Fairfield Arts & Convention Center, Iowa • June 2, 2021:
Kevin Burt and his band gave a wonderful concert for his many fans in Fairfield, Iowa.
Waterloo native Kevin B.F. Burt was working to finance his intended graduate degree at the University of Iowa, but after his boss invited him to a dinner, that in fact turned out to be an audition for the blues band her son was forming, Kevin left the job behind and began a musical odyssey that has become his career. That audition got him a spot in the Blues Instigators, who later went on to win the 1995 Iowa Blues Challenge and provide Kevin his first opportunity to perform in Memphis at the International Blues Challenge. Over the years as a band leader and solo performer Kevin has performed over 300 gigs a year to make a living playing the music he loves. He has also become a prolific blues educator, including currently serving as master clinician for Central Iowa Blues Society’s Blues in the Schools program. 22 years after that first appearance Kevin returned to Memphis, as the 2017 Iowa Blues Challenge Solo/Duo champion. It was there that he became an overnight international sensation, almost 30 years in the making. He not only won the Solo/Duo category at the International Blues Challenge, he was also the recipient of the Cigar Box Guitar award and Lee Oskar Harmonica award. Kevin is currently playing and singing just as he has for the last three decades, the only difference is that the rest of the world is now in on Iowa’s best kept secret.
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2019 Blues Music Award nominee and International Blues Challenge winner in three categories Kevin Burt is a musician (vocals, harmonica, and guitar) whose smooth, warm vocal presentation and humor audiences of all ages seem to enjoy. Two of Kevin’s primary influences are Bill Withers and Aaron Neville and he has the ability to build a great rapport with the audience with his soul-inspired presentation and natural stage presence.
“Burt is a serious songwriter who knows how to craft music to fit his personality, and no one delivers this brand of music better than he does. … one should have no problem seeing why he took all the top honors at the blues competition – this guy is a real winner.” – Living Blues
“In this day and age where celebrity status is often conveyed on people with little discernible skills or talent, it is refreshing when the spotlight finally lands on someone who has worked hard, paid their dues, and actually deserves recognition for their talent. Such is the case with Kevin Burt,” the singer and multi-instrumentalist who created quite a buzz on Beale St. in Memphis during the first three days of this year’s International Blues Challenge, winning 3 awards !! – 1st place in the Solo/Duo category, the Cigar Box Guitar Award for best guitarist in Solo/Duo category, and the Lee Oskar Award for best harmonica player!” – BLUES BLAST MAGAZINE
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Kevin ‘B.F.’ Burt, International Blues Challenge champion, reflects on Iowa’s rich blues history
As a young adult working five jobs (two full-time, three part-time) in Iowa City after a football injury in his senior year of college derailed his intended future, music was the last thing on Burt’s mind. But once he got started — auditioning as a singer for a band at the insistence of one of his bosses (whose praise at his ability was met with a characteristically self-effacing “Alright, whatever”) — his tenacity, fearlessness and ingenuity set him on a trajectory that inevitably led toward his win this winter at the prestigious International Blues Challenge in Memphis.
Burt was the second Iowan to win an award at the festival (Des Moines’ Rob Lumbard won Best Self-Produced CD in 2016), the first Iowan to win in the Solo/Duo category and the first artist in the festival’s 34-year history to sweep the solo categories — he also won the Solo/Duo Cigar Box Guitar Award for most promising acoustic player and the Lee Oskar Harmonica Award.
Not bad for someone who only learned to play guitar and harmonica 12 years into his musical career, when his band backed off of their demanding performance schedule and he needed to branch out into solo gigs. He’s always been making it up as he goes along, refusing to be stopped by little obstacles like not knowing how to play an instrument and wearing his heart, and his progress, on his sleeve.
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Video produced by Werner Elmker Audio-Visual Studio
Sound mixing and mastering by Tim Britton
Sound and video crew for concert: Jesse James, Tim Britton, Seth Moore and Cevin Churchill
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