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Date: 1/3/2024
WESTFIELD — Several Westfield musicians and their bandmates in the BlueDevil Bluez will make the trip to Memphis, Tennessee, this month to compete in the International Blues Challenge. The festival takes place Jan. 16-20 on Beale Street, famous for the blues as played by Louis Armstrong, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and other blues and jazz legends.
BlueDevil Bluez bass guitarist and vocalist Bob Roy said it’s a week-long competition in several venues on Memphis’ famous Beale Street.
“You compete and you move on from one night to the next,” he said.
The judges will be former winners of the competition, people in the record industry and talent scouts. He said every night has different judges. Roy said all the bands who will be performing have won regional competitions to get there. The BlueDevil Bluez will represent the Connecticut Blues Society, by way of guitarist and vocalist Mike McLaughlin, who lives in Enfield. Massachusetts does not participate.
But the BlueDevil Bluez is definitely a Massachusetts band, founded in Westfield. Roy was a founding member in 2010 with his son Eric Roy on drums and vocals and Mark Rogers on guitar and vocals, all from Westfield.
The inspiration to form a blues band came from Eric Roy, who had previously played in metal bands until he saw Michael Burks and his drummer Chuck “Popcorn” Louden in concert, who blew him away, and he never looked back, according to an October 2022 profile on him in “Not So Modern Drummer,” by David Barsalou.
Sadly, Eric Roy contracted ALS a few years ago, and died in October 2022 at the age of 35. His mother, Diane Roy, had died three years earlier from the disease.
Eric, who encouraged his father and the band to continue on with the BlueDevil Bluez, was replaced on drums and vocals by Tim Smith of Westfield. Also in the band is Joe Elliot of Longmeadow on keyboards.
Bob Roy said everybody in the band has been in a lot of different bands. “Joe [Elliot], the keyboard player and I go back to Raising Cain, and after that, the name of the band changed to the Headliners. Tim Smith has toured all over the world, played with Poco, and was in a band with a Grammy nomination. One of the guys plays in the Pink Floyd tribute band. I’ve opened up for international acts. We’re hoping this will get us onto some of the festivals,” Roy said.
Asked what the prize is for winning the International Blues Challenge, Roy said he wasn’t sure.
“The last I was told, the grand prize is $5,000. You win something. Down there it’s a pretty big deal.” He said last year a band from South Korea came in fifth place.
He said there was a long process to go through to get into the competition, and even the most computer savvy member in the band had a hard time filling it out.
The band also has to pay for the trip, and for room and board. They did win money from the Connecticut Rhythm & Blues Festival, and Roy said they have been fortunate enough to have venues and people doing fundraisers to help them to get there.
For one, he said they ran a fundraiser for the band at the Brass Rail in Southwick, and the huge deck was packed. He said the owner, Jen Nolasco, “has helped us immensely.”
The band also played at Whalley Park in Southwick, where a donation was made to the band and to the ALS Foundation. At the Almost Famous brewery in East Granby, “they made our first time playing there a fundraiser for us,” Roy said.
“A huge group of people are supporting us with the fundraisers and spiritually, and a whole bunch of people are coming down to the Memphis area to support us,” he added.
Their last gig before the competition was at Theodore’s in Springfield in late 2023. Roy said he will be arriving in Memphis on Jan. 14, and he has been told the competition starts on Jan. 16. This will be Bob Roy’s first time in Memphis.
“Win, lose or draw, it’s going to be a fun time. Everybody’s been looking forward to it,” he said.
He said between booking their rooms and the flight, there has been a lot of planning involved.
“We have a great following — I can’t even believe how many $100 bills people have dropped,” Roy said.