Ty Curtis

The Ty Curtis Band recently earned second place in the prestigious 2009 International Blues Challenge. The Challenge started with more than two- thousand bands in nine countries and thirty-six states. One hundred bands earned the right to come to Memphis. Ten made it to the finals, and The Ty Curtis Band was voted second place by a panel of judges made up of industry professionals. No small feat for a young band from Salem, Oregon. The band's strong performance in Memphis has resulted in bookings for the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Redwood Run, the St. Johns Blues festival as well as numerous offers from European festivals.

This accomplishment comes on the heels of the band's recognition in the Pacific Northwest. In the Fall of 2008, the band was nominated by the members of the Portland, Oregon-based Cascade Blues Association for Best Regional Act and Best New Act, getting the nod for Best New Act of 2008. The Cascade Blues Association also selected the band's first CD, "Stubborn Mind," as the Best Self-Produced CD for 2008.

None of this is surprising to the Northwest blues fans that have been filling clubs, festivals and dance floors wherever the band performs. Playing a mix of blues, blues-rock, funk and swing, the band keeps audiences' attention with a multi-talented lineup. The band's performances feature passionate vocals and driving guitar from Ty Curtis, masterful harmonica and powerful vocals from Hank Shreve and three-part harmonies, with the added voice of bass player Milo Fultz. Milo's tasteful bass lines, coupled with Davis "Super D" Brown's drumming lock in the rhythm that ties everything together.

The Ty Curtis Band is recieving airplay on XM Radio from the Pacific Northwest all the way to Germany and Argentina. They have been privileged to open for Chris Cain, Coco Montoya, The Doobie Brothers, Roy Rogers, Paul DeLay, Curtis Salgado, Walter Trout, Big Monti and Lloyd Jones. The band has performed at Portland's Waterfront Blues Festival, Joseph Bronze & Blues, the Rogue Valley Blues Festival, Central Oregon Blues Festival, the Red, White and Blues Festival, the Oregon State Fair and many smaller festivals and club shows.

Joe Whitmer, the coordinator of the International Blues Challenge said, I think they are a pretty tight and polished band. They are young, they do have a traditional feel about them, so I think they advanced because they play some damn good blues."

As Paul DeLay said, "Ty plays it like a young man should, straight ahead and from the heart."