed with tobacco-related activity, and to the historic Hayti neighborhood. Farmers both white and black brought in their harvests. Newly f

Saturday, December 3, 2022 12-3pm NO Cover Our guest hosts: Jessica Michelle Hall (The Phoebes) When it comes to showing the love our local music community doesn’t miss a beat. So follow us in merry measure and share the Christmas spirit. Bring a toy to our TBS Toys for Tots Gift Drive and receive a free one-year TBS Membership or renewal (valued at $10). Your gift will help ensure that one or more Orange County NC kids have a gift to open on Christmas morning. Even the small

9/25/2022 1:00 pm $10 at the door. Triangle Blues Society (TBS) will hold the 2022 Triangle Blues Challenge on Sunday, September 25, 2022, 1-5pm at the Blue Note Grill in Durham, NC.  The TBS Blues Challenge is a local blues competition in two categories – solo/duo and band. Winners earn the right to travel to Memphis, TN, to further compete in the 38th International Blues Challenge (IBC) held January 24-28, 2023. The IBC is sponsored by The Blues Foundation (BF) and consis

Saturday, September 3/2022 12:00 pm $10 donation at the door The September TBS 1st Saturday Blues Jam will be a fundraiser for Joan Holeman, longtime partner, and wife of John Dee Holeman, featuring Tad Walters, Bubba Norwood, and T.A.James as the host band. Bid on a one-of-a-kind stained glass art of John Dee by glass artist Terri Robbins crafted just for this event All proceeds and donations will go to Joan to help her with outstanding bills and daily living expenses. TBS 1

The Triangle Blues Society (TBS) Blues Challenge is a regional competition to select acts that will represent TBS in the Blues Foundation’s 38th International Blues Challenge (IBC) January 24-29, 2023 in Memphis, TN. Over 250 acts from around the world converge on Beale Street to perform before the music industry searching for new talent, with the chance to win recognition and prizes that include major festival performances and more.  This year’s TBS Blues Challenge is taking

Saturday, February 5, 202212-3pm, NO CoverThe Blue Note GrillDurham, NC TBS 1st Saturday Blues Jam will be rocking the house all afternoon. We’ll be here to welcome members new & old. If your membership has expired, plan to renew while you’re here. Note that the Jam time is 12-3pm – so come enjoy the Blue Note Grill’s new Brunch menu while jamming with your blues brothers and sisters. Our guest host this month: Vibe Tribe with Will Ellis, Jerry Stringer, and Martey Mac Sign-u

STAY TUNED FOR A NEW DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED.TBS Tailgate Jam & Membership DriveSunday, February 5, 2022 1-5PM FREE TICKETSThe Blue Note GrillDurham, NC FREE TICKETS <----Get your free tickets here. We’ll be grilling and TBS Members eat free! Burgers and Dogs with a side or two. Not a member yet? You can join anytime between now and then, even that very day. Memberships are only $10! We need to know if you're planning to join us so we can get a headcount for food so go ahead

DURHAM -- The Triangle Blues Society will present its Toys for Tots program Dec. 4, 2021, from noon until 3 p.m. during its First Saturday Monthly Blues Jam, at The Blue Note Grill, 709 Washington St. Bring a new, unwrapped toy and receive a free one-year TBS Membership or renewal (valued at $10). Your gift will help ensure that more kids have a gift to open on Christmas morning. Even the smallest gift can bring a smile. Make a difference. What to bring: a new, unwrapped toy

DURHAM -- The Triangle Blues Society has chosen Jon Shain & FJ Ventre’s “Never Found a Way to Tame the Blues” as the "Best Self Produced CD" as part of its annual Triangle Blues Challenge. The Triangle Blues Society (TBS) will send the CD for consideration at the International Blues Challenge, to be held Jan. 18-22 in Memphis, Tenn.  Because of concerns about the recent surge in Covid-19 cases, The Triangle Blues Society postponed the competition portion of its annual Triangl

TBS 1st Sunday Blues Jam: with host band The Beauty OperatorsSunday, July 4, 202112-3pm * NO COVER TBS 1st Sunday Blues Jam is BACK! We’ve missed you this last year and can’t wait to kick up the jams again with you all, so make plans now to attend. We’ll be here to welcome members new & old. If your membership has expired, plan to renew while you’re here. Note that the Jam time is earlier – now 12-3pm – so come enjoy the Blue Note Grill’s new Brunch menu while jamming with yo

The Triangle Blues Society (TBS) Blues Challenge is a regional competition to select acts that will represent TBS in the Blues Foundation’s 37th International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN. Up to 250 acts from around the world converge on Beale Street to perform before the music industry searching for new talent, with the chance to win recognition and prizes that include major festival performances and more. This year’s TBS Blues Challenge is taking place Sunday, September 1